Problem
To Be Solved:
Foodbrands
America is a major manufacturer and marketer of frozen
and refrigerated products. It services nationally recognized
foodservice, retail and refrigerated convenience food
companies, including Dominos Pizza, Sysco, Fleming,
and Alliant Food Service.
After
three solid years of double-digit growth, Foodbrands
was moving nearly $1 billion in products a year. As
a result, the company’s existing 175,000 square-foot,
16 dock door central warehouse and four auxiliary distribution
facilities in Kansas were no longer adequate to accommodate
their logistics needs.
The
Solution
Foodbrands
turned to Solertis to help it transition from a multiple
site, fragmented logistics infrastructure that the company
had outgrown into a sophisticated product flow strategy
encompassed by a single, 450,000 square foot Distribution
Center in Kansas City.
Foodbrands
was able to improve their logistics processes and operations
through a state-of-the-art 450,000 square foot distribution
facility built in Kansas City.
Our
program has become much more complicated in this new
facility because there are many more things going on
simultaneously,” says Dick Buell, President and
COO of Foodbrands. “With more dock doors, we’re
shipping and receiving in parallel—as opposed
to series—and our workforce had to make that adjustment.
Solertis helped in the training, discipline and systems
to make this more complex situation easier. They brought
the analytical, intellectual and execution skill sets
necessary to create the process flow we needed in this
new facility.”
One
of Solertis’ major roles in the project involved
the timing and workforce training prior to switching
from one facility and process into another. According
to Ann Elliott, Solertis’ president and CEO “Originally,
Foodbrands had set a target date of transitioning in
November. By following the Project Management Methodology
and monitoring the progress
of the new facility’s construction, we convinced
Foodbrands that this would be a bad business decision—particularly
because November was the beginning of their busiest
season. Because we had an unbiased perspective from
the outside, we were able to lend them insight that
ultimately led to a smart business decision.”
By
postponing the transition until March of the following
year, Solertis was able to coordinate additional training,
process redesign, and systems upgrades that were required
for an efficient, seamless transition into the new facility.
In fact, Foodbrands was able to maintain a 98 percent
case fill throughout the transition process.
The
Results
Solertis
was able to help Foodbrands achieve the following:
- Creating
a facility execution plan.
- A
successful transition from a multiple-site, fragmented
logistics infrastructure into a new state-of-the art
450,000 square-foot distribution facility. While maintaining
98 percent case fill in the process.
- Training
for Foodbrands employees to prepare for the new facilities
and processes.
- In
their new facility, Foodbrands now fills 44,000 pallet
positions moving through 54 dock doors.
Got
Challenges? Get Solutions. Contact
Solertis.
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