Transportation, Logistics, Supply Chain and Storage

How VDH made every minute visible in its new fresh logistics warehouse

About

VDH Company, The Freight Managers, takes care of the full logistics chain, from A to Z. Its services run from sea freight, import and customs clearance to trucking, fresh and dry warehousing, quality control, repackaging and international transport. As a mid-sized company, VDH is large enough to offer everything a professional logistics partner should, and small enough to stay flexible and adapt quickly. Its small, specialised teams can scale up fast when volumes grow or plans change. VDH doesn't just move goods, it adds value along the way. That is what it calls freight management. From its new warehouse of more than 30,000 m² in Ridderkerk, close to the Port of Rotterdam, VDH works by three values: forward-thinking, decisive and warm.

Industry

Transportation, Logistics, Supply Chain and Storage

Company size

201-500 employees

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As we work with perishable goods, every minute matters. Cargosnap helps us to save time on identifying and resolving non conformities

Lucas

Account Manager

The challenge

Fresh logistics runs on time. Products have a limited shelf life, and every minute spent waiting at a dock or in a staging lane is an hour less on a supermarket shelf. VDH's goal is to work as fast as it can at every step. Goods arrive, get stored for anything from a single day to several months, are packed and prepared for the customer, and leave again. Each step depends on the one before it, so a small delay early in the day can ripple through the entire operation.

The new warehouse in Ridderkerk added scale to that challenge. With more than 30,000 m² of cold storage and handling space, more goods move through more hands, across more zones. That makes it harder to keep a clear view of what happens to each load.

At the same time, VDH holds itself to a high standard of openness with its clients. Transparency is one of its core values. Clients expect to know the condition of their goods when they arrive, while they are stored and when they leave. When something goes wrong, they want to hear it from VDH, not discover it themselves at the receiving end.

The risks are familiar to anyone in warehousing. Damage can occur before goods arrive, during handling in the warehouse, or on the way out. Pallets can end up in the wrong place or on the wrong order. Stacking can be done incorrectly, which is a real risk for fragile fresh products. Without clear documentation, each of these situations can turn into a discussion about who is responsible and, in the end, a complaint.

Our approach

The right workflow at every stage

VDH didn't want to add another layer of admin to a team that is already working against the clock. Any solution had to fit into existing routines, not slow them down. So the starting point was simple: capture information at the moment it happens, by the people who are already handling the goods, and get it to the right person without extra steps.

Together with VDH, we mapped the full flow of goods through the Ridderkerk warehouse. We looked at where information was being lost, where delays came from, and where clients needed more visibility. From there, we designed workflows for each stage of the operation: one for inbound, workflows for handling and value add in the warehouse, and one for outbound.

Integration was a key part of the approach. VDH runs its operation on Softpak, its warehouse management system. By connecting Cargosnap to Softpak, operators could work with the file references they already use, and communication with clients could run through the systems VDH already trusts.

Here is a look at how the workflows work in the Cargosnap app. Screenshots are for illustration only and do not show VDH's own setup or data.

As I'm responsible for stock checking, I’m using the Issue Management solution in Cargosnap for our Lost & Found items. In no time I can make sure all the shipments are complete.

Rinesh

Team Leader Warehouse Office

The solution

Every handover documented, every record tied to a shipment

At inbound, every delivery starts with a scan. When an operator scans the file reference, Cargosnap links it to the correct record in Softpak. The operator then follows a short workflow to photograph, scan documents and check the goods. As soon as the file is complete, it is shared directly with the client through an email sent from Softpak. All VDH's clients now receive a clear record of the condition of their goods the moment they arrive.

Inside the warehouse, VDH runs several workflows that support storage and value-added services, such as packing products for supermarkets. When an operator spots an issue, they record it on the spot and assign it to a category. Each category comes with a clear way to close it, so the right people know what needs to happen next.

Category	How it is closed
Intake damage	Block the cargo or restore it
Outtake damage	Block the cargo or restore it
Non-intake/outtake damage	Document and follow up
Lost & Found	Find the cargo and add it to the correct file reference
Stacking	Restore the correct stacking
Maintenance	Clean or fix the area

Because every issue is recorded and closed in the warehouse, it gets addressed before it reaches the client.

At outbound, VDH uses a dedicated workflow for the shipments where it is responsible for loading the truck. This covers about half of all outbound shipments. For the other half, the driver from the transport company handles the loading. Where VDH does the loading, it now has a clear record of how the goods left the building.

The impact

Information that moves faster than goods

The head office, the warehouse office, and the operators on the floor now work from the same information, in real time. Nobody has to chase photos, call the floor for an update, or piece together what happened after the fact. Decisions get made faster because the facts are already there.

File overview of every inspection. Screenshots are for illustration only and do not show VDH's own setup or data.

That speed saves time across the operation. Deviations are recorded and followed up where they happen, so they don't hold up the next step. In an operation where every minute counts, that adds quickly.

Client service has improved as well. Clients see the condition of their goods from the moment they arrive, and they hear about deviations from VDH before they find them. Conversations about damage or missing goods are shorter and more constructive, because both sides are looking at the same record.

Most importantly, Cargosnap helps VDH raise the quality of its core service. In fresh logistics and cold storage, careful handling is the product. With every step documented, VDH can show its clients how their goods are handled, not just tell them.

What's next:

From daily records to valuable insight

VDH now plans to bring its Cargosnap data into analytics and BI tools. By looking at patterns across inbound, warehouse and outbound, the team can spot where deviations come from, improve processes and keep getting faster without losing sight of quality.

This is where the real value of Cargosnap shows. Most warehouses know where their goods are, but few know what happens to them along the way. Cargosnap turns every scan, photo and check into data that shows how the operation actually runs. Which clients have the most damage at intake. Which zones need attention. Which times of day put the most pressure on quality. These are insights VDH didn't have before, and they give the team a clear basis for every improvement that comes next.