COFCO and Keystone from US signed an agreement at COFCO Plaza in Beijing on April 15, 2011 to incorporate a joint venture named COFCO Shitong Supply Chain (China) Investment Co., Ltd. The new company is engaged in logistics and supply chain management for the food industry and other relevent business within China.
As Mr. Frank Ning, Chairman of COFCO, said on the ceremony, an efficient logistics system and a supply chain platform would join together all the sections of COFCO’s industry chain, reducing the cost of logistics and operation, increasing the precision of the operational projection and plan, making sure of food safety, quickening the responsiveness to the market and building up the holistic competitiveness.
The alliance of COFCO and Keystone will produce China’s advanced logistics and supply chain joint venture taking advantage of COFCO’s complete industry chain control strategy and Keystone’s advanced technologies and management expertise.
In the next 10 years, COFCO Shitong Supply Chain (China) Co., Ltd. plans to build seven logistics cneters in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu and other large and medium size cities, fabricating a network covering China’s main cities. Its target customers include high-end food and beverage companies like McDonald’s and Parkson, large supermarket chains like Wal-Mart, famous food producers and COFCO’s own companies.
Keystone is subsidiary to Marfrig. It is engaged in meat products on the global market and customizes the logistics service to its customers including McDonald’s and other highest-end food and beverage companies and food producers and retailers which have has loyalty for almost 50 years. Keystone represents the highest logistics standards of the world’s food industry.
Marfrig is one of the world’s biggest and diversified food companies. It has penetrated the markets of 22 countries in five continents. It owns 151 production bases and logistics centers employing over 90,000 staff. As Marcos Molina, CEO, said, Marfrig expected to have the best and most efficient joint ventures instead of the biggest ones.
