Supply Chain Management

Candy producer Brach's Confections Inc.is starting the phased shutdown of its Chicagomanufacturing plant, sending pink slips to 29workers who must leave the company by Oct. 20.

McCain Foods Limited will acquire the production facilities and food service business of Anchor Food Products Inc. in a three-party transaction. H.J. Heinz Company will purchase the company's branded products sold to retail outlets, including supermarkets and club stores.

PublixDirect, the online order and delivery unit created by Publix, plans to start service next month in Florida and plans a launch in north metro Atlanta next spring, according to an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Computer Associates International Inc. (CA) on Wednesday announced that Publix Super Markets is deploying Unicenter to centrally monitor its IT infrastructure, speed problem resolution and increase system performance across its distributed retail computing environments.

Kmart Corporation's (NYSE:KM) Bluelight.com subsidiarytoday announced that they have signed an e-commerce agreement with Global Sports(NASDAQ:GSPT) to provide services for the company's online shopping site.

intesource, a provider of web-based procurementservices to grocery and healthcare buyers, and Cleartrack Information Network, a leader in supply chain visibility, today announced astrategic partnership to deliver end-to-end online procurement and distribution services that manage the entire procurement supplychain, from supplier negotiations to dock delivery and post-delivery analysis.

Liquidation specialists have gotten fat selling the assets of dead dot-coms, but there is one type of asset they may have overlooked. Website Recycling Company, or Webreco, an online spinoff of the nearly 100-year-oldliquidation company Gordon Brothers, intends to resell or license software mostly from defuncttechnology companies.

Webvan Group Inc. announced on Monday that it is in the process of soliciting bids for the purchase of its business units, technology platforms and other assets. Interested parties must submit offers to the company by Aug. 27, 2001.