Field To Fork

The great rehiring is beginning in the United States with more than 7,300 employers reporting the most optimistic outlooks since 2000 for the three months ahead, according to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey. “Employers are ready to bring their workers back as restrictions lift and America gets ready to for the ‘New Next’ and ‘In Real Life’ connections resume,” says Becky Frankiewicz, ManpowerGroup president, North America. “Yet childcare challenges, health concerns and competition mean demand still outstrips supply, which is dampening the ‘big return’ of the American workforce. It’s a worker’s market and employees are acting like consumers in how they are consuming work, seeking fl exibility, competitive pay and fast decisions. Now is the time for employers to get creative to attract talent, and to hold onto the workers they have with both hands,” she adds.

Employers in all 12 U.S. industries report positive outlooks, including wholesale and retail trade (+29%); transportation and utilities (+26%); and durable and non-durable goods manufacturing (+25%). Go to page 16 to learn more about the labor shortage. Read more: https://foodl.me/yj6fw2

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Kloosterboer Group

Lineage Logistics announced plans to acquire Kloosterboer Group, a European-based integrated platform for temperature-controlled storage, logistics and value-added services in Europe.

“Welcoming Kloosterboer into the Lineage family marks a monumental step toward achieving our vision to become the world’s most dynamic temperature-controlled logistics company with the capability to serve customers in different countries around the world,” says Mike McClendon, Lineage’s president of international operations and EVP of network optimization. “Kloosterboer’s strong entrepreneurial culture and management team, combined with their state-of-the-art, strategically located facility network perfectly complement Lineage’s international footprint and innovative spirit, which will deliver incredible value to our combined customers.” Read more: https://foodl.me/ksdfjv

RLS Logistics, through its affi liate RLS Partners and its new warehouse partner, RLS Complete, announced plans to build a new cold storage warehouse in Sturbridge, Mass. Tippmann Innovation (Ti) will be leading the construction, with the facility set to open Q1 2022.

The facility will provide refrigerated and frozen food manufacturers, distributors, processors and importers in the Springfi eld, Mass., and Boston region with public cold storage warehouse capacity relief and access to RLS’ temperature-controlled less-than-truckload shipping programs.

“With all of the acquisitions we have seen in the past few years, coupled with tight capacity, the addition of RLS Complete will give refrigerated and frozen food customers more choices to work with a strong family run cold chain storage company that has a national footprint. Additionally, we bring a lot of experience and knowledge for customers looking for fully integrated cold chain solutions for warehousing and transportation,” says John Gaudet, VP, business development, RLS Logistics. Read more: https://foodl.me/ausaqv

RLS Logistics

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Peak-Ryzex, Inc. changed its name back to Peak Technologies, Inc., a return to the original company name in place since its founding in 1981 until Peak acquired Ryzex in 2011 and combined the names. This announcement comes on the heels of Peak-Ryzek being acquired by Sole Source Capital in early April.

“Over the last few years, we have added capabilities, battled through a pandemic together and have truly become ONE Peak, we feel that the time is now to re-brand the company,” says Juliann Larimer, president and CEO, Peak Technologies, Inc. “Our recent ownership change to Sole Source Capital was a major milestone for the company, and we look forward to the future in partnership with our new portfolio companies of OPI, Inovity, and Bar Code Direct.” Read more: https://foodl.me/bhpkmg

Following its $2.5 million investment partnership in inclusion, J.B. Hunt extended the collaboration for a $1 million endowed scholarship fund for supply chain inclusion. Students enrolled in the University of Arkansas’ Walton College, majoring in supply chain undergrad degree, will have an opportunity to apply for the scholarship and demonstrate their potential to advance inclusivity throughout the industry.

“Since launching our collaboration in December, we have identifi ed several opportunities to improve inclusion and sustainability that we are excited to ignite,” says Shelley Simpson, chief commercial offi cer and EVP of people and human resources at J.B. Hunt. “These funds will help jumpstart immediate needs while creating a long-term initiative to ensure that pursuing a career in supply chain is available to everyone.” Read more: https://foodl.me/qervxv

The Consumer Brands Association formed a new Supply Chain Health and Performance Task force that will increase visibility and ease any supply chain pressures felt across the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. Fifteen CPG companies joined the task force, using real-time visibility platform from FourKites to create an “air traffi c control” system that allows members to have a real-time view of their transportation footprint. “COVID-19 exposed supply chain vulnerabilities across all industries, but also created opportunities to collaborate,” says Consumer Brands’ VP of supply chain and logistics Tom Madrecki. “No company operates in a vacuum, and the same can be said of supply chains. The Supply Chain Health and Performance Task Force is the fi rst step toward building a modern supply chain system that is resilient and can support the future of the CPG industry.” Read more: https://foodl.me/amng7h

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Organic Valley completed Phase 1 of its dairy life-cycle assessment that evaluates on-farm greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farms in a diverse range of climates using different management practices. The company has reinforced its commitment to bringing ethically made organic food to consumers everywhere. According to an assessment by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the most significant difference in the carbon footprint of Organic Valley Milk is the inclusion of carbon sequestration in the LCA, which reduced the net farm emissions by an average of 15%. “Our LCA provides evidence of our lower-than-average farm carbon footprint. Our company-owned facilities are powered with 100% renewable electricity, and we’re continually exploring ways to reduce the business’s impact further,” says Nicole Rakobitsch, director of sustainability at Organic Valley. “Together, our farms, our business and our supply chain will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon.” Read more: https://foodl.me/j5gshh

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Convenience stores have notoriously been data deserts for CPG manufacturers. The best information c-stores have historically been able to offer CPG distributors and manufacturers is weekly sales data by region, not at the store level. As a result, c-stores haven’t been at the forefront of CPG brand strategies.

But, new near-real-time transaction data capture and analysis capabilities are changing that. New tools enable more sophisticated merchandising, promotion, pricing, strategies and more effective marketing across all channels. Now CPG brands can use these tools to measure the promotion impact, estimate volume per outlet and identify store performance. And, the opportunities don’t stop there.

Jason Lobel, VP of sales growth, PDI Software, explains how data capture can give CPG brands the ability to grow revenue in this expert column. Read more: https://foodl.me/j5gshh

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It’s a statistic often quoted among those in the food industry—48 million people in the United States get sick from food and beverages each year, and 128,000 of them end up hospitalized. Most know that much of this is preventable with appropriate food safety measures. Given the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 (FSMA) and a collective responsibility to ensure the safety of products, it’s important to utilize the right food equipment in the right ways. But, how does this mandate translate to your facilities’ loading docks and cold storage systems? What questions should you ask to ensure you’re in proper compliance with FSMA and other food safety standards?

Tom Sawyer, VP of sales, Miner, a division of OnPoint Group, offers three questions to think about in this expert column. Read more: https://foodl.me/z969n9

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The food production and logistics sector are no exception to the negative outcomes of this era of pandemic. From fi eld to the consumer, the COVID-19 crisis has touched and impacted every aspect of the supply chain. Considering the vast spread of the virus, movement restrictions of workers and essential items, changes in the pattern of consumption, closure of food production facilities, along with fi nancial constraints have resulted in a dire need of serious ramifi cations and technological innovations to keep the industry from disintegrating. The disruptions in the food supply chain have led to unforeseen demand of food while increasing the need for an effi cient supply chain “management.”

Dimple Jadhav, digital marketing manager, Adamas, details the Top 3 warehousing issues in this expert column. Read more: https://foodl.me/ejpf5y

Wyzo launched a new high-speed pick-and-place sidebot, designed to work side-by-side with human employees for lightweight applications in the food and beverage sectors, among others.

To meet a wide variety of production needs, Wyzo is designed to fi t anywhere on the production fl oor, can operate alongside human workers and can easily be moved from one workstation to another.

Plus, Wyzo says the sidebot produces picks at 80 cycles per minute thanks to the high-tech robotic arm and built-in vision systems. Read more: https://foodl.me/8qcmbx

Wyzo

Amazon’s new Bellevue, Wash., store allows consumers to skip the checkout line thanks to its Just Walk Out technology. Through a combination of computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning, this technology monitors a virtual cart that gets scanned at time of exit.

“Customers have enjoyed the effortless shopping experience enabled by our Just Walk Out technology at our Amazon Go, Amazon Go Grocery, Amazon Fresh stores in the UK and third-party retailer stores. The feedback has been fantastic, with customers noting that skipping the checkout allows them to save time and reduce contact in stores,” says Dilip Kumar, VP of physical retail and technology at Amazon. Read more: https://foodl.me/hs9r9b

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