Liverpool city region logistics specialist SSO Logistics secures new 12-month distribution deal with a packaging supply company. Tony McDonough reports

SSO Logistics has secured a 12-month distribution deal with a packaging supply company after significantly reducing its damage rates.

It has won the contrary with fellow St Helens business, Venturepak, which supplies injection moulded plastic containers and other packaging products to the food industry.

Venturepack has been grappling with the ongoing issue of its products being damaged in transit. Because it specialises in food containers any damage to a container means it its unusable because of the risk of contamination.

SSO, which has sites in Haydock and St Helens, is transporting the goods through the Pallet-Track network. It joined the network in 2021, creating 20 new jobs. It works with other independent hauliers to transport goods nationwide.

To mark the new partnership, SSO has rolled out a new livery with Venturepak branding. Following the initial success of the partnership, the packaging supplier is now planning to expand its business.

Martin Barber, director at Venturepak, said: “I’ve worked in the packaging industry for many years and previously struggled to find a reliable logistics partner. I encountered the same problems with every transport company.

“Due to the lightweight nature of the products we import and distribute, they are difficult to stack and cause pallets to become top-heavy, which increases the risk of them going over and the products being damaged.

“This is a major issue as most of our customers operate within the food industry, so if products are damaged they pose a contamination risk and cannot be used. Any refused goods then must be sent back and replaced.

“The frequency of the damages was a significant cost to our business and eliminating the issue has been key to making our business more profitable.”

SSO Logistics actively worked with Venturepak to address these issues and reduce the instances of damage. SSO logistics director, Peter Draper, added: “We worked with Martin and the team to mitigate the risks associated with their freight.

“For us to provide a tailored service, it was vital we fully understood the problems they were facing and introduced ETAs and rapid response times.

“As members of the Pallet-Track network, we can provide Venturepak with real-time tracking on their goods which is an additional benefit for its customers.

“The tracking technology can quickly flag any issues within the supply chain to Venturepak and ourselves, but I’m pleased to say that we have had no problems to date.

In January, SSO Logistics’ international arm, SSO International Forwarding became the first customs site operator in the new Liverpool City Region Freeport.