Strengthening the Supply Chain Links

As sports like baseball increasingly use metrics to enhance game strategies, so is the retail food industry turning to data-driven “game plans” to improve supply chain logistics beyond the truck terminal.

“Although consumers may have new apps on their phones to give them immediate access to a multitude of products, the supply chain teams must still physically move the product,” notes Scott Reily, SVP logistics at Brookshire Grocery Co., in Tyler, Texas.

Among the key issues Reily sees influencing product movement are pending government regulations that he feels will continue to redefine Brookshire’s supply chain processes and negatively affect efficiencies in the short term.

“Talent is still the key for any successful supply chain, so you must recruit and train people continuously,” he adds, noting that while “technology is moving faster, you must be selective and ensure that you choose the right systems and hardware to enable your team. We have more data than ever before, but you have to determine which data will help run your supply chain more efficiently.”

According to Reily, Brookshire's works with several associations to develop and present a unified message on these issues, and also networks with other members to learn new ideas and rethink processes.

“The successful and basic tactics for running daily operations will not change drastically, but the expectations of consumers will,” he observes.

Ahead of FSMA

Chris Lafferty, VP of sales at Jupiter, Fla.-based Locus Traxx Worldwide, which has the technology to monitor location, temperature, and security of cargo in the cold chain in real time, points out that the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), slated to go into effect on April 1, 2016, requires that temperature records must be maintained during transportation, as specified by the shipper, and that shippers and carriers must retain all trip records for a period of 12 months and provide them upon request. “Locus Traxx provides this today,” he asserts.

At C.H. Robinson, in Eden Prairie, Minn., VP of North American Truckload Bob Biesterfeld says: “There continues to be a need for shippers to gain as much access to variable and cost-effective truckload capacity as possible, so that is still a main focus and why we have developed a flexible and efficient model which allows customers to manage and transport product with greater control.”

Biesterfield’s company manages the retail food supply chain “from field to fork” and offers a suite of inventory management and multimodal solutions such as truckload, LTL (less than truckload), consolidation, intermodal, and global services. He notes that, in the past, retailers would look for a transportation solution, but “today we are asked to provide full supply chain solutions, which allow organizations to move from tactical to strategic operations and become more profitable.” According to Biesterfeld, the retailer with the most effective supply chain will win in the end.

Drivers Wanted

Addressing the current driver shortage, Cyndi Brandt, senior director of product marketing and alliances at Roadnet Technologies, asserts: “Technology will play an important role in recruiting and keeping younger-generation drivers. If you’re not providing technology to help them do their jobs, they will be less likely to accept or stay.” Dallas-based Roadnet, an Omnitracs company, provides last-mile vehicle routing and GPS tracking, which includes services from order scheduling to daily and strategic route planning; GPS tracking for drivers, sales reps and merchandisers; advanced proof of delivery; telematics; and proactive delivery notifications.

Scheduling and routing are becoming more important, Brandt observes, adding, “We see companies wanting to move away from a ‘batch’ routing environment, where they create routes one time per day, to a very dynamic environment where they can take orders at any time before a pre-defined cut-off and offer back an immediate delivery promise time.”

Roadnet is responding to this shift by making implementation of these scheduling technologies easier and requiring less IT work, according to Brandt. “Big Data is becoming less scary,” she says. “There are now tools that easily capture the data and make it meaningful for many — not just a few.”

For example, Roadnet has created domain-specific business intelligence tools called Insight that integrate real-time and historical data on route plans, route execution, and telematics data, allowing users to easily identify trends and make proactive change.

Timely and Transparent

Todd Holt, president of Cherry Hill, N.J.-based NFI, an international importer of fresh produce, sees tightening capacity, maximizing product shelf life, and consistent on-time service as key industry issues. Shippers can secure capacity, says Holt, by using dedicated fleets to handle regular shipments and using brokerage offerings to accommodate surges.

Ron Atapattu, president and founder of Miami-based Overseas Cargo Inc. (ShipOCI), typifies his company as a “4PL” company, meaning that above the third-party services of procurement, storage and distribution, “we also offer the necessary financial and technical consulting to support trade.”

Since many times, what customers require isn’t easily defined, “it is our job to decide on the best course of action that will satisfy their order in a timely and acceptable manner,” Atapattu says, adding that ShipOCI is constantly developing and fine-tuning its proprietary logistics software, RapidLink, to offer a transparent and interactive interface that gives customers full visibility throughout the entire process.”

Brian Holland, president and CFO of Fleet Advantage, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., says his company uses data analytics, industry expertise and flexible financial solutions to develop actionable intelligence that helps clients reduce fuel consumption and maintenance costs, improve efficiencies of their truck fleets, and be more environmentally responsible.

“Our primary focus,” he explains, “is to help educate private fleets on solutions to many of the issues facing the industry today, provide them with the tools to make better decisions about their fleets, and gain a competitive advantage by continuously driving down costs.”

According to Deep Sharma, V P, global research and development, and Scott Fenwick, senior director, product strategy at Atlanta-based Manhattan Associates, the company’s sophisticated transportation management systems (TMS) are able to maximize loads by building the most effective and enhanced shipping plans.

This system, they point out, allows retailers to minimize miles and capacity requirements, as well as maximize the use of fleets or dedicated capacity while accounting for other delivery and equipment constraints.

The supply chain logistics outlook is bright, assert Sharma and Fenwick, because food retailers are seeking to reduce costs, modernize their supply chains and maximize efficiencies, and they have diverse and comprehensive supply chain commerce solutions available to them right now.