“I’m happy to announce that Datamars Ltd, New Zealand is now officially approved by the NZ Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) as a Transitional Facility and Facility Operator,” said Juraj Práznovský in a recent email to the Datamars New Zealand team. This incredible achievement will save the company thousands of dollars a year, so let’s learn more about it.
Key details about the accreditation
Businesses handling goods that may pose a biosecurity risk—such as plants, animals, and related products—must obtain approval from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to store these items until they are cleared or shipped out. Without this approval, the goods must be held at an alternative location. Securing this accreditation was therefore essential to achieving the strategic goal of reducing operational costs.“A major spend for Datamars New Zealand has been our third party logistics warehousing,” said Raj Jainapally, the Logistics Specialist who led the project. “But with this accreditation, we have been able to align our processes and eliminate third party involvement.
”Last year’s move to a new building gave the team the ability to consolidate freight - and the perfect opportunity to go after the MPI site accreditation. Over the course of 14 weeks, Raj and his team worked hard to meet the necessary requirements to secure the approval. They completed a series of specialised training sessions and exams while preparing the site for MPI inspection. Despite the numerous government rules and regulations they had to navigate, the team received positive feedback from the MPI officer, who was impressed by Raj’s organisational skills and the thorough checks implemented to ensure compliance with biosecurity guidelines.“It was a team effort ensuring our site met the expectations of the inspecting MPI officer,” added Raj. Specifically, Juraj Práznovský, Delamere Amuketi, Isabel Mau, Steven Cripps, Anabelle Pinpin and Chris Lee formed the team that made this possible.
What this means for the future of Datamars
Now, Datamars is moving forward with a leaner supply chain, better service to the customer and lower operational costs. “The accreditation enables us to have all our stock at one site in Auckland,” said Raj. “We will have an improvement in inventory management and, because there will be less stock movement between locations, we will be able to provide excellent customer service by improving our delivery times.”So far, the team has noted that receiving containers directly has already reduced freight times and improved stock control.
