News / Unilever opts for Maersk to manage its global ocean and air logistics

16/12/2021

Maersk has signed a four-year contract with FMCG and food production giant Unilever to provide operational management of its global ocean and air freight transport.

The agreement will also see the carrier develop and manage Unilever’s International Control Tower Solution, which will build on the Virtual Ocean Control Tower debuted earlier this year and be underpinned by Maersk´s digital supply chain platform, NeoNav, a core part of the agreement.

“We are excited that Unilever has chosen our logistics expertise and our technological platform NeoNav to provide an overview of the links that make up its ocean and air logistics operations,” said Aymeric Chandavoine, head of logistics & services at AP Møller-Maersk.

“NeoNav also offers actionable insights on how to optimise the supply chain, for example, in terms of carbon emissions,” he added.

“We are glad we can further support Unilever, enhancing its resilience and transparency through our digital platform and taking it to the next level,” he added.

Unilever, whose supply chain covers more than 190 countries around the world, developed its Virtual Ocean Control Tower in collaboration with AIS provider MarineTraffic and ClearMetal, a supply chain technology start-up recently acquired by Project44.

The value of the contract was undisclosed, as were the volumes it would involve, although Unilever claimed earlier this year that, “at any given time, we have around 12,000 containers on 1,500 ships criss-crossing the seas with raw materials, packaging and finished goods”.

Michelle Grose, VP global logistics and fulfilment at Unilever, said today: “We’re delighted to be working with Maersk to unify our global ocean and air logistics operations. Not only does this end-to-end approach ensure better service for our customers and reduce business waste, the added visibility will also help us mitigate risk, increase agility and help us achieve our company-wide target of becoming carbon neutral by 2039.”