On average, approximately 6.8 billion pieces of kiwifruit fruit are handled by TKL Logistics Limited each season, enough to feed everyone in India and China more than twice over.
TKL (Formally Tauranga Kiwifruit Logistics) coordinates the arrival and dispatch of all Zespri branded kiwifruit through New Zealand ports to key international markets.
“We’ve seen an increase in volume this season and hearing that the total is getting close to seven billion pieces of kiwifruit is astonishing,” TKL’s Ian Mearns says. “It is great to be part of the process and industry that sees our national fruit delivered to consumers around the world.”
Owned by New Zealand post-harvest companies, TKL operates road transport services and port logistics. TKL transports pallets of kiwifruit from packhouses to a coolstore in Mount Maunganui wharf. The fruit is then shipped worldwide.
A bespoke logistics application makes such epic movements possible, Mearns confirms.
“The app is used to dispatch and track our transport fleet and pallets while, at the same time, sending detailed information to coolstores as to what is to be loaded in a specific container It also allows GPS to track real-time location of trucks and share this with our customers [and] the application handles all the administration functions relating to our accounting systems.”
Based in Tauranga, TKL operates nationwide, Mearns adds.
“Anywhere kiwifruit is packed for export in New Zealand, TKL is responsible for the logistics of getting it from the packhouse onto vessels.”
