Inside Ceva Animal Health’s Cutting-Edge Distribution Centre

Founded in 1999 as a small venture with limited profitability, Ceva Animal Health has grown over the past quarter of a century to become one of the largest animal health companies in the world. 

The organisation has strategically built itself into a highly-innovative enterprise, addressing the health needs of diverse animal populations. From livestock to companion animals and even wildlife, its approach is comprehensive and forward-thinking.

Ceva’s focus has, historically, been on preventive medicine, with vaccines making up around half of its overall sales volume. Notably, the business has pioneered vector vaccines for poultry, establishing a significant market leadership. 

“That's been our historical stronghold but now we have a large portfolio across the different species,” explains Jean-Marcel Ciet, Digital, Smart Solutions and Supply Chain EVP.

"We've been able to build and transform the business really progressively.”

With a global footprint comprising 21 R&S centres and more than 30 industrial sites worldwide, Ceva now transcends its French origins.

“We’re very proud of our roots in South West France, but the French market is a small part of our business,” Jean-Marcel adds. “We are very much a worldwide company.”

Keeping distribution in-house

Ceva Santé Animale size means it must inevitably look after a complex and ever-growing logistics and distribution network. 

In October, the company inaugurated its new, state-of-the-art European distribution centre in Montpon-Ménestérol, France, about 45 miles east of Bordeaux.

The facility is designed to store products developed by Ceva in Europe, supporting three main pharmaceutical factories in France and another major factory in Hungary specialising in bio-vaccines, before shipping them all over the world. 

“We saw this as an opportunity to show our commitment to innovation, including in the supply chain,” Jean-Marcel Ciet continues. 

“The idea was to boost Ceva’s export capabilities and international presence. It’s a regional centre serving more than 100 countries and we can be very proud of it.”

The project was also driven by a desire to go against the grain in the context of the animal and human health industries, in which businesses are increasingly outsourcing their logistics operations. 

Jean-Marcel notes: “We took a stance because many companies in our sector or in human health are externalising these activities, without necessarily improving the service for the end customer. We had a very strong strategy which said, actually, this is critical for the company. 

“Our strategic decision was to keep our distribution internal, making it a strategic asset and an accelerator of our export capabilities.”

Harnessing cutting-edge technology

Ceva had two main priorities when planning the Montpon distribution centre: digitalisation and sustainability.

Equipped with the latest digital and automation technologies, the facility embodies the future of distribution. The 12,000 square metres of space dedicated to storage cells, for example, is equipped with a warehouse management system (WMS) that optimises all logistics flows from reception to shipment, with autonomous tri-directional carts facilitating storage and order preparation. 

These innovations ensure maximum efficiency, reducing lead times and optimising the supply chain.

"We equipped the warehouse with a brand-new WMS, so it was a clear investment and a way to optimise our logistics flow,” notes Jean-Marcel. 

“In terms of automation, we decided to use tri-directional carts, which presented a lot of constraints during the construction process as it requires specific materials and precision, so it’s a significant investment.”

Ceva’s commitment to exploring and investing in cutting-edge technology has transformed not only operations but also employee motivation and engagement.

“Before the project, our team was a bit reluctant to move from our headquarters,” admits Jean-Marcel. “But, once we built the facility, everyone wanted to go because of the level of innovation and because we involved them very early on in the journey.

“Take the tri-directional carts, for instance – the team was super proud to work in a place where you are at the forefront of technology.”

Committed to sustainability 

The Montpon site forms an important part of Ceva’s efforts to achieve a controlled and sustainable environmental footprint, as demonstrated by its recent ‘very good’ BREEAM sustainable building certification.

Jean-Marcel highlights that the location of the project was particularly important, with the centre itself occupying just 10% of a 14-hectare site, with the rest dedicated to biodiversity preservation – including the protection of more than 54 species of birds.

“Making an industrial and supply chain choice that was consistent with the purpose of the company was extremely important,” he adds. 

On the energy front, Ceva invested in 1,500 square metres of photovoltaic panels for the centre, producing around 50% of the energy consumed.

Moreover, a series of technological choices have been made to limit energy consumption, especially around temperature control. 

Jean-Marcel elaborates: “On one side is limitation of the consumption and on the other side is the investment in photovoltaic panels, so in the end we achieve that 50%. 

“We have some ongoing plans to continue to invest and potentially increase this 50% to a higher level in the future.”

Water resource management, including the recovery of 20 m³ of rainwater, reinforces Ceva’s commitment in this area. 

“It’s a relatively small thing,” Jean-Marcel continues, “but it helps to create consistency and coherence in our approach around sustainability.”

Supply chain priorities

Looking to the future, Jean-Marcel cites three main priorities for Ceva Santé Animale from a supply chain perspective. 

The first surrounds the major ongoing transformation of its supply chain planning operating model, which is due to go live in the next few months and will be gradually rolled out over the course of two to three years. 

“It’s a massive project and investment to transform and optimise the way we operate our supply chain planning,” Jean-Marcel explains. 

Ceva’s supply chain leader also points to a €75m (US$78m) expansion of the aforementioned Ceva Phylaxia manufacturing plant in Hungary, which is scheduled to open in 2026 and slated to produce eight billion vaccine doses annually.

He continues: “We’re looking at other opportunities to optimise our logistics and distribution costs. In fact, it’s one of the top priorities of our strategic plan. 

“That means looking at opportunities in the US, Asia or Latin America and considering how we can optimise the way we work.”

Finally, Jean-Marcel highlights Ceva’s tireless commitment to R&D, with a number of major product launches due to arrive throughout the remainder of 2025, in particular some new vaccines. 

“We’re launching a very innovative vaccine in swine this year and we’re committed to ensuring full supply availability to our business colleagues,” he concludes. 

“We’ll continue to work on our supply chain processes and professionalisation around these product launches, which are increasingly critical in our growth journey.”

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