DS Smith celebrates being named Best Packaging Supplier by Young’s Seafood

DS Smith boxes off competition to receive Young’s Seafood Limited’s Supplier of the Year for Packaging award.

Young’s Seafood Limited, the British producer and distributor of frozen, fresh, and chilled seafood, has named DS Smith as its Supplier of the Year for Packaging.

This prestigious award recognises a supplier who has played a significant role in helping Young’s Seafood Limited achieve its aims throughout the year and delivered a service beyond expectations. The award celebrates DS Smith’s outstanding partnership working on Young’s Seafood’s new Virtual Integration strategy, an initiative where Young’s is working with its suppliers to drive sustainability improvements for mutual benefit. Young’s is on a journey of Virtual Integration with some of the company’s best suppliers, working as partners, driving improvements for mutual and sustainable benefits. The benefits are being invested in Young’s Seafood Limited’s customer and consumer propositions to ensure they are competitively priced, as well as offering great value.

DS Smith, the packaging and supply chain strategist, has worked with Young’s Seafood for more than 20 years, and was chosen for its commitment to providing excellent service levels and delivering innovative solutions. Young’s praised DS Smith for its overall support and flexibility when working with all the seafood producer’s sites.

Mike Alvis, Business Development Director of DS Smith’s UK Packaging division, said: “We were honoured to receive this award from Young’s Seafood and feel very privileged to have been chosen out of its wide range of packaging suppliers. Building strong, working relationships with our customers really helps us to understand a brand, its processes and its market. Getting involved in Young’s Seafood Limited’s innovative Virtual Integration strategy right from the start provided us with the opportunity to address all the touch points of the packaging supply chain, meaning we can provide customers like Young’s with very real and concrete results.”

Mike continued: “We don’t just respond to our customers’ challenges, we proactively go out to them with new innovations and this award is a testament to our skilled teams who work hard to deliver high quality innovative and effective packaging solutions.”

Stuart Caborn, Chief Supply Chain and Procurement Officer for Young’s, said: “At Young’s Seafood Limited, we are focused on inspiring people to love fish now and for generations to come. Through Virtual Integration, we are creating a virtual supply chain from sea, field or forest to plate with our partners, including DS Smith. By joining forces, sharing expertise and reducing cost, we are creating value. We believe in open, transparent supply chains – long-lasting partnerships that link businesses together, through common goals, beliefs and interests. DS Smith got on board with our Virtual Integration strategy early on, bringing exciting new ideas to the table and helping us to achieve some excellent results together for our customers. With their innovative approach, DS Smith is a well-deserved winner of this award.”

The award was presented at the Young’s Seafood Limited’s inaugural Supplier Conference, where the company’s new Virtual Integration strategy was launched.