Snowman Logistics has partnered with IKEA, the Swedish home furnishings retailer, to manage the backend of their in-store restaurants in India. Snowman will be the exclusive partner and extend support at pan-India level, once IKEA stores come up around the nation.
Prem Kishan Gupta, chairman, Snowman Logistics, commented on the partnership: We are glad to partner IKEA in their India foray. Our proven capabilities and performance in providing best in class temperature controlled solutions, across varied products, and customer specifications are absolutely aligned to the challenging requirements of global leaders like IKEA. We believe working with IKEA will further strengthen and reinforce our leadership position in the cold chain industry.”
Sunil Nair, chief executive officer, Snowman Logistics, said: We are delighted about the partnership. Given that food is a highly perishable commodity with very short shelf-life, and because numerous details need constant attention and perfection in the food business, Snowman becomes a logical choice for a trusted logistics partner, offering end-to-end solutions. Snowman will support IKEA by optimising transportation operations, coordinating suppliers, integrating supply chain technologies, synchronising inbound and outbound logistics flow, and in managing distribution network for successfully running the restaurant. We also hope to learn a lot from this relationship and upgrade our standards to the best in the world.”
Henrik Osterstrom, country food manager, IKEA India commented: We have found a competent partner in Snowman Logistics, and believe it will be long term and successful collaboration. It is our ambition to create a one-stop supply chain solution for our restaurants and cafés in our stores across India. We have great demands on ourselves on food safety, sustainability, and total quality control, which is crucial for success in our food operations. Snowman is committed to enabling us to create the low price for our customers with a high degree of efficiency and willingness to develop together into the future. IKEA Food is an important part of our plans in India. Our restaurants will be one of the largest ones in the world with around 1000 seats, 100+ co-workers, and will come with a mix of great quality Indian and Swedish food at affordable prices.
In 2013, IKEA had got clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board of India to invest ?10,500 crore over 10 years for setting up stores in India. The company plans to open its lone distribution centre or warehouse in the country in Pune by the end of 2017, and will launch its first India store in Hyderabad, expected to be operational by early 2018.