Fonterra has welcomed the launch of a new service on the GlobalDairyTrade platform which gives customers the opportunity to buy dairy ingredients online at any time.
GDT Marketplace, a 24/7 trading platform, provided an additional sales channel for NZMP - Fonterra's dairy ingredients brand - and met growing demand in the dairy market for online business-to-business transactions, Fonterra's managing director global ingredients, Kelvin Wickham, said.
‘‘E-commerce is increasingly seen as convenient and open for business whenever customers want to make purchases. Dairy is no exception.‘‘
Online trading is ideal for customers purchasing smaller volumes who want convenience and availability at a time that suits them.
‘‘We see this as an opportunity to grow our sales both with existing customers and as an ideal way to reach new customers over time,'' Mr Wickham said in a statement.
GlobalDairyTrade director Eric Hansen said the platform complemented the twice-monthly GDT Events, which continued to be best suited for trading large quantities of standard dairy products.
Fonterra would initially look to offer a small range of ingredients on GDT Marketplace from the start of the 2016-17 season, and add further offerings as customer demand builds.
The co-operative also welcomed the introduction of a cream grouping in GDT Events from June.
Grouping the cream would deepen liquidity and reduce volatility in butter and anhydrous milk fat prices, Mr Wickham said.
