Food Logistics March 2016

JOB SAFETY ANALYSIS 101

AIR CARRIERS BOOST CUSTOMER SERVICE

TELEMATICS FOR FLEETS

ARIZONA-SONORA TRADE PARTNERSHIP

Food Logistics

The “Food Logistics Champions: Rock Stars of the Supply Chain” award profiles people in our industry whose hard work and vision are driving the global food/beverage supply chain forward. Represented on the list are industry veterans and newcomers, corporate executives and entrepreneurs, and those with backgrounds in academia, agriculture and related industries. Congratulations to these Champions!

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™

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Global Supply Chain Solutions for the Food and Beverage Industry

+F&B TACKLES

SUPPLY CHAIN TRACEABILITY HEAD ON

CHRIS ANATRA NECS, Inc.

DAVID BENJAMIN Locus Traxx Worldwide

ROBERT F. BYRNE Terra Technology

TIM CORTES Plug Power

ANN DRAKE DSC Logistics

DON DURM PLM Trailer Leasing

CHAD LAUCHER ODW Logistics, Inc.

KRISTINE MAURO Kellogg Company

BRIAN MILLER Intesource, a PROACTIS Company

HOLLY MOCKUS Alchemy Systems

DOUG NIEMEYER TEKLYNX International SAS

STEVE SAGER ExtenData

JON SHAW Carrier Transicold & Refrigerated Systems

NELLY YUNTA Customized Brokers, a Crowley Company

ON THE COVER:

LEVERAGING THE POWER OF YOUR

3PL

AN OPEN, CONSISTENT FLOW OF INFORMATION IS A CRITICAL FIRST STEP.

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Issue No. 174 March 2016

FoodLogistics.com

Check it out!

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ON THE MENU

OCTOBER 2015 ISSUE NO. 171

ON THE MENU

MARCH 2016 ISSUE NO. 174 COLUMNS FOR STARTERS

Good Guys & Gals Finish First 6

Industry “champions” abound in the food supply chain, and Food Logistics aims to recognize them for their work. By Lara L. Sowinski COOL INSIGHTS

16 FDA To Finalize The FSMA Sanitary Transport Rule

COVER STORY

18

Leveraging The Power Of Your 3PL

An open, consistent flow of information is a critical first step.

By Mindy Long

-cab n i e h t E DR I V ution l o s ibright® SECTOR t n e REPORTS nagem fleet maWAREHOUSING ns 101 atioAnalysis c i 41p Job Safety l p a l l a JSA is vitally important in a cold for a Conducting storage environment. By Keith Loria

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artphone d tablet/sm 3rd party se a b id ro tions and ugh And l breakthro ll your fleet opera anagement porta a RIVE is a TRANSPORTATION s m D g t n n t® ri h ia b g ll tegrated t ri ri a in b ib y th a n n ’s a o It ti . ss solu vice acce software single de river can ther on a sy to use. The d a apps toge le and 42 e xib n-on. that is fle with a single sig on ™ applicati

SPECIAL REPORT

Air Carriers Focus On Customer Service

Temp-controlled air cargo shippers and others see measurable improvements in reliability, board ngle dash ly siMcCurry visibility and cold chain support.

Byiend John Driver-fr tablet.

SOFTWARE & TECHNOLOGY

Food Logistics’ Champions: Rock Stars Of The Supply Chain

view on an

Telematics Moves Into High Gear

Fleet management solutions add advanced analytics and refrigeration management.

By Elliot Maras

THIRD-PARTY & REFRIGERATED LOGISTICS

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ce:

an fits at a gl F&B Tackles RIVE bene ibright® D 49 Arizona-Sonora Partnership Supply Chain Points To Stronger Southwest Traceability Head On Cross-Border Trade Technological innovation

provides an arsenal of tools to provide end-to-end transparency. By Elliot Maras

52 Why Food Traceability Continues To Grow In Importance

Consumers and industry alike see the benefits of improved food traceability. By Russell Walker

DEPARTMENTS

Supply Scan 12 Food on the Move 50 Ad Index 8

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Our second annual list of movers and shakers who are helping shape the global food supply chain. By Editorial Staff

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FOOD (AND MORE) FOR THOUGHT

in-cab

in an RIVE: one screen nt ibright® D place on es importa ps in one e driver se all your ap Th tes rs. ra ive for dr • Integ ”Cards”. se format screen via easy-to-u gle sin a ail or ion on ch as e-m informat cations, su party appli any third • Links ns. . ps ca appli tio Google Ma integrated r sign-on for flows, drive es single job work ted • Featur ec dir hicle essages, , Driver Ve s driver m Logbooks ic on ctr • Display forms, Ele h more. initiated This and muc shboard. n Report back to da Inspectio take you rking. tton can bu e t while wo m ho ppen jus ha to • Device d nfigure can be co

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The release of the final rule in March 2016 ushers in changes for shippers and carriers. By Marc Beasley

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• Can book, YouT (e.g. Face efficiency. t (ROI). erations investmen es fleet op return on • Improv erations op et ivers. fle es your time for dr as n cre tio In ra • minist ork and ad tions s paperw mmunica driver co • Reduce t driver e making r withou dly interfac icate with the drive ien -fr er • Us commun n ca u easy. Yo n. /distractio sks. uctive ta interaction non-prod d cost on s time an ce du Re •

Business and government leaders create trade partnerships for food and other products.

By Julio Espinoza and Doug Bruhnke

WEB EXCLUSIVES • • FDA To Increase Foreign Food Facility Inspections, Finalize FSMA Rules • Blog: Five Ways Brands Can Create Consumer Trust In The Food Industry • FL’s Educational Webinar Series www.FoodLogistics.com

Published and copyrighted 2016 by AC Business Media Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

Food Logistics (USPS 015-667; ISSN 1094-7450 print; ISSN 1930-7527 online) is published ten times per year in Jan/Feb, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October and Nov/Dec

by AC Business Media Inc., 201 N. Main Street, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538. Periodicals postage paid at Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Food Logistics, PO Box 3605 Northbrook, IL 60065-3605. Canada Post PM40612608. Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Food Logistics, Station A, P. O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. Subscriptions: US, one year $45, two years $85; Canada & Mexico, one year $65, two years $120; International, one year $95, two years $180. All subscriptions must be paid in U.S. funds, drawn on U.S. bank.

Printed in the USA.

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FOOD LOGISTICS | MARCH 2016

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FOR STARTERS

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

GOOD GUYS & GALS

FINISH FIRST I SOWINSKI

n 2015, we launched Food Logistics’ Champions: Rock Stars of the Supply Chain, to recognize pioneers, innovators and leaders in our industry. This year, the number of applicants nearly doubled.

In reading through the completed questionnaires we received, our editorial team was struck by the stories and achievements of the men and women who applied. It’s fair to say that these champions do not consider their work as simply “a job.” Instead, they see their role as something deeper, and one that comes with great individual responsibility.

As I have witnessed over the years, people who share these traits are a hallmark of this industry. The fact that the ™ food they grow, transport and sell will ultimately end up in a school lunch, on a restaurant menu or a grocery shelf is not lost on them.

Rules and regulations only go so far; at the end of the day it’s the collective integrity of “good guys and gals” in our industry that help keep our food supply safe, fresh and bountiful.

These champions represent various segments of our industry as well.

The collaboration and partnerships

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required to support the multiple hand-offs along the food supply chain, from growers, packers and processors to logistics providers and retailers, are a good indication of the types of relationship building we see throughout all areas of our industry.

Our cover story on page 18, “Leveraging the Power of Your 3PL,” by veteran supply chain writer Mindy Long explores this further.

In addition, Managing Editor Elliot Maras offers a detailed update on tracking and tracing in the food and beverage supply chain (page 32).

The good news is that the rollout of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and software and technology tools are combining to propel the industry into a more standardized and digital environment that is boosting visibility and accountability along the way.

Food Logistics’ April special edition is devoted to the topic of maintaining safety from farm to fork. With the release of the final FSMA rule on the sanitary transportation of food set for March 31, 2016, we are hoping to have some initial reaction from the trade and will report on what we learn.

Enjoy the read.

LARA L. SOWINSKI, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR LSOWINSKI@ACBUSINESSMEDIA.COM

DETAILS

Published by AC BUSINESS MEDIA INC. 201 N. Main Street, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 (800) 538-5544 • www.ACBusinessMedia.com

WWW.FOODLOGISTICS.COM PRINT AND DIGITAL STAFF Group Publisher Jolene Gulley Associate Publisher Judy Welp Editorial Director Lara L. Sowinski lsowinski@ACBusinessMedia.com Editor Ronnie Garrett rgarrett@ACBusinessMedia.com Managing Editor Elliot Maras emaras@ACBusinessMedia.com Associate Editor Carrie Mantey cmantey@ACBusinessMedia.com Web Editor Eric Sacharski esacharski@ACBusinessMedia.com Ad Production Manager Cindy Rusch crusch@ACBusinessMedia.com Creative Director Kirsten Crock Senior Audience Development Mgr Wendy Chady Audience Development Mgr Angela Kelty ADVERTISING SALES (800) 538-5544 East Coast Sales Manager Judy Welp (480) 821-1093 jwelp@ACBusinessMedia.com Midwest/West Sales Manager Carrie Konopacki (920) 542-1236; Fax: (920) 542-1133 201 N. Main Street, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 ckonopacki@ACBusinessMedia.com National Automotive Sales Tom Lutzke (630) 484-8040; tlutzke@ACBusinessMedia.com EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Smitha G. Stansbury, partner, FDA & Life Sciences Practice, King & Spalding Raymond J. Segat, director, cargo & business development, Vancouver Airport Authority Dr. Barbara Rasco, professor and interim director, School of Food Science, Washington State University Adriano Melluzo, vice president, national sales, Ryder CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS PO Box 3605, Northbrook, IL 60065-3605 (877) 201-3915, Fax: (800) 543-5055 Email: circ.FoodLogistics@omeda.com LIST RENTAL Elizabeth Jackson, Merit Direct LLC (847) 492-1350, ext. 18, Fax: (847) 492-0085 Email: ejackson@meritdirect.com REPRINT SERVICES Carrie Konopacki (920) 542-1236; Fax: (920) 542-1133 ckonopacki@ACBusinessMedia.com AC BUSINESS MEDIA INC. Chairman Anil Narang President and CEO Carl Wistreich Executive Vice President Kris Flitcroft CFO JoAnn Breuchel VP Content Greg Udelhofen VP Marketing Debbie George Digital Operations Manager Nick Raether Digital Sales Manager Monique Terrazas

Published and copyrighted 2016 by AC Business Media Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

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SUPPLY SCAN

NEWS FROM ACROSS THE FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN Daily Updates at FoodLogistics.com

Federal Bill Will Outlaw Mandatory GMO Labeling Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, has introduced legislation that amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to add a “National Voluntary Bioengineered Food Labeling Standard.” Roberts’ legislation directs the agriculture secretary to establish a national voluntary bio-engineered food labeling standard for food within two years of enactment. The Sen. Pat Roberts labeling standard covers bioengineered food and any food that may contain bioengineered food. The legislation also allows USDA to establish requirements and procedures to carry out the standard. It doesn’t allow any claim to be made about the food’s quality or safety based upon its bioengineering status. It does call for USDA to conduct an outreach and education campaign on the safety of GMOs.

FDA Seeks $5.1 Billion For 2017, Including FSMA The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USDA) is requesting a total budget of $5.1 billion to protect and promote the public health as part of the President’s fiscal year 2017 budget – an 8 percent increase over the enacted budget for 2016. The overall request includes a net increase of $14.6 million in budget authority and $268.7 million in user fees for initiatives tied to several key areas, including the implementation of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FMSA) and efforts to improve medical product safety and quality. The agency is also seeking $75 million in new mandatory funding to support the National Cancer Moonshot initiative led by the vice president.

Farmworkers Call For Wendy’s Boycott Over Tomato Buying A farmworkers’ advocacy group has stepped up pressure on The Wendy’s Co. over its purchases of tomatoes by calling for a nationwide boycott of the Dublin, Ohio-based burger chain, according to news reports. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), started by farmworkers in Immokalee, Fla. in 2001, called for the boycott as part of its long-running campaign to convince Wendy’s to join the Fair Food Program. Several chains, including Wendy’s competitors McDonald’s and Burger King, have been part of the program for years. As part of that effort, the restaurants agree to pay a penny per pound surcharge directly to workers.

“Ten years ago, we sent a letter to Wendy’s asking them to follow Taco Bell’s example and work with us to protect farmworkers’ fundamental human rights in their supply chain,” the coalition’s Cruz Salucio said in a statement.

House Votes To Ease Calorie Disclosure Rules For Pizzerias, Delis And Grocers The U.S. House of Representatives voted to gut a proposed Food and Drug Administration rule requiring chain pizzerias, delis, and convenience stores to list the calorie content of their meals on menus or menu boards prominently on the premises.

Instead, takeout restaurants and grocers could choose to disclose calories only on their websites. The White House opposes the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act, saying it will leave Americans with less information to make healthy choices. Lawmakers said Domino’s Pizza would have to list the calorie content of hundreds of different combinations of crusts and toppings on a menu board to comply with the FDA’s rule.

U.S. LIQUOR IMPORTS The U.S. imports a lot of liquor – $7.26 billion in 2015. That’s 3 percent more than in 2014. In fact, hard alcohol import values have been steadily increasing every year since 2009. Whiskeys are by far America’s favorite hard alcohol import. The category that includes whiskeys, scotch, rye and bourbon accounts for almost a third of U.S. hard alcohol imports. In 2015, whiskey imports totaled $1.99 billion, with scotch and Irish whisky accounting for $1.69 billion, other whiskeys $294 million, and rye $11 million.

In 2015, American distillers exported $1.96 billion in hard alcohol.

Compared with 2014, exports declined a slight 0.04 percent.

Whiskeys are also the top U.S. liquor export. Within that category, bourbon is the number one spirit the U.S. exports, with $728 million in shipments in 2015.

Source: Datamyne.com

Source: Datamyne.com

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SUPPLY SCAN

NEWS FROM ACROSS THE FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN Daily Updates at FoodLogistics.com

NetSuite Inc. Acquires IQity’s Cloud Business NetSuite Inc. has acquired IQity’s cloud business. The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The acquisition extends NetSuite’s cloud ERP leadership and for the first time creates a single cloud software system that meets the needs of both discrete and batch process manufacturers of all sizes with the ERP power to run their core business operations along with the deep industry functionality required to meet ever-changing market needs and customer expectations. The combined strengths of NetSuite and IQity’s deep domain experience can enable manufacturers to manage their business more profitably from order-to-cash through build-to-ship, helping them to achieve overall operational excellence, take control of supply chain processes and improve business value, while reducing operating costs and IT overhead.

USDA Strengthens Food Safety Rules For Poultry The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced the finalization of new federal standards to reduce Salmonella and Campylobacter in ground chicken and turkey products, as well as in raw chicken breasts, legs and wings.

Based on scientific risk assessments, FSIS estimates that implementation of these standards will lead to an average of 50,000 prevented illnesses annually. As part of this move to make chicken and turkey items that Americans frequently purchase safer to eat, FSIS has also updated its microbial testing schedule at poultry facilities and will soon begin posting more information online about individual companies’ food safety performance.

FSIS uses pathogen reduction performance standards to assess the food safety performance of establishments that prepare meat and poultry products. By making the standards for ground poultry tougher to meet, ground poultry products nationwide will have less contamination and therefore result in fewer foodborne illnesses.

E2open Acquires Terra Technology E2open, a supply chain operating network, has acquired Terra Technology, a provider of supply chain solutions that help the world’s largest consumer product companies manage market volatility to make better business decisions.

Terra Technology’s solutions have helped companies including Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Mondelez International, Kimberly-Clark, ConAgra Foods, Kellogg, AkzoNobel and Shell outperform in volatile markets. Terra offers demand-sensing, multi-echelon inventory optimization, and transportation forecasting solutions, which incorporate data from the extended supply chain (like point-of-sale and logistics data) and advanced algorithms to improve supply chain performance.

“Terra’s demand-sensing capabilities allow companies to combine massive amounts of data from the supply chain to leverage demand signals, which dramatically improve forecast accuracy,” said E2open CEO Michael Farlekas.

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Amazon Strikes Distribution Pact With Morrisons Supermarket In The U.K. Amazon has launched its biggest foray into food outside of the U.S. with an agreement with U.K. supermarket Morrisons to offer fresh and frozen goods to customers, in some places as quickly as under one hour, according to Reuters. Enabling the online retail giant to compete with Britain’s biggest supermarket stores and smallest local shops, the agreement marks Amazon’s latest assault on a British market already buckling under the weight of fierce competition and rapid online growth.

Amazon will add fresh and frozen products to its existing offering of packaged grocery goods, setting it up against established online rivals Tesco and Ocado in Britain’s dedicated online retail market. Since 2013, Morrisons has outsourced logistics for its own online food business to Ocado. “Tesco could soon be about to find out what it’s like to be David rather than Goliath,” said Retail Vision consultant John Ibbotson.

FDA To Test Milk, Eggs, Corn, Soybeans And More For Glyphosate The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the nation’s chief food safety regulator, plans to start testing certain foods for residues of the world’s most widely-used weed killer after World Health Organization’s cancer experts last year declared the chemical a probable human carcinogen, according to Civil Eats, a news source for critical thought about the American food system.

The FDA’s move comes amid growing public concern about the safety of the herbicide known as glyphosate, and comes after the U.S Government Accountability Office rebuked the agency for failing to do such assessments and for not disclosing that short-coming to the public. Private companies, academics, and consumer groups have launched their own testing and claim to have detected glyphosate residues in breast milk, honey, cereal, wheat flour, soy sauce, infant formula, and other substances. www.foodlogistics.com

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FOOD ON THE MOVE

LOGISTICS TRENDS IN OUR INDUSTRY

ADMIRAL CLARIFIES COAST GUARD POLICY ON WEIGHT CONTAINERS

Admiral Paul Thomas of the U.S. Coast Guard stated that U.S. exporters and ocean carriers loading their cargoes at U.S. ports have been compliant with the Safety Of Life At Sea (SOLAS) convention and domestic shippers will not have to make changes in existing practices.

The Agricultural Transport Coalition (AgTC) welcomed the comments and said they are consistent with positions other countries take. The Admiral stated that the SOLAS Container Weight Certification Amendment provides flexibility pertaining to the ways carriers can get verified gross mass, and how they do so is a “business practice.” Current practice is for the shipper/exporter to provide accurate gross weight of its cargo, but not the container, which is controlled, maintained, owned or leased by the ocean carrier.

Admiral Paul Thomas

U.S. AND CUBA RESTORE AIR TRAVEL U.S. and Cuban officials signed an agreement in Havana that provides for the reopening of scheduled air services between the two nations for the first time in more than 50 years, according to Nasdaq. The move is expected to set off a scramble among U.S. carriers to win route rights to serve Havana, which will be capped at 20 round trips a day from anywhere in the U.S. Despite the restoration of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba last year, the U.S. government still doesn’t allow its citizens to visit Cuba strictly for tourism. Passenger and cargo carriers can apply, U.S. government officials said, and there is no restriction on aircraft type or size. The government expects to make its decision this summer and carriers could begin selling tickets on those flights in the fall.

The new aviation protocol doesn’t affect the charter flights now linking the U.S. and Cuba, and those flights can continue with unlimited frequency.

DAT SOLUTIONS’ MONTHLY FREIGHT REPORT

Shifts Strike The Reefer Market Mark Montague is industry rate analyst for DAT Solutions, which operates the DAT network of load boards and RateView rate-analysis tool.

He has applied his expertise to logistics, rates and routing for more than 30 years. He is based in Portland, Ore. For information, visit www.dat.com.

It’s rare that we see spot truckload rates hit the skids during the last week of a month.

Shippers are working double time to push freight out the door, and in fact shippers and brokers posted 8.5 percent more loads on the spot market during the last week of February.

Despite the jump in demand for truckload services, national average rates for van and reefer freight are down. The van rate fell 4 cents to $1.54 per mile to end the month while the reefer rate slipped 5 cents to $1.79 per mile. This is supposed to be a time when rates firm up. What’s going on?

For refrigerated food haulers, there’s a shift happening. Two main factors are involved.

More Imports

More Contract Freight

The Takeaway

Spending at restaurants has risen 6.1 percent over the past 12 months.

Consumers spending proportionally less of their food budget in grocery stores has a big impact on the supply chain. Restaurants typically order from large food service suppliers with private fleets or contract carriers, which eats away at the refrigerated freight volume available to carriers and brokers on the spot market.

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By Mark Montague

FOOD LOGISTICS | MARCH 2016

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We’re importing more produce and consuming less of the home-grown stuff (poor growing conditions in California and Florida are partly responsible). As domestic production declines, refrigerated freight activity is increasing at ports in the Southeast, and at border crossings between the U.S. and Mexico.

Imported foodstuffs include bananas, avocados, citrus fruit, peppers, tomatoes, and mixed vegetables.

If you specialize in refrigerated freight on the spot market, you can expect to find more of your loads originating at the borders and ports. Increased food imports means there’s greater demand for reefers at ports like Miami and Savannah, with an ever-larger portion of the reefer freight in those markets originating from Chile and neighboring countries. Other ports that bear foreign fruit include East Coast docks at Philadel-

phia/Wilmington, and New York/Newark, as well as Los Angeles/Long Beach.

The shift toward the ports also will have an effect on seasonal rate spikes. The spring rush in Florida won’t be as great, and the typical June boom in reefer rates may be muted as well.

If you have van freight or trucks, you may be affected, too. Every tractor and driver that pulls a reefer is one more unit that’s not competing with you. When fewer trucks compete for your loads during peak reefer seasons, everyone’s rates get a nice bump.

This year, the bump might be flatter, and trucks will be tight in Savannah and McAllen instead of Lakeland or Stockton.

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FOOD ON THE MOVE

LOGISTICS TRENDS IN OUR INDUSTRY

HAPAG-LLOYD

BECOMES FIRST OCEAN CARRIER TO PARTICIPATE IN CLOUD-BASED COLLABORATIVE STOWAGE XVELA, the creator of the world’s first cloud-based vessel stowage and collaboration platform for ocean carriers and terminal operators, and Hapag-Lloyd, one of the world’s largest liner shipping companies, have entered into a pilot program to carry out the first real-world trials of the XVELA platform.

Hapag-Lloyd is the first ocean carrier to sign on for the pilot program of XVELA’s next-generation solution, underscoring the company’s commitment to innovation.

The XVELA platform allows carriers and terminals to work together to improve visibility and increase efficiency throughout the vessel stowage planning and execution process.

The pilot program provides Hapag-Lloyd the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of XVELA’s cloud-based collaboration and real time information-sharing solution.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CONTAINER TERMINAL CLOSES OVER DRIVER COSTS

Hub Group Trucking has closed its Southern California terminal serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach just over a year after converting its local fleet from independently-contracted drivers to full-time employees, according to The Wall Street Journal. In an emailed announcement to customers, Hub Group Inc. Chief Executive David Yeager said the company will employ “a core group of high-service outside carriers” to bring container loads from the ports to nearby warehouses and rail yards, a service known as drayage.

The move comes as many drayage providers at the region’s ports are coming under pressure from groups of drivers who believe the independent contractor model that is prevalent at the port is unfair. Several drayage companies have lost million-dollar judgments before the state labor commissioner.

FMCSA PROPOSES TRAINING STANDARDS FOR ENTRY-LEVEL COMMERCIAL DRIVERS The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has proposed a set of comprehensive national prerequisite training standards for entry-level commercial truck and bus drivers seeking to obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL). This notice of proposed rule making (NPRM) presents the hybrid approach adopted by the Entry-Level Driver Training Advisory Committee (ELDTAC), combining a required minimum number of behind-the-wheel (BTW) hours (range and public road) with a prescribed theory curriculum for which no minimum number of hours is required. The NPRM incorporates performance-based concepts by requiring that driver trainees demonstrate proficiency in both the BTW and theory portions of the curricula.

The ELDTAC included FMCSA and a cross-section of representatives from motor carrier transportation, highway safety, driver training, state licensing, law enforcement, labor unions, and insurance organizations.

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12 NATIONS SIGN TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP, AWAIT U.S. AND JAPAN The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), one of the world’s biggest multinational trade deals, was signed by 12 member nations in New Zealand, but the massive trade pact will still require years of tough negotiations before it becomes a reality, according to Reuters. The TPP, a deal which will cover 40 percent of the world economy, has already taken five years of negotiations to reach the signing stage.

The TPP will now undergo a two-year ratification period in which at least six countries - that account for 85 percent of the combined gross domestic production of the 12 TPP nations must approve the final text for the deal to be implemented. The 12 nations include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

AGRO MERCHANTS GROUP TO BUILD TEMPERATURECONTROLLED FACILITY AT PORT OF HOUSTON The first phase of a 300,000-square-foot temperature-controlled cargo facility will be built at the Port of Houston Authority’s Bayport Container Terminal by AGRO Merchants Group, which provides cold supply chain operations globally. Upon completion, the facility will add to the state-of-theart infrastructure that’s already in place at Bayport, which opened in 2007 and is one of the newest container facilities on the Gulf Coast.

Negotiations between the Port Authority and AGRO Merchants Group regarding construction and operation of the refrigerated cargo center had been under way for some time and were successfully concluded recently. Plans call for the new cold storage facility at Bayport to be a multi-use building that will include stateof-the-art warehouse space to handle storage and the import and export of chilled and frozen meat, fish, poultry, fruits and vegetables.

www.foodlogistics.com

3/15/16 1:07 PM

TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT Charleston

We have added more than 400,000 sq. ft. of cold storage capacity, greater reefer capability at our terminals, and new reefer infrastructure.

This is how we keep reefer moving. And it’s why you owe it to yourself to give Charleston another look. SCReeferReady.com

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3/15/16 1:07 PM

COOL INSIGHTS

BY MARC BEASLEY

FDA TO FINALIZE THE FSMA SANITARY TRANSPORT RULE T ➊ BEASLEY

he Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) sanitary transportation rule under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) applies broadly to food products that are temperature-controlled for safety (meat, poultry, seafood, unpasteurized juices and processed produce), as well as food that is at risk for spoiling if not held under specific temperature conditions.

The FDA is scheduled to publish the final rule on March 31, 2016.

This article reflects Sensitech Inc.’s understanding of the rule at the time of this writing and it is not a substitute for reviewing the final rule’s full text.

The rule emphasizes prevention as the best approach to food safety problems, supporting this by setting requirements for companies engaged in the ground transportation of food. Specific requirements are outlined for shippers, carriers and receivers, yet the rule makes carriers the primary focus since they are per-

The rule identifies three themes of interest to customers:

Documentation

This includes monitoring and recording information that shows whether a process or action was in compliance. Examples include monitoring temperature during transportation, product temperature prior to loading, or pre-cool temperature of a truck. Documentation is subject to auditing and must be accessible within certain time frames and maintained for a minimum length of time.

Record-keeping and data collection are an integral part of good cold chain management.

Customers have been asking about moving from paper to electronic record-keeping. Key benefits of electronic record-keeping include ease of access, security and centralized control. Companies are encouraged to work with a solution offering an Internet-enabled application designed and built to comply with 21 CFR Part 11 FDA guidance and to meet current Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) guidelines for electronic recording keeping. Shippers, for instance, can use this system to document pre-loading inspections and product pre-cooling.

➋ Training

•

The FSMA’s sanitary transport rule emphasizes communication between shippers and carriers.

16

forming the transportation activity.

Tightening control of the cold chain can deliver business benefits such as improved efficiency, reduced perishable cargo shrink and better quality of temperature-sensitive cargo.

FOOD LOGISTICS | MARCH 2016

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Written procedures and agreements are required under the rule, which necessitate the need to provide and verify training for shippers, carriers and receivers involved in transportation. Furthermore, the rule requires that “competent supervisory personnel” are responsible for ensuring that transportation operations are carried out in compliance with all requirements.

This requirement provides a way to clearly identify the critical supply chain tasks to satisfy the food safety plan, the rule’s requirements and who is accountable for them.

➌ Communication The rule specifies that the shipper is responsible for communicating to the carrier, in writing, all conditions necessary to protect food from adulteration during transport, including trailer condition and sanitation, refrigeration settings, and pre-cool temperature. At the end of transportation, the carrier must demonstrate that temperature conditions have been maintained, by “any appropriate means agreeable to the carrier and the shipper.” This allows the shipper to take responsibility for acquiring and maintaining temperature records. The rule places emphasis on the communication between shippers and carriers.

Automation of data collection is a useful strategy. Many customers are utilizing the benefits of wireless temperature monitoring, which eliminates the need to physically interact with a device. This enables the data, such as end-of-trip reports and email alerts, to be shared with appropriate partners at the moment a temperature excursion occurs, an appointment will be missed, a door is opened, or the truck arrives at the receiver’s location.

Together, these activities can minimize the risk of foodborne illness, secure the integrity and safety of food, comply with standards and regulations, and increase supply chain visibility for all participants.

Marc Beasley is vice president of strategic marketing and business development for food at Sensitech Inc.

www.foodlogistics.com

3/15/16 1:14 PM

If it’s not fresh, you need to know.

Before she does.

Product temperature and location visibility—in real time.

For perishable products, the sooner you know about a potential delivery problem or temperature excursion, the better. With Sensitech’s Inbound Real-Time System, you see the what, where, when, and why of your entire global cold chain in time to make critical decisions.

• Know where and when things go wrong, so you can take proactive steps—like re-routing a delayed shipment or filing a claim.

• Get transparent, real-time visibility of carrier performance, so you know whether you’re getting what you commissioned.

• Simplify cold chain monitoring with a comprehensive solution that includes data collection, analysis, and expert support.

Sensitech helps you protect product freshness every step of the way.

A Part of UTC Building & Industrial Systems www.sensitech.com Amsterdam Bangalore Boston Hong Kong © 2016. Sensitech Inc. All rights reserved.

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Melbourne

Santiago

Shanghai

3/15/16 1:14 PM

COVER STORY 3PL

BY MINDY LONG

LEVERAGING THE

POWE OF YOUR

An open, consistent flow of information is a critical first step.

• 18

C

ommunication and collaboration are the most critical factors in establishing a successful relationship between food and beverage customers and their third-party logistics providers, and 3PLs say that the right information enables them to improve inventory turns, cut costs and improve service.

Mike Gardner, chief executive officer of Kane is Able Inc., based in Taylor, Pa., says having a trusting relationship and being deliberate

and proactive ensures shippers have what they need when they need it. “There is a high premium and high stakes to get the product to the customer when they want it,” he says, adding that it is the data that allows 3PLs to provide a higher level of service.

Gary York, director of global sales for C.H. Robinson in Eden Prairie, Minn., says, “Collaboration is probably the most important word and under utilized concept you can take advantage of in a

positive way to improve the supply chain throughout the world.”

Collaboration takes on even more importance when handling perishable products, such as produce, and that collaboration needs to span the full global supply chain, York says. “When I think of collaboration, I think of collaboration between governments, providers of fresh fruits and vegetables, between countries and companies that play across the supply chain,” he explains.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: APL Logistics, apllogistics.com | Burris Logistics, burrislogistics.com | C.H. Robinson, chrobinson.com | Columbian Logistics Network, columbianlogistics.com | Coyote Logistics, coyote.com | Kane is Able Inc., kaneisable.com

FOOD LOGISTICS | MARCH 2016

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www.foodlogistics.com

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“

The 3PL/customer relationship can flourish from the beginning if the engineers know

basic and accurate information about the products, like weights

WER

R

3PL Sharing early in the relationship

Providers say the need for information starts early in the relationship. When Justin Woodall, vice president of supply chain for Nutrabolt, a Bryan, Texas-based manufacturer of nutritional products, started working with Kane is Able, he was forthcoming with his data. “If you’re not willing to share the data, you will end up having issues down the road that you could have addressed earlier. In the end, you want to be able to share everything that needs to be shared to make the partnership the best that it could be,” he says.

www.foodlogistics.com

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and dimensions, lot or batch code structures, allergen sensitivities or other properties.”

Blair Thomas, director of customer care, Columbian Logistics Network

• Distribution

and fulfillment is one of many services offered

by Kane Is Able.

• Kane Is Able

operates a national network to support its customers.

MARCH 2016 | FOOD LOGISTICS

19

3/17/16 1:36 PM

COVER STORY continued

included “If we’re in their annual budgeting process,

we can make their cost-saving goals our goals. We may

be able to come up with ideas they hadn’t thought of.”

John Kelley, senior account director, APL Logistics

The challenge was much of Nutrabolt’s data was outdated because the company was growing rapidly.

Not only was Nutrabolt adding new SKUs at a rapid pace, it didn’t have the systems in place to capture all of the data it could have.

Woodall used Kane is Able’s expertise to help refine and fill in data and, later, obtain better information.

Ken Joseph, director of operations for Kane is Able, says the two companies went back and forth to get the figures they needed. “At one point we said to heck with the data. We’ll figure it out with you,” he says.

Now the information flows back and forth, enabling both parties to use it to improve operations. “As we collect data in a more secure or stable environment, Justin and his crew are able to use it,” Joseph says.

Woodall says that collaboration helped increase the company’s already explosive growth. “The pain points are what slow you down,” he

says, adding that Kane is Able helped Nutrabolt eliminate manual checks and improve order accuracy as well as its overall warehouse operations.

John Kelley, senior account director with APL Logistics, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., says collaboration is most effective when it takes place on multiple levels, particularly when it occurs early in the planning process.

APL Logistics holds quarterly business reviews, weekly opps calls and monthly financial calls with its food accounts.

“If we’re included in their annual budgeting process, we can make their cost-saving goals our goals. We may be able to come up with ideas they hadn’t thought of,” Kelley says, adding that the company recently suggested a trailer detention program for a customer that resulted in millions of dollars of savings.

Nutrabolt even tries to engage Kane is Able as it is developing new SKUs. “They’ll put in their input before we get too far down the product development phase, but sometimes we have to react quickly and it might

only be a couple of days notice and they’ve done well with adapting and overcoming that with us,” Woodall says.

Blair Thomas, director of customer care at Columbian Logistics Network, based in Grand Rapids, Mich., says it is important for 3PLs to obtain master data—the complete list of parts, ingredients, items, SKUs or other materials that the customer intends to store—along with velocity information from customers.

“3PLs have very sophisticated industrial engineering departments these days, so the more data they have at the front end, the better engineered the solution will be,” Thomas says. “The 3PL/customer relationship can flourish from the beginning if the engineers know basic and accurate information about the products, like weights and dimensions, lot or batch code structures, allergen sensitivities or other properties.”

In today’s operating environment, having data is no longer enough. It needs to be in real time. With the

Old Dominion’s focus on premium service means every item arrives with one of the lowest claims ratios and one of the best on-time records in the industry.

Old Dominion Freight Line, the Old Dominion logo, OD Household Services and Helping The World Keep Promises are service marks or registered service marks of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. All other trademarks and service marks identified herein are the intellectual property of their respective owners.

FOOD LOGISTICS MARCH

www.foodlogistics.com © 2016 Old Dominion Freight| Line, Inc., 2016 Thomasville, N.C. All rights reserved.

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4/5/16 8:40 AM

right systems, 3PLs can increase visibility, which in turn allows shippers and providers to speed up the cold chain so products arrive in a fresher fashion and retailers can increase inventory turns.

“Longer shelf life equals additional profits,” York says. “Utilizing technology that allows our customers to see the product in transit and understand what the most Ultimately, optimized routes we want to look like and give them achieve that as part of the norm. real-time When you’re visibility.” able to be able John Haggerty, vice president of business development, to understand Burris Logistics routes, vessel routes, lanes and take hours and days out of the supply chain, that is important.”

John Haggerty, vice president of business development for Burris Logistics, based in Milford, Del., says, “Ultimately, we want to give them real-time visibility. In some cases we’re performing the replenishment

“

OD Domestic offers:

function by managing data for the customers. In a collaborative way we’re working with the retailer to do the forecasting and planning.”

Michael Sinkovitz, senior director of operations for Coyote Logistics based in Chicago, Ill., says visibility is a common need among food and beverage shippers as it can prevent detention, late deliveries and other supply chain disruptions. To speed the flow of information, Coyote has

implemented programs between its systems and shippers’ enterprise resource planning systems to allow for seamless communication through electronic data interchanges, phone, e-mail or Coyote’s web-based portal, coyote.com.

• Burris Logistics

operates a 260,000-squarefoot refrigerated and frozen food distribution facility in Rocky Hill, Conn.

Customer success is a common goal In addition to having operating information and timely data, Sinkovitz

• More than 220 service centers nationwide • Competitive transit times and pricing • Proactive shipping solutions

For more information, visit odfl.com or call 1-800-235-5569.

www.foodlogistics.com

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MARCH 2016 | FOOD LOGISTICS

21

4/5/16 8:40 AM

COVER STORY continued says 3PLs need to know how the customer defines success so everyone is working toward a common goal, which leads to continuous collaboration and a healthier business relationship. “It’s extremely important that a 3PL understands a customer’s overall business objectives and what key performance indicators the customer uses to monitor its network and drive business decisions,” he says.

Technology, such as GPS devices, facilitates data exchanges and ensures nothing is lost, but Gardner says human interaction is crucial to communication. Personal interaction adds to the relationship and regular conversations can help shippers and 3PLs work together to minimize pain points.

Because Nutrabolt is growing rapidly, it can create a number of challenges, and key team players work together to find solutions. “When Nutrabolt needs to move fast, they have access to our senior leadership and we’re able to move quickly. That matches up with their need to go fast in their market,” Joseph says, adding that Kane is Able’s network facilitates additional collaboration between its customers.

It’s extremely important that a 3PL “ understands a customer’s overall

business objectives and what key

performance indicators the customer uses to monitor its network and drive business decisions.”

Michael Sinkovitz, senior director of operations, Coyote Logistics

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For Nutrabolt, the end of the can help ensure business continuity month is a tedious, busy time, when problems arise. “It is coming up but Kane is Able shifts its labor with creative solutions to mitigate force within some warehouses to something that has happened in the accommodate the surge Nutrabolt is supply chain,” he says. experiencing. “We’re able in some of With the right information, 3PLs the facilities to use employees that can run models for shippers to are dedicated to the other side of create different “what-if” scenarithe building. Our busy times don’t hit os. “You have to have access to all at the same time as the other comof their supply chain costs from panies,” Woodall says. inbound and outbound Improved informastandpoint and supplier When Nutrabolt tion can help facilitate expenses as well,” needs to move fast, multivendor consoliKelley says, adding that dation, which allows the analysis typically they have access shippers to achieve to our senior results in a 10 to 15 better economy of scale. leadership and percent cost savings “Bringing together across the network. we’re able to move multiple food shippers Although the sharing quickly. That matches going to the same des- up with their need to go of information can tination to share assets optimize the relationfast in their market.” brings transportation ship, some shippers are Ken Joseph, director of operations, savings, which is one reluctant to share data, Kane is Able of their biggest supply which is why there has chain costs, but it can to be a certain level of improve service,” Kelley says. integrity, Gardner says. “It is about Haggerty says consolidation communication, trust and mutual programs eliminate multiple lessrespect. If they’re honest with the than-truckload deliveries to retailers pain points and willing to share data, to give them fewer deliveries and we can get to a good place and a good reduced paperwork. “We’re doing answer,” he says. this in fresh categories, private-laYork says, “It still is a world where bel products, produce and frozen,” our customers are looking for advanHaggerty says. tages and you have to be secure with The fresh categories have experithe information they give you.” enced massive SKU proliferation and Woodall says Nutrabolt and Kane orders are becoming more frequent have developed a strong relationship and smaller, Haggerty explains. “What and both companies trust each other has happened as a result is retailers and are both working to create a are having a more difficult time optiwin-win situation. mizing the shelf with shelf availability “With Kane, we’ve had a really and manufacturers are having a hard good partner helping guide us and time filling orders,” he says. being our eyes on the ground. We’re Gardner says 3PLs’ flexibility not there, so we rely on them to be an extension of us to troubleshoot and help us continually improve,” Woodall says.

Thomas says the 3PL/customer relationship is no place for secrets.

“The more open and honest a manufacturing or food processing firm can be about what those complexities look like, the better the final solution will look,” Thomas says.

Mindy Long is a writer specializing in transportation and logistics. She has been writing professionally for more • Coyote promotes a tight-knit company culture. than 15 years.

“

www.foodlogistics.com

3/17/16 1:36 PM

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3/17/16 1:36 PM

2016 CHAMPIONS

BY FOOD LOGISTICS EDITORS

6

ROCK STARS OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN

™

L

ast year, we introduced our inaugural Food Logistics Champions: Rock Stars of the Supply Chain award as a way to recognize influential individuals in our industry for their hard work, vision and leadership in shaping the global food supply chain.

This year’s response was exceptional. Readers of Food Logistics nominated nearly twice as many industry professionals who exemplify these traits and we are thrilled to profile them in the 2016 Champions: Rock Stars of the Supply Chain .

Chris Anatra,

Todd Baggett,

President, NECS, Inc.

Founder & Chief Executive Officer, RedLine Solutions

With his positive attitude, guidance and leadership, Chris Anatra sets the bar high for his team in meeting the unique needs of foodservice distributors. He first became involved with the food supply chain more than 25 years ago when he began writing software for foodservice distributors. His journey began with writing code in a makeshift office above his parents’ garage while working for a full-line food distributor.

In 1990, his company, NECS, Inc. was officially formed. Anatra’s software, originally written in DOS, later became known as “entrée” for Windows-based computers.

Currently, almost 1,500 foodservice distributors across the U.S. and Canada depend on “entrée” to keep their operations running at peak efficiency. NECS, Inc. currently employs a team of 25 creative programmers and technical support staff.

Ron Atapattu, President & Founder, Overseas Cargo, Inc. (ShipOCI) Ron Atapattu has created one of South Florida’s leading 3PLs that is at the forefront of supply chain management by offering customers the total logistics solution. His engineering background and early exposure to computers paved the way for the development of proprietary software, Rapid Link and eRapidbuy.

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Todd Baggett founded RedLine Solutions 18 years ago with a mission to help automate manual processes in the produce industry, a goal that expanded to help companies meet traceability requirements after the inception of the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI). He is currently the co-chair of the PTI Technology Working group and is a member of the PTI Leadership Council.

Brandon Bandlow, Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, TTS Logistics Brandon Bandlow has been involved with logistics on both the military and civilian side with experience in heavy haul, flatbed, hazmat and refrigerated materials. Since starting with TTS Logistics, his vision of transparency and open communication has resulted in 150 percent growth of the company in 2015.

Fred Baumann, Group Vice President, Global Manufacturing Industry Strategy, JDA Software Fred Baumann leads JDA’s Flowcasting business initiative, which enables retailers, distributors and manufacturers to optimally manage the flow and production of inventory through the end-to-end supply chain based on sell-through demand. He co-authored The Ultimate Retail Supply Chain Machine: Connecting the Consumer to the Factory with the VICS CPFR® Committee Advisory Team (now a part of GS1).

Joey Benadretti, President, SYSPRO USA As president of SYSPRO USA, Joey Benadretti has concentrated on building an in-depth organization and sales channel to meet the growing needs of both the company’s expanding reseller channel and the SYSPRO user base.

Benadretti is highly regarded in ERP circles for his marketing capabilities, strategic initiatives and thought leadership for which he has received numerous industry honors.

David Benjamin, President & Chief Executive Officer, Locus Traxx Worldwide David Benjamin is a seasoned entrepreneur with several successful startups and turn-around engagements to his credit. His management and technology experience over the last 35 years has proven his ability to develop unique value propositions for markets worldwide. He led Locus Traxx Worldwide’s global expansion of the first M2M product line focused on real-time monitoring of perishable and high-value products as they transit the world. Under Benjamin, Locus Traxx Worldwide has transformed from a small startup company into an international business with locations in North America, South America, Asia and Europe.

Ed Brown, Chief Executive Officer, Topper Industrial Ed Brown, often referred to as the “Father of Fork-Free Delivery Carts,” has helped develop a variety of industrial carts and systems for multiple applications that are used with tuggers and automated guided vehicles that have advanced the way material is delivered to the line. He holds patents relating to ergonomics and safety.

www.foodlogistics.com

3/17/16 3:01 PM

Robert F. Byrne, Chief Executive Officer, Terra Technology Robert F. Byrne is a visionary in creating sustainable supply chains and enabling companies to serve more people with fewer raw materials. He provides commentary in conference presentations, writes articles and gives interviews. Most recently, he was cited in The Wall Street Journal as an expert on network complexity, item proliferation and the cost to industry.

The Terra Technology Forecasting Benchmark Study that Byrne initiated is considered the industry reference for demand planning performance for analysts.

Byrne works with academic organizations on research to improve forecast excellence.

He is on the board of directors for the University of Tennessee’s top-rated supply chain management program and established a scholarship at Texas A&M University to foster the next generation of supply chain leaders. He also recently teamed up with the ESCP Europe Business School to offer a conference on the new frontiers of collaborative innovation in supply chain.

David E. Cantu, Sales Director, Marten Transport David E. Cantu is active in the produce,

meat and poultry transportation and logistics sector with Marten Transport, where he serves the South Texas and Mexico territories. His knowledge of this field allows growers and packers to take advantage of the opportunities to develop business between Mexico and the U.S.

Carla Carver, Vice President of Planning & Execution, Post Consumer Brands Carla Carver is responsible for the planning and execution of trade programs, as well as the integrated S&OP process, manufacturing and distribution network optimization, logistics, warehousing and customer service at Post Consumer Brands. She previously held the position of company controller, bringing a sense of value and where resources should be focused.

Tim Cortes, Vice President of Hydrogen Energy Systems, Plug Power Under Tim Cortes’ leadership, Plug Power has developed hydrogen fueling infrastructure options that enable customers with as few as 20 trucks to adopt the productivity-enhancing power solution.

Plug Power installed this scaled solution at customer sites across North America.

Cortes joined Plug Power as vice president of hydrogen energy systems in January of 2015. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the GenFuel business, including interactions with customers, partners and suppliers critical to increasing Plug Power’s growing market share within the hydrogen fuel industry. Prior to joining Plug Power, Cortes served as chief technology officer and vice president of engineering at Smiths Power.

Arthur Dardoumbas, National Solutions Manager, Toll Group – Customised Solutions Arthur Dardoumbas led the Toll Group’s implementation and use of the advanced slotting optimization tool, OptiSlot DC, to address the complexities of slotting in distribution centers. With a focus on constant and consistent improvement, and by looking at operations through the “customer lens,” he was able to improve efficiencies, reduce product damage, boost worker safety, and raise client satisfaction levels during the implementation of OptiSlot within Toll’s first food and beverage DC.

R.O.I. (Retrofit. Optimize. Improve.)

With increased demands on warehousing, such as SKU proliferation, shorter delivery times and traceability, it’s tempting to replace your legacy automation system. But there’s no need. Retrotech can help.

• Retrofit. As the pioneer in live retrofits, we can upgrade your system without disrupting operations.

• Optimize. Based on equipment analysis and system modeling, we will use our WCS/Enhanced WCS to maximize the potential of your existing automation systems.

• Improve. Our team can upgrade all OEMs’ automation equipment to increase flexibility, capacity and efficiency.

Increased ROI and zero downtime. Sweet.

It does pay to make the most of what you already have.

To learn more, visit www.retrotech.com/ROI or call 866-915-ASRS (2777).

2015 TOP

Where Inspiration Drives Automation www.foodlogistics.com

PROVIDERS

MARCH 2016 | FOOD LOGISTICS

25

Visit us at MODEX—Booth #2447.

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3/17/16 3:01 PM

2016 CHAMPIONS continued

Ann Drake, Chief Executive Officer, DSC Logistics Ann Drake has guided DSC Logistics to become one of the leading supply chain management firms in the U.S. Under her leadership, DSC Logistics grew to reach both coasts, providing nationwide service to customers. Early on, she worked to consolidate 22 warehousing companies into one entity—with one name and identity—DSC Logistics. The new identity symbolized DSC’s company-wide emphasis on integrated logistics services, consistency across the network and operations, and technology. Since then, she has worked to support the growing complexities in the supply chain environment, guiding the company in developing supply chain visibility tools, establishing a supply chain solutions team to lead the development of creative solutions to help customers achieve business goals, developing a standard-setting labor management program, expanding value-added services capabilities, and adding a dimension to the role of strategic supply chain partner by working as a Lead Logistics Partner (LLP).

Don Durm, Director, Strategic Customer Solutions, PLM Trailer Leasing Don Durm, a recipient of last year’s Rock Star award, has become a champion of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and more specifically the sanitary transport rule. With the upcoming rules coming into effect, he has worked to develop a format for the rules that the industry can understand. He has been on a traveling road show, presenting his guidance to prepare the industry to meet the regulations. Institutions such as Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences have recognized his information and provided it for public consumption.

Durm has led PLM’s national sales force in the development of an educational strategic initiative to help customers and vendors understand the regulatory requirements. He is a member of the Global Cold Chain Alliance and was appointed to the Refrigerated Transportation Best Practices Guide Task Force, which is developing international best practices to provide universal guidance as it relates to regulatory compliance for the FSMA.

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Bob Elkins,

Charles G. Kiolbasa, Jr.,

Senior Vice President & General Manager, Dedicated Services, Schneider

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Layer Saver Charles G. Kiolbasa, Jr. is the inventor of Layer Saver shipping frames, steel shipping frames that allow producers to safely double-stack product in their trucks/ railcars/ocean containers. Last year, Layer Saver introduced a fold-down version that allows producers and shippers to accumulate up to 150 shipping frames before shipping them back. This further reduces the amount of trucks/railcars/ocean containers in circulation to help shippers and producers lower transportation costs and reach sustainability goals.

Bob Elkins has helped customers deliver goods more efficiently and safely, resulting in the growth of Schneider’s Dedicated Services business by 16.5 percent in two years.

His team developed customized solutions for retailers in areas like distribution center-to-store deliveries and home deliveries for omni-channel grocers.

Joseph Greene, Former President, Distribution Management Systems, Inc. Joseph Greene grew up in a family-owned foodservice distribution business and founded Distribution Management Systems to develop computer solutions for other food distributors. He is among the first to develop a non-punch card solution for food distribution and one of the first to develop a remote order management solution for food DSRs.

Kristy Knichel, President & Chief Executive Officer, Knichel Logistics Kristy Knichel is a second-generation logistics executive who began her career as an intermodal dispatcher. Since becoming president in 2007, she has helped guide Knichel Logistics from $2 million to nearly $50 million in annual revenue, and has been ranked on the Inc. 500 list of North America’s fastest-growing, privately owned businesses for four years.

Abtin Hamidi, Co-Founder & Vice President of Sales, Cargo Chief Abtin Hamidi was a vice president at BAM Worldwide and president of XPO Logistics’ Chicago office prior to founding Cargo Chief, a 3PL that uses patented, proprietary aggregation and machine learning technology to find inefficiencies in the transportation process. He led the development of the technology that helps Fortune 100 food and beverage customers solve shipping capacity problems.

Stephane Labillois, Vice President, Transport and Logistics, Leclerc Group Stephane Labillois is the leader of logistics at Leclerc Group, a Canadian manufacturer of granola bars and cookies that has six production plants, including three in the U.S. Using a six-person team, Labillois has led the implementation of a full transport management system, a full yard management system and the automation of loads preparation in the Quebec City distribution center in the past year.

Brandon Henning, Industry Solutions Director, Sparta Systems, Inc. Brandon Henning has led the team at Sparta responsible for developing solutions that help food and beverage manufacturers reduce the complexity of managing their suppliers and supplier network. His team developed a five-step methodology for implementing a streamlined supplier quality management program to enable companies to meet the new supplier and importer quality management rules, and to help decipher and clarify the necessary steps to reach FSMA compliance.

Paul Laman, Vice President, DMW&H

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Paul Laman heads up the Wholesale Wine & Spirits Group at DMW&H, and is recognized as a leading industry analyst. Laman has helped automate more than 35 wine and spirits facilities and has been able to deliver significant value to customers by designing solutions that improve fulfillment rates, maximize space utilization, improve order accuracy and minimize operational costs. www.foodlogistics.com

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2016 CHAMPIONS continued

Chad Laucher, Key Account Manager, ODW Logistics, Inc.

Scott Marr,

Chad Laucher’s 3PL transportation career spans 18 years, and includes transportation work experience in the automotive, retail and food sectors. In the automotive industry, he helped manage 200 to 300 expedited ground loads per day for a major manufacturer. A focus on carrier compliance helped to improve on-time delivery from 94 to 98 percent. In the retail sector, Laucher was part of a management team that supplied customers at more than 200 mall locations with weekly dock-tostore deliveries. His transportation experience in the food sector includes routing customer orders to reduce cost per pallet while maintaining on-time delivery. Laucher led his team to help a food sector customer gain $315,000 in transportation savings in the first six months of working together.

Gerald Lessard, Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, West Liberty Foods Gerald Lessard has spent his career building teams for success, most recently at West Liberty Foods, where he has been instrumental in building the business from a few million dollars a year to over $1 billion per year.

James Lugg, President, J Lugg & Associates James Lugg is recognized as a pioneer in the fresh produce industry for the development of food safety metrics and good agricultural practices. He holds noteworthy positions on the College of Natural Resources Advisory Board at the University of California, Berkeley and with the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Davis.

Michael Lyle, President & Chief Executive Officer, InfinityQS International, Inc. More than 25 years ago, Michael Lyle sat in a mobile home-turnedoffice writing code with the goal of giving manufacturers a better way to leverage industrial statistics and SPC methodology, and turn quality into a competitive advantage. The code he wrote is now InfinityQS’s

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enterprise quality management platform, which is used by more than 2,500 global organizations, including 15 of the top 25 food and beverage manufacturers.

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President and Founder, Fleet Clean Systems, Inc. Scott Marr began providing trailer washout services when he was 15 years old when a produce company gave him the opportunity to wash out their delivery trucks. This led him to founding a full-service mobile fleet washing company, Fleet Clean. He developed Fleet Clean’s proprietary technology, an app that documents the wash-out process to fulfill the requirements of the FSMA.

Kristine Mauro, Vice President of North America Integrated Planning, Kellogg Company Kristine Mauro leads all aspects of planning for Kellogg Company— including demand, supply, capacity and longrange planning—as well as the global supply transition for the company’s Pringles divestiture, which she helped integrate into the global supply chain following Kellogg’s purchase of the snack food company in 2012. Mauro has led the charge to identify and anticipate global inconsistencies. She also helped create a supply chain center of excellence to allow the continuous analysis, design and improvement of the corporate supply chain. Mauro worked with Kellogg’s global partners to use LLamasoft to optimize and simulate the company’s supply chain end to end, helping Kellogg gain a competitive edge. Mauro’s training and coaching has helped team members expand their knowledge and expertise, while bringing Kellogg’s modeling in house.

Mick McCormick, Vice President, Warehouse Solutions, Yale Materials Handling Corporation, part of Hyster-Yale Group Mick McCormick has been integral to the development and launch of the Yale walkie pallet truck powered by lithium-ion technology, the first UL-recognized lithium-ion battery pack in the lift truck industry.

Don McMillan, Senior Director, Marketing & Operations, Americas, EnerSys As senior director of marketing and

operations for the Motive Power division of EnerSys, Don McMillan has been instrumental in launching the EnerSys Convert to Electric (C2E) program, which has resulted in converting about 200 customer sites from internal combustion engine-powered lift truck fleets to electric. The program is the only one of its kind dedicated to helping lift truck fleets convert to battery power.

Rick Mello, President, Northern Refrigerated Transportation What started as a family operation hauling milk cans and tankers from small dairies to the creamery has grown into a more than 200 truck operation serving six western states as Northern Refrigerated Transportation under Rick Mello. He has kept the company on the cutting edge of technology by converting the fleet of over 300 trailers with the latest advanced logistics technology.

Brian Miller, Vice President of Services, Intesource, a PROACTIS Company Brian Miller brings more than 23 years of food and beverage industry experience to the Intesource team. Miller is in charge of all consulting services, including business discovery services, business value assessment and the execution of all best practices methodologies. As a sourcing advisor in the grocery, retail and restaurant markets, Miller advises top brands, including Wegmans, Rite Aid, SpartanNash and Arby’s Supply Chain Cooperative.

Miller works with procurement teams to give them the tools and resources they need to foster innovation, boost efficiency and drive bottom-line growth.

Rick Milligan, Director, Supply Chain Solutions, Inmar Rick Milligan has spent his entire career in product packaging and supply chain optimization, facilitating major supply chain improvements for some of the world’s largest brands and food product manufacturers. Milligan is a member of the Institute of Packaging Professionals, and serves as Inmar’s representative to the Food Management Institute (FMI) Industry Collaboration Council.

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Holly Mockus, Product Manager, Alchemy Systems Holly Mockus helps Alchemy Systems create world-class workforce development solutions for large, complex operations within the food industry.

Mockus has held positions in food safety, quality assurance, sanitation and plant regulatory affairs. She has authored several chapters related to the importance of record keeping and documentation in the food industry. Mockus was honored as the 2013 recipient of the Safe Quality Food Institute’s Outstanding Achievement Award, and is passionate about the importance of training in the food industry, including the cultivation of successful safety cultures.

Frank Morgiewicz, Chief Executive Officer, ArrowStream, Inc. With 2015 being his first full year as CEO, Frank Morgiewicz has successfully led the transformation of ArrowStream from a strictly managed freight organization to a technology soft-

ware leader in the restaurant and foodservice distribution industries. His vision and forward thinking is best demonstrated with ArrowStream’s patented, cutting-edge SaaS solution—Crossbow—which is unique to the foodservice industry.

Ken Mullen, Senior Managing Partner, Supply Chain Solutions, enVista Ken Mullen has helped hundreds of companies across a variety of industries understand and address complex supply chain challenges, from source to consumption, using his project management success, and expertise in designing and deploying supply chain execution and planning systems. He also writes a blog entitled, Mullen Over the Supply Chain.

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Dr. Kakha Nadiradze, President, Association for Farmers Rights Defense (AFRD) Kakha Nadiradze serves as the country of Georgia’s representative and national coordinator of the Southern Caucasus countries of the Global Coalition for Sustained Excellence in Food and Health Protection, and has been appointed as a task force member of the Global Genome Biodiversity Network.

Lee Neal, Director of Transportation Services, M&W Distribution Lee Neal started the Walmart Multi-Vendor Consolidation Program out of M&W Distribution’s Atlanta facility in 2015, which has allowed M&W to become an approved pool provider for Walmart.

Neal was also instrumental in developing a shipping schedule for the company’s facilities to enable the warehouses to better utilize their labor and maximize the cube on the consolidation program.

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MARCH 2016

| FOOD LOGISTICS

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Graham Newland, Chief Customer Officer, International Business Systems (IBS) Known as a pioneer and leading innovator in the supply chain, Graham Newland is the first-ever chief customer officer at IBS, overseeing all customer service functions, including professional services, managed cloud services and support, and IT—all previously split across distinct departments. His expertise is widely recognized, and he has been a regular guest lecturer and presenter on business programs at the University of Oxford for 17 years.

Doug Niemeyer, General Manager, TEKLYNX Americas, TEKLYNX International SAS Doug Niemeyer is a sales and marketing executive with more than 18 years in technology and consulting services. He deeply understands the solutions and industries he serves, and leverages that knowledge to solve business problems and deliver impactful customer value within the global food supply chain and beyond.

As the head of TEKLYNX Americas’ business, Niemeyer has increased company net profit margin by selling higher-end, value-added services, and expanding TEKLYNX’s portfolio of service offerings directly through employee development and strategic partnerships. Under Niemeyer’s leadership, TEKLYNX has become a leader in barcode labeling software, and a provider of solutions designed to help businesses increase efficiency and streamline operations, while minimizing costs and mitigating risk due to manual process errors.

Jason Overbey, Chief Operating Officer, FW Warehousing Jason Overbey oversees the management of over one million square feet of AIB-certified food-grade warehouse space for a wide range of food customers, supporting everything from plant support on a just-in-time basis to finished goods fulfillment. Overbey specializes in helping customers transition from a regional mom-and-pop to a scaled food supplier serving the full range of B2C, local distribution and larger-scale B2B big-box retail.

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Heather Powell, Director, Customer Focus Team, & Project Manager, SafeSourcing, Inc. Heather Powell leads the SafeSourcing team that implements process improvement in the selection and vetting of suppliers in procurement to ensure a complete chain of ownership from ground to plate in food industry procurement. An outof-the-box thinker, Powell has been steadily promoted in her four years working with logistics and a supply chain focus.

Derek Rickard, Distribution Systems Sales Manager, Cimcorp, formerly RMT Robotics Since being named to the 2015 Champions list, Derek Rickard has continued to use his more than 17 years of experience in the industry to shepherd clients through the process of implementing automated, robotic picking systems for food and beverage manufacturers and distributors.

Steve Sager, President & Chief Executive Officer, ExtenData As the president and CEO of ExtenData since its founding in 2002, Steve Sager strives to generate collaboration and innovation using an interpersonal style that creates a casual yet focused work environment. With more than 20 years of experience in the mobile computing and mobile printing industries, Sager guides the development of ExtenData’s software, MobileConductor.

He provides vision and leadership for the food supply chain through face-to-face interaction with food distributors and suppliers, as well as strategic partnerships with other industry solution providers. Sager enables his team to develop leading-edge technology, and empowers his customers to improve delivery or distribution operations with One Device in the Cab—the newest evolution of MobileConductor.

Adriana Sanchez, Sustainability Director, Sea Delight LLC, and President, Sea Delight Ocean Fund As sustainability director for Sea Delight, and president of the Sea Delight Ocean Fund, Adriana Sanchez is responsible for coordinating development efforts for

fishery improvement projects (FIPs) and better fishing practices initiatives (BFPIs) in Indonesia, Vietnam, Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru and Costa Rica.

Samarth Sarthi, Chief Executive Officer, SCA Technologies Samarth Sarthi is the president and founder of SCA Technologies. He has led the effort to produce SCA’s cloudbased software solution that offers a unique farm-to-fork, cross-functional approach, which enables foodservice companies to strengthen their partnership with suppliers and franchisees, build scalability in performance, improve margins and boost market share.

Jon Shaw, Director, Sustainability & Communications, Carrier Transicold & Refrigerated Systems Jon Shaw has positioned himself as a leader in Carrier’s efforts to extend the global food supply by seeing the higher connection between sustainable cold chain practices and feeding a growing population.

He has established research and global events, including Carrier’s World Cold Chain Summit to Reduce Food Waste, to broaden the dialog on the future of food.

These summits, held in London in 2014 and Singapore in 2015, convened nearly 200 worldwide experts to discuss and support research to transform the way food is safely and sustainably transported, preserved and distributed. Shaw also oversaw a research study by the University of Nottingham, U.K., to measure the impact of reducing food loss in the global cold chain.

Jeff Silver, Chief Executive Officer, Coyote Logistics Under Jeff Silver’s leadership, Chicago-based Coyote Logistics became a UPS subsidiary in 2015 and continues to be one of the fastest-growing 3PLs in North America. Coyote’s full-scale Collaborative Transportation Management (CTM) system is used by many food and beverage shippers for visibility and network planning. He also serves on the board of the Northwestern University Transportation Center (NUTC) and the MIT School of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council.

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3/17/16 3:01 PM

Sean Smith,

Bill Tomasi,

Supply Chain Director, Agropur

Senior Vice President of Product Management, International Business Systems (IBS)

Sean Smith leads the end-to-end supply chain for the ingredients manufacturing business unit at Agropur, a $6.5 billion Canadian dairy cooperative. Smith was instrumental in the implementation of a truckload transportation management system, and outsourcing the freight invoice, audit and payment process to a third-party to provide 15 percent savings to the company.

Chase Sowden, Supply Chain Architect, Barcoding, Inc. Since joining Barcoding, Chase Sowden has helped launch Supply Chain Architecture by Barcoding, a dedicated practice for the identification, formulation and management of perfect order fulfillment processes.

Wendy Stuart, Co-Founder, Wide Net Project Wendy Stuart is co-founder of the Wide Net Project, a non-profit organization that uses the marketplace to serve as a driving force in propelling the environmental and hunger-relief movements forward.

www.foodlogistics.com

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Bill Tomasi started out his career developing and installing customized supply chain solutions, and then went on to design one of the most widely recognized and longest-running standard solutions in the industry. Tomasi is recognized as a thought leader by peers and is considered a knowledge provider in the industry.

Dave Williams, Director of Software & Solutions Delivery, Westfalia Technologies, Inc. As the director of software and solutions delivery for Westfalia Technologies, Inc., Dave Williams was instrumental in the launch of Westfalia’s WES system, Savanna.NET.

Jeff Wismans, National Director of Transportation, United Natural Foods Jeff Wismans was an early adopter of the Cooltrax real-time cold chain technology

to interpret fleet performance on each KPI to enhance cold chain integrity across all of the company’s multi-temp trailer fleet.

Nelly Yunta, Vice President, Customized Brokers, a Crowley Company In addition to her duties for Crowley and Customized Brokers, Yunta serves on the board of directors for the Florida Perishables Trade Coalition, a non-profit that works to increase perishables trade through the state’s air and seaports.

The coalition’s key initiative has thus far been successful, thanks to the introduction of the cold treatment project. This project encourages the USDA to allow direct importation and distribution of South American perishables that require cold treatment through Florida ports—something that up until now has been prohibited by federal law because of the possible introduction of injurious pests, like fruit flies, and disease to an area that’s economy depends, in part, on local agriculture.

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TRACKING & TRACING

BY ELLIOT MARAS

F&B TACKLES SUPPLY CHAIN

TRACEABILITY HEAD ON

Technological innovation provides an arsenal of tools to provide end-to-end traceability.

S

upply chain traceability has taken center stage in the food and beverage (f&b) industry like never before. The near finalization of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) has forced the industry to scrutinize its food safety practices.

And as supply chain companies comply with the new law, an emphasis on improving traceability throughout the supply chain has been ongoing for some time.

A globalized market, advances in production capabilities, enhanced disease detection systems, SKU proliferation, Internet-enabled reporting and the omnichannel have all shaken what was once a fairly simple

•

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• The scanners make it easy for Kershaw Fruit to track the PTI labels on pallets and cases. • Kershaw Fruit

creates PTI-compliant labels for pallets and cases that includes information like lot numbers and date shipped.

f&b supply chain. These forces have expanded the supply chain and created new challenges to supply chain visibility. Advances in processing, packaging and temperature control have extended the shelf life of many products, creating opportunities to send products across greater distances.

Improving supply chain traceability usually requires integrating inventory accountability with case, package and/or pallet labeling. To

track the movement of inventory, a company needs to have the hardware that enables asset identification (i.e., label printers and scanners) and the software that monitors its movement through the supply chain.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: AFS Technologies, afs.com | AT&T Cargo View, att.com/cargoview | BIO, bridgingintelligence.com | CAT Squared, catsquared.com | Carlisle Technology, carlisletechnology.com | Carrier Transicold, carrier.com | Dynamic Systems Inc., dynamic-systemsinc.com | Food and Drug Administration, fda.gov | GS1, gs1us.org | Infratab, infratab.com | LinkFresh, linkfresh.com | PakSense, paksense.com | Prism Logistics, prismlogistics.com | ORBCOMM, orbcomm.com | Redline Solutions, redlinesolutions.com | Retrotech, retrotech.com | Sensitech, sensitech.com

FOOD LOGISTICS | MARCH 2016

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www.foodlogistics.com

3/16/16 11:23 AM

What is traceability?

Traceability refers to collecting information about a product and ensuring the data’s visibility to other points in the supply chain. Technology has created a vast array of tools that enable this capability, such as sensors, barcodes, RFID tags, label printers, GPS transmitters, radio frequency scanners, temperature and humidity loggers, and supply chain software.

Traceability applications vary based on specific supply chain function. The need to track an individual unit versus a batch or a lot will depend on the product. Similarly, the type of information tracked depends on the product’s attributes and uses.

As this article will explain, available tools include an expanding array of hardware and software solutions.

A major tool that has emerged to support traceability in the supply chain is data standardization. Different data schemes exist, the most established being GS1 US, a global organization that develops and maintains supply chain standards.

As data standardization expands among supply chain players, users will find they can provide partners more accurate information faster.

standardized industry approach to enhance the speed and efficiency of traceability systems for the future.

The retail food segment invested in data standardization faster than foodservice, Fernandez says, but this is changing. “They (foodservice companies) are quickly coming up to speed and in some cases surpass where the retail industry is,” she says.

Traceability has been a major driver of interest in data standardization.

Data standards require planning While the growth of data standardization is a positive development, the task of adopting the standards requires planning and commitment.

Companies must make a multi-year investment to implement GS1 standards across the entire supply chain for a comprehensive traceability program, Fernandez says.

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Uniform data standards emerge Traceability hardware and software providers were nearly unanimous in pointing to GS1 US as the key to improving supply chain visibility.

Meat, poultry and produce were the first food segments to adopt GS1 standards, says Angela Fernandez, GS1 US vice president of retail grocery and foodservice. Dairy, deli and bakery are catching up, she says, and seafood – most of which gets imported into the U.S. – is also getting on board. In all product segments, the larger growers, processors and distributors are leading their smaller competitors.

In the produce industry, the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI) has driven traceability. PTI is designed to help the industry maximize the effectiveness of current trace-back procedures, while developing a

www.foodlogistics.com

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TRACKING & TRACING continued

A retailer seeking end-toend supply chain visibility will need to get all its suppliers to use the GS1-128

bar code at the case level,

which has the capability to capture more traceability data such as batch/lot number, and sell by/use by/ pack/ dates.

ply chain visibility will need to get all its suppliers to use the GS1-128 bar code at the case level, which has the capability to capture more traceability data such as batch/lot number, and sell by/use by/pack/ dates. They will also have to make sure that all DCs in their supply chain are capturing and storing all the dynamic information carried in the bar code.

All stores in the chain will have to use bar code scanners at their back door to read the GS1-128 bar code.

Periodic software updates and scanner updates will also be necessary.

Why implementation lags A few major U.S. retailers took a leadership role a few years ago in embracing the PTI, the industry traceability initiative that leverages GS1 standards. Implementation, however, has not been as easy as some envisioned. The retailers’ distribution and store systems were

not ready to track the suppliers’ traceability information through the DC to the store or suppliers’ direct-store-deliveries (DSDs), says Todd Baggett, president and CEO of Redline Solutions, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based provider of inventory and traceability software.

“It’s not a simple problem,” Baggett says. “Traceability requires transparency of grower item and lot information down to the store level. This is much deeper that they tracked in the past and requires software systems to be updated.”

While adoption of electronic traceability solutions is growing, there are still a lot challenges with regards to data uniformity and standardization throughout the supply-chain, says Wayne Slater, director of Ontario, Canada-based Carlisle Technology.

The collection and transfer of data can vary greatly among supply chain partners. Challenges include learning automated collection process, the nuances between different electronic traceability vendors, and overcoming the legacy best practices (aka: “we always do it this way”).

“It’s no secret, the GS1 traceability standard does a great job at defining the minimum traceability requirements within business processes to achieve full chain traceability, independent of any technology by using other GS1 standards,” Slater says. “While growing in adoption, thanks mainly due to standards imposed by progressive retailers like Walmart and Costco, I am still running into many food companies where traceability principles and GS1 adoption is still in its infancy.”

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Slater thinks companies will adopt the GS1 standards as they realize the efficiency and accuracy it offers over manual data entry.

FMSA to drive data adoption The FSMA’s new record keeping requirements are likely to encourage supply chain players to adopt more uniform data standards. Hence, while the FMSA’s purpose is to improve safe practices, the adoption of uniform data will improve inventory traceability throughout the supply chain.

Some observers believe that in designing the FSMA, the Food and Drug Administration recognized that the different data coding systems within the f&b industry was an obstacle to enforcing food safety.

Hence, FDA developed record-keeping requirements that could make both compliance and enforcement easier. While the FSMA does not say what record-keeping systems companies should use, they will find standardized data templates will make compliance easier.

Carl Iversen, vice president of product development at LINKFRESH, the Ventura, Calif.-based ERP provider, says the FSMA is actually mandating traceability of certification and documentation as well as traceability of product. This is borne out by the law’s electronic reporting requirements which are intended to make compliance easier.

Iversen envisions companies setting up websites to which suppliers will submit electronic forms and scanned document uploads.

Suppliers will submit digital photos of certificates of things like quality checks, HACCP and GMP compliance. “How is your supplier providing all the things required?” he asks.

Iversen sees the Internet of Things (IoT) becoming a big part of f&b traceability. Software silos are giving way to unstructured data

Software silos are giving way to unstructured data platforms, where things like scanned paper trails, emails and phone logs become part of a transaction record.

www.foodlogistics.com

3/16/16 11:23 AM

ENHANCED WCS ENABLES

END-TO-END PRODUCT TRACKING As automation expands in the food supply chain, warehouse managers must ensure the equipment they work with can track inventory through more complex warehouse operations. Automation provides a reliable method to efficiently and accurately track and trace product through the supply chain.

Enhanced warehouse control software enables the fulfillment systems to track products in each step of the process, from receiving and put-away through picking, sortation, onto the truck and in transit. This is important as material handling equipment gains new functionalities, requiring warehouse managers to make sure software systems are capable of tracing inventory from receiving to shipping.

Retrotech Inc. in Rochester, N.Y., provided a WCS software solution to enable a snack customer to meet internal quality standards through improved traceability. The system was used as a buffer for raw materials received and stored in an ASRS, which then fed the production lines to create the snack mix.

platforms, where things like scanned paper trails, emails and phone logs become part of a transaction record.

In time, people will realize that technology is making their lives easier rather than harder. “While many of these documents still have to be produced physically, the future will see more and more acceptance of ‘digital’ compliance,” he points out.

Under the FMSA’s preventive controls section, some facilities are required to verify that a preventive control is capable of controlling an identified hazard. However, the FSMA does not mandate specific tools for verifying preventive controls.

Under the FMSA’s sanitary transport rule which is scheduled to be finalized at the end of March, some facilities must document monitoring and recording whether a process or action was in compliance. Examples include monitoring temperature during transportation, product temperature prior to loading, or pre-cool temperature of a truck.

Documents must be monitored Jere Van Puffelen, president of Prism Logistics, a California-based warehouse logistics provider, has found great benefits in having end-to-end electronic traceability.

When drivers electronically sign a bill of lading, the system records the www.foodlogistics.com

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The customer was then able to: locate any pallet, lot code or SKU in the system in real time; trace every processing point a pallet of ingredients went through; use part of a pallet’s contents, return the remainder to storage and then use the remainder later with individualized tracking; place quality When a recall was holds on individual pallets, lots or entire SKUs; warranted, smaller amounts apply product holds while pallets were moving, of finished product could reroute so as not to use during active runs, and be recalled due to the even replace with those pallets. granularity of the data kept “Data allowed the site to efficiently work for each production run. through any event that may cause a recall of product,” says John Campany, software engineering manager at Retrotech. “When a recall was warranted, smaller amounts of finished product could be recalled due to the granularity of the data kept for each production run. Data could be kept for up to three years to ensure adequate history was available, and mock recalls could be run to ensure employee readiness.”

“

driver’s photo and attaches it to the of the outbound shipments for those electronic file. These measures are manufacturers using these bar codes not required by FSMA, but Van Pufshould there be a question further felen wants to stay ahead of where along the supply chain. things are going for his customers, For those customers not using the who are already dealing with the GS1 bar codes, the warehouse has FSMA requirements when it comes to manually enter lot codes into the to product traceability.

GS1 bar codes allow Prism Logistics to keep track of packages on mixed pallets holding many different packages. Should there be a recall of a particular SKU, identifying the pallet will be handled by the system recalling Blended learning the specific pallet data. and communication Van Puffelen also likes programs for: the fact that the GS1 bar code allows him to • Warehousing enter a lot of product data quickly. “It’s just • Food Safety moving us down the automated data cap• Driver Training ture trail,” he says.

• Workplace Safety Van Puffelen is anxious to see more of his food supplier Congratulations to Holly Mockus! clients use the GS1 2016 Food Logistics Champion bar codes. As a 3PL warehouse operator, he can capture the alchemysystems.com data on the inbound and then have visibility

Drive safety.

Reduce risk.

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3/16/16 11:23 AM

TRACKING & TRACING continued • VG Meats in Ontario has developed a farm-to-fork traceability system using the government’s national livestock ID program.

system. “The less you have to have manual data entry, the less potential there is for error,” he says.

Canada leads in farm-to-fork traceability

The less you “have to have manual data entry, the less potential there is for error.

Jere Van Puffelen, president of Prism Logistics

VG Meats, a meat producer based in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada, has a unique perspective on the beef supply chain. The family-owned company operates a farm, a packing facility, a butcher shop, a wholesale division and a retail division. Being based in Canada, the company was able to take advantage of that country’s national livestock identification program in developing what can be described as a farm-to-fork traceability system.

VG Meats’ tracking scheme focuses on animal identification, location identification, health information, animal movement and meat quality.

Canadian farmers have been tagging livestock with RFID tags under a mandatory industry/government program. VG Meats built on that system by recording the animal’s medical history, birth measurements, weights, tenderness and yield.

The company gathers additional

information to calculate genetic evaluations for each animal.

This information is useful in deciding how animals are mated to improve meat quality.

The mandatory ID tag uses radio frequency and simply gives each animal a unique identification. Most farmers use a second tag that they can easily read without a scanner when managing cattle. Using on-farm systems, farmers can collect information on pedigree, breeding, calving, weights, vaccinations, treatments and movements.

Should a worker in the field notice an issue with an animal, they can access the animal’s medical history on their smartphone.

VG Meats uses a system called bio

Track to capture on-farm information and another system called bio Links to capture information during harvest of the animals, including carcass data. The company creates QR codes containing useful information for consumers and puts this on each piece of meat for sale in the retail store.

VG Meats works closely with BIO (from Bridging Intelligence), which offers both bio Track and bio Links from its headquarters in Eloro, Ontario.

The information has proven helpful in different aspects of VG Meats operations, notes Cory Van Groningen, a partner at VG Meats.

Customers in the company’s butcher shops can find out whether an animal was fed grain or grass.

They can also learn the meat’s tenderness rating. The company includes a tenderness score on packages in its wholesale division that serves the retail trade.

Customers use tenderness to determine the proper cooking method for a cut of meat.

Grower tracks by case Kershaw Fruit, based in Yakima, Wash., decided to focus more on pal-

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3/16/16 11:23 AM

let tracking when it expanded its warehouse in 2013. The company deployed a WMS from Redline Solutions and equipped its forklift drivers with barcode scanners. The system creates a PTI-compliant label that includes information like the lot, case number, date it gets shipped, and where on the truck it was placed. The scanners make it easy for the company to track the PTI labels on pallets and cases.

Tracking by case is important since pallets can hold product from more than one lot. “From the pallet tag we know the grower and the lot,” says Eric Skiles, Kershaw Fruit’s IT manager.

For tracking temperature in transit, Kershaw Fruit uses Temp Tales from Beverly, Mass.-based Sensitech. Skiles believes the Temp Tale sensors that track temperature in real-time will meet the FSMA temperature control requirements.

Lot tracking plays a big role in in f&b traceability for many f&b companies.

By tagging batches of fish with bar codes, fish packing houses can locate what lot a batch came from, says Alison Falco, president of Dynamic Systems Inc., a Redmond, Wash.-based traceability solutions provider. “With our system, once a lot is co-mingled, only those cases with that lot will be recalled,” she says. The company’s SIMBA software includes time-stamped productivity reports.

In the case of the seafood industry, companies are interested in traceability for sustainability since they aren’t dealing with stringent regulations that the fresh produce market faces, Falco says. Recent reports of human slavery in the supply chain have created a greater awareness about ethical practices, so the ability to prove the source of the fish becomes important for a seafood company’s brand.

“There’s been an emerging emphasis on ethics,” she notes.

The software can create customized labels. “We can store and print on-demand in whatever format they (customers) want,” Falco says. “Eventually, everyone (in the food industry) will have to label for compliance and for traceability.”

In some fish packing facilities, individual fish get tagged as they are weighed.

More regulations ahead Some fish pack houses have extra incentive to improve their recordkeeping on account of a change in federal oversight scheduled to begin to take effect this month.

“This new (Food Safety and Inspection Service) regulation is challenging catfish producers,” says Tom Huls, vice president of sales for CAT Squared, a Conway, Ark.-based software provider for the food industry. “FSIS is going to require food safety data to be available in a very short time frame, which means that plants doing HACCP checks on paper and manually entering them into spreadsheets aren’t going to be able to meet government requirements.” CAT Squared’s system allows companies to collect HACCP, food safety, quality, downtime, plant monitoring, and facility data.

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There are a variety of automated data capture solutions for lot tracking. Bar codes are the dominant solution, but RFID, which allows faster tracking, is gaining ground.

Terry Myers, CEO of Infratab, which provides cloud-based RFID solutions, says the decision should be based on what the customer needs. While the type of RFID in the supply chain, often known as RFID UHF or RFID EPC, has certain advantages over barcodes, a customer needs to have an RFID reader to use RFID. RFID readers can be installed in smart phones, but the tag has to be physically

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3/16/16 11:23 AM

the customer has to decide how many readers are needed and how often they should be checked. Pack houses need to know temperature tough enough for the smartphone to histories for produce when it arrives read it. from the grower.

RFID offers the advantage of “It requires judgment with what being able to scan multiple packages you are trying to achieve,” she says. simultaneously, Myers notes. How“What incremental value does all ever, aluminum-insulated packages that data give you?” (sometimes used for temperature In Myers’ experience, RFID tagcontrol) will block RFID signals. ging is used mostly for product qualiRFID can also allow ty control rather than for traceability real-time monitoring RFID offers the advantage of temperature and or inventory management. of being able to scan multiple freshness, but Myers “It’s always going packages simultaneously, points out that this to be a mixture of Myers notes. However, only makes sense for different tools,” aluminum-insulated customers who need she says. packages (sometimes used it. “Do you really need Retailers and for temperature control) will to know in real-time?” product suppliers block RFID signals. she asks. Customers alike are showing more interest warehousing grapes are in automated checking temperatures and real-time three or four times a day rather than temperature continuously. monitoring Most customers tracking temon account of FSMA, says Amy perature do so for product quality Childress, vice president of marketcontrol, Myers says. In such cases, ing at PakSense, a Boise, Idaho-based manufacturer of cold chain monitoring solutions. The company’s AutoSense reader contains a global SIM card that wirelessly reads PakSense temperature monitoring labels on pallets. The reader automatically transfers the data, including supplier name, commodity and temperature, to the cloud via cellular signal and sends alerts directly to users’ smartphones.

As with other aspects of FSMA, the sanitary transport rule does not dictate what tools a shipper must use to meet the requirement. Tom Robinson, SERVICES INCLUDE: senior vice president for • POOL DISTRIBUTION ORBCOMM, the Rochelle • INBOUND / OUTBOUND SERVICES Park, N.J.-based provider of • OPERATIONAL SUPPORT M2M and IoT solutions, says pre-cooling prior to loading CONTACT US: will be a new procedure for www.americanlumperservices.com some companies. “As import866-786-8899 | info@americanlumper.com ant and pervasive as FSMA

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WATERMARK BARCODE OFFERS EASIER, FASTER TRACKING

One of the newer identification technologies to emerge in recent years is digital watermarking.

Digital watermarking technology delivers faster check out, more efficient store operations to retailers, and richer consumer information to brand owners and consumers.

Digimarc, a Beaverton, Ore.-based provider, has introduced the “invisible” bar code in partnership with GS1 US. The “DW Code” can be scanned without someone having to point the scanner at the barcode. The watermark Photo Credit: Digimarc spreads across the entire surface of the package.

Like barcdoes, the watermark has to be scanned in the user’s line of sight. Hence, the watermark is complementary to RFID tags which have the advantage of not having to be in the user’s line of sight.

“It’s definitely a step forward on the amount of information and the accuracy of the information,” says Mike Wehrs, GS1 US’s senior vice president of data products and services.

One of the benefits of DWCode is that it leverages and extends the existing GS1 standards, Wehrs says. It does not require additional data carriers to be printed on the package and is a good foundational building block for a robust traceability program.

The watermark has a good future in traceability since the code uses trusted information that comes directly from the brand.

Another advantage is that it is very affordable because it leverages the existing printing process used for barcodes.

One challenge is that some users will need to upgrade their scanning equipment in order to read the watermark code.

is expected to be in the industry, we expect participants in the food supply chain to require investment and process improvements.”

There may be additions to the FSMA requirements after the initial implementation phase, Robinson

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TRACKING & TRACING continued Photo Credit: Thermo King

The solution enables FedEx to make the cooling chain transparent to their clients; recording and delivering data and taking responsibility for the maintenance of predefined temperature conditions during transport.

TURE

New technologies continue to emerge

• Reefer

management devices integrate with Thermo King trailers.

says. For example, the industry may face questions around the calibration and Condenser accuracySystem of temperature management equipment.

Orbcomm’s reefer management device integrates with Thermo King and Carrier Transicold refrigeration units. This ensures that fleet managers can extract temperature data and alarms from the reefer unit while the vehicle is on the road.

FedEx Custom Critical, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., uses temperature recorders and tracking systems provided by ORBCOMM. With two very large coils - on both road and curb sides

- Precedent’s condenser system could be called massive.

It could also be called smarter, as both brazed aluminum coils are curved to maximize surface area and improve airflow across the entire structure.

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Independent fan operation for greater efficiency

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New tracking and tracing technologies continue to emerge.

AFS Technologies’ WMS software solution provides single-scan traceability, providing the ability to scan a GS1 label once to extract multiple data elements such as lot and quantity. This single-scan functionality results in more accurate data and reduces scans by 300 percent, adding value throughout the supply chain.

“It really accelerates that data capture process,” says Joe Bellini, CEO of AFS Technologies, based in Phoenix, Ariz. “The single-scan traceability will be especially helpful for complying with the FSMA’s preventive control rules, Produce

Traceability Initiative and in managing recalls.”

AT&T has introduced a cargo tracking solution for global wireless communication that provides real-time dashboard monitoring of shipments in any transit venue – ground, sea and air. The cloud-based system, called AT&T Cargo View with Flight Safe, includes sensors that can monitor location, temperature, light, pressure and shock.

Customers already include prepared food processors who want to ensure that package temperature is within a specific range, says Mobeen Khan, associate vice president of industrial IoT for the Dallas, Texas-based AT&T division.

While the FSMA has generated more interest in f&b supply chain traceability, companies are recognizing that improved supply chain visibility enables them to meet customer needs faster and easier. Traceability solution providers continue to innovate new and better ways to improve this critical goal.

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SECTOR REPORTS WAREHOUSE: COLD STORAGE FACILITIES

BY KEITH LORIA

JOB SAFETY ANALYSIS 101 Why ‘JSAs’ are important and the best ways to conduct them.

I

t’s estimated that thousands of work-related injuries occur in the public refrigerated warehouse industry each year, which can have numerous negative connotations for a business. Injuries cannot only slow or halt operations altogether, but incidents can also lead to violations and fines from regulatory agencies.

The good news is, there’s plenty that can be done to control safety and limit the number of job-related injuries; it all comes down to training employees properly and conducting a substantial Job Safety Analysis (JSA) to learn where a company is going wrong.

A JSA can help prevent workplace injuries and illnesses by looking at workplace operations, establishing proper job procedures, and ensuring that all employees are trained properly.

In the first quarter of 2016, the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA) is releasing the “IARW Job alysis Guide Job Safety An Safety Analysis Template,” a guide to job safety analysis, which will detail the measures a company should be doing.

The finished template will outline the proper way to perform a Job Safety Analysis that • The Global Cold leads to a determination of recomChain Alliance mended procedure or precaution in (GCCA) publishes the terms of acts or behavior.

Job Safety Analysis Ken Hudson, director of environGuide and other mental health and safety-Western valuable industry resources, including Division for Lineage Logistics, COLD FACTS. believes that companies can help prevent injuries by looking at operations and establishing proper job procedures ensuring that all employees are trained properly.

“Performing a Job Safety Analysis allows facilities within the associee Safety Committ By the IARW ciation of rnational Asso for the Inte Warehouses Refrigerated

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ation to be involved in evaluating each job task to identify inherent hazards associated with the job tasks our employees are performing in an effort to eliminate or reduce the risk of injuries,” he says.

A solid plan Workplace hazards that can be eliminated or lessened with proper job safety analysis include slips and falls, accidents caused from forklift operations, cold environment, rack storage, and manual material handling. According to Hudson, a JSA can be used for almost any task, from operating material handling equipment (MHE) in the warehouse, to performing maintenance on an anhydrous ammonia refrigeration system.

For example, MHE operation can be very hazardous, so the first thing a JSA would recommend, in addition to ensuring the operator is properly trained, is to look at the type of equipment in operation, the environment in which it is operating, and any unique hazard that is presented to the operator.

“In addition to wearing freezer gear, gloves and insulated steel or composite toe boots, operators of high-lift reach trucks may need to wear safety glasses to protect their eyes from the potential of falling debris when looking up while placing pallets in the racks,” Hudson notes.

“An ammonia refrigeration technician who is draining oil from the system would take precautions such as knowing the location of the eyewash and safety shower, and knowing the escape route from the machine room. They would also know the requirements to wear specific PPE (personal protective equipment) identified in the JSA such as a splash face shield, protective gauntlet gloves, and have their air purifying

respirator available on their person if needed.”

The JSA should be tied directly to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) when assessing hazards and prescribing PPE for a job task. Once you know what the hazards are, you can reduce or eliminate them before an injury occurs.

“The JSAs are a way to get our frontline employees involved in the safety process. It allows us to utilize their expertise in each specific job task to identify the hazards, to apply administrative or engineering controls and to specify personal protective equipment to be used while performing the job task,” Hudson shares. “Once you know what the hazards are and how to protect your employees, you will enjoy a safer workplace with the likelihood of reduced injuries, reduced workers compensation costs, and increased worker productivity, which results in higher profitability.”

Final thoughts “Develop the JSA by breaking it down step-by-step. Look for a safer way to do the job, describe each step of the job task, and take into consideration any administrative or engineering controls to reduce the risks of the job task with PPE being the last control measure,” Hudson says. “Review your JSA on an annual basis; you may find that your job task may have changed or that you may have missed a step in the initial JSA. JSA should also be reviewed after a near miss or injury.”

Keith Loria is a veteran freelance writer and contributor to COLD FACTS. He can be reached at freelancekeith@ gmail.com. The GCCA’s Job Safety Analysis Guide and Template is available online at www.gcca.org.

MARCH 2016 | FOOD LOGISTICS

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SECTOR REPORTS TRANSPORTATION

BY JOHN MCCURRY

AIR CARRIERS FOCUS ON

CUSTOMER SERVICE Tempcontrolled air cargo shippers and others see measurable improvements in reliability, visibility and cold chain support.

• United Cargo is

using technology to measure operations and make improvements, says Jan Krems, company president.

42

A

s the air cargo industry navigates an increasingly difficult business landscape, carriers are placing greater emphasis on customer relations as a means to improve quality. The industry has learned it must listen to its customers’ needs, and is developing new ways to deliver on promises.

American Airlines, coming out of the integration process with US Airways, is focusing on partnerships and cultivating customer loyalty.

The airline seeks to make business easy to do through all of its engagement points.

“A customer experience team was established during integration, as well, to focus on improving the experience for every functional group in cargo working or speaking with customers,” says David Vance, vice president, cargo.

“They’re continuing to deliver improvements in our service performance by adding a focus on being more consistent in policies and procedures across the system and continuously looking for ways to better our operation.”

Jan Krems, president of United Cargo, says his team is focused on measureable improvements in key metrics that impact customer satisfaction, including keeping the commitments made to the customer to fly their shipments as planned and have them available at destination on time and as promised.

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New metrics emerge “We’re very pleased that the improvements we’ve made in our worldwide quality and efficiency are backed up by our internal measurements, IATA’s (International Air Transport Association) Cargo 2000 (C2K) statistics and other industry data and, most importantly, feedback from our customers,” Krems says. “United Cargo is making use of new technology to measure our operations in more ways, and we’re using the knowledge and insight we gain from this data to generate improvements worldwide.

The whole team is focused around one goal: quality, quality, quality.”

Electronic airway bills grow While the industry didn’t reach IATA’s goal of 45 percent adoption of electronic airway bills by the end of 2015, progress has been steady, albeit slow. North America has been one of the leaders in this area.

IATA notes that U.S. carriers have taken the lead, with the Big 3 carriers—Delta, American and United—taking the lead by aggressively adopting e-AWB at their main gateways. Other airlines making good strides are Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, International Airlines Group and LAN Cargo. Some leading airports in terms of e-AWB penetration include Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York JFK, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

“As the industry initiative continues to gain momentum, we’ve really been working to support our shippers and forwarders on the path to a paperless operation,” Vance says.

“Without our partners, the supply chain doesn’t run properly, and align-

ing our goals is the first step needed to modernize and maximize the quality and efficiency of our products and services.”

For its part, “United Cargo is a strong supporter of IATA’s plan to establish the e-AWB as a necessary precursor to achieving complete e-freight,” Krems emphasizes. “We are participating with 16 other IATA member airlines in an initiative to establish the e-AWB Single Process as the preferred means of shipping cargo to all destinations from the largest-volume European airports. This project reduces the barriers to e-AWB adoption by providing a process that meets the needs of forwarders and carriers, as well as customs and security officials, in each location.”

Investment in cold chain expanding Vance says American has put a lot of investment in improving facilities.

This includes its cold chain facility in Philadelphia.

“We’ve also expanded our footprint in key locations, invested in improvements to some of our hub buildings, and are now taking delivery of a long list of new, optimally-reliable equipment, trucks and tractors,” Vance says. “And at some of our highest-traffic stations, we’ve provided staffing additions, cargo warehouse enhancements for efficiency purposes, and increased the frequency of performance reviews.

These measures are all to ensure consistent operational success and change for the better.”

John McCurry is an Atlanta-based writer specializing in logistics and manufacturing. He is a former editor of Air Cargo World magazine. www.foodlogistics.com

3/15/16 1:46 PM

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SECTOR REPORTS SOFTWARE & TECHNOLOGY: TELEMATICS

BY ELLIOT MARAS

TELEMATICS MOVES INTO HIGH GEAR A Fleet management solutions add advanced analytics and refrigeration management.

DELIVERS 8-11X ROI

s technology advances and new regulations arise, fleet managers are seeking solutions that allow them to adapt with the times. Many are finding they need to examine different solutions as telematics technology evolves and offers new capabilities.

Several of the newer electronic logging devices (ELDs) provide analytics capabilities that offer insight into driver safety and compliance.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the San Antonio, Texas-based consulting firm, every dollar spent on advanced analytics delivers an eight to 11 times return on investment and a restructuring of total cost of ownership (TCO) of trucks that yields a 2 to 3 percent reduction in TCO per vehicle per year.

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ers will become more familiar with analytic tools as they begin to comply with the ELD mandate.

PFG Customized Distribution, a division of Performance Food Group Co. (PFG), is one of many food haulers investing in telematics technology to comply with laws and at the same time make fleet management easier.

The Richmond, Va.-based foodservice distributor recently deployed a customized mobile communication solution for its fleets that will allow it to improve its reefer command and control systems. The solution from Smyrna, Ga.-based CarrierWeb will allow the company to manage driver hours of service (HOS) at nine locations nationwide, facilitating compliance with the ELD mandate.

The system will also enable remote monitoring of the company’s reefer fleet to comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FMSA) sanitary transport rule scheduled to take effect at the end of this month.

“We are impressed with the ability of CarrierWeb to address not only driver compliance, custom back office ERP integration, asset visibility for multi-stop deliveries, but also provide a refrigerated trailer management solution that addressed our need for two-way refrigeration monitoring and communication,” says Donnie Bain, senior vice president of business units at PFG Customized Distribution.

NFI, the Cherry Hill, N.J.based 3PL, appreciates the fact that its ELD solution provider, Dallas, Texas-based Omnitracs, makes it easy for drivers to comply with the new HOS rules, says Lee Robledo, vice president of safety and loss control.

Omnitracs also has features so that the fleet manager can be sure that the HOS time the driver logs accurately reflects the hours worked.

Another important consideration for NFI is the Omnitracs system’s ability to interface with external devices that enhance driver safety, Robledo says. In 2013, NFI added Lytx Drivecams from San Diego, Calif.-based Lytx to its trucks that capture and assist in correcting risky driving habits.

Along with electronic logging, Omnitracs captures critical event reporting (CER) which monitors NFI’s fleet for hard braking, lane departure, rear-end collision avoidance and roll stability. When a CER detects such an event, it sends a near real-time email alert to the safety team, as well as a message to the driver.

Last year, NFI started purchasing all new trucks with rear-end avoidance collision technology that automatically slows the vehicle to prevent a rear-end collision. “The systems are all talking to each other,” Robledo says. “All these systems are continuously improving

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Blue Tree Systems, bluetreesystems.com | Carrier Transicold, carrier.com | CarrierWeb, carrierweb.com | Cooltrax, cooltrax.com | Frost & Sullivan, ww2.frost.com | Geotab, geotab.com | GPS Insight, gpsinsight.com | International Telematics (Coretex), internationaltelematics.com | Lytx, lytx.com | NFI, nfiindustries.com | Omnitracs, omnitracs.com | ORBCOMM, orbcomm.com | PeopleNet, peoplenetonline.com | SmartDrive Systems, smartdrive.net | Thermo King, thermoking.com | Zonar, zonarsystems.com

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Driver-friendly single dashboard view on an TELEMATICS in-cab tablet.

SR: continued

• ibright DRIVE allows a driver to alert a customer if a delivery is running late.

OI).

er

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our safety process.”

Dietz & Watson, a Philadelphia, Pa.-based manufacturer of delicatessen food, recently switched telematics providers because the system they were using had reliability issues and did not provide real-time reporting.

“Our goal was to install an electronic HOS system tied to real-time visibility of assets and dynamic routing,” says Greg Shields, Dietz & Watson’s transportation manager.

“Our previous system was not capable of real-time reporting. We also wanted potential protection for the company in accident investigation.”

Dietz & Watson recently deployed ibright DRIVE, an app-based system that combines multiple data sources within a single in-cab dashboard. The ibrightDrive from New Zealand-based International Telematics (Coretex) allows the driver to alert a customer if a delivery is running late. The most important features, according to Shields, are real-time tracking, geofencing, HOS logs, driver vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs), reefer visibility, monitoring unexpected or unauthorized stops, and engine monitoring. Shields says real-time reporting is especially handy with backhaul pickups.

do not have to comply with the requirements if they travel within a 100 air-mile radius. Hence, the solution from Telogis in Aliso Viejo, Calif., automatically alerts drivers if they are traveling beyond the 100-airmile radius. This is known as the short-haul exemption. “If you stay within the 100 air miles, you don’t have to take that 30-minute break,” says Kelly Frey, vice president of product marketing at Telogis.

As mobile devices have become pervasive, fleet managers should recognize that the ELD mandate requires mobile devices to connect synchronously to the engine, says Frey. In addition, devices must have a mute function, drivers must certify any log changes made by management, and drivers must have access to their logs.

Roadside inpsections One of the biggest changes under the ELD mandate is the ELD data transfer for roadside inspections.

Unlike the current automatic onboard recording device (AOBRD) rule, the ELD will now need to electronically send enforcement as a standard data file including all pertinent compliance information, says Elise Chianelli, director of safety and compliance at PeopleNet, based in Minnetonka, Minn. ELDs must be able to transfer data electronically via either a) a telematics method via wireless web service or email; or b) a local method capable of sending data via Bluetooth or USB 2.0.

Several telematics solutions providers reported getting more

inquiries on account of the FSMA temperature monitoring requirement.

“Reports can be run to check temperatures in respect to location for certain times/days/trips,” says Ryan Driscoll, marketing manager at GPS Insight, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based telematics solutions provider. “This is valuable when a customer calls to complain that their food delivery was spoiled. Management can check the temperature of the reefer during that delivery to verify whether or not it was the food delivery company’s fault or not.”

Blue Tree Systems’ refrigeration monitoring system supports both Thermo King and Carrier units to provide continuous reefer status updates every five minutes, says Tim Van Cleve, vice president of sales for the Greensboro, N.C.-based company. It also includes two-way reefer control, temperature monitoring, alerting of exceptions, fuel monitoring, service scheduling and a customizable reporting engine.

Cooltrax’s comprehensive temperature and asset monitoring and management solutions automate regulatory and commercial compliance requirements and provide real-time actionable business intelligence. A provider of real-time cold-chain monitoring and cloud-based management and analytics solutions, Alpharetta, Ga.-based Cooltrax enhances both Carrier and Thermo King systems • Blue Tree Systems refrigeration monitoring supports both Thermo King and Carrier units.

ELD mandate arrives As fleets begin adding ELDs to comply with the mandate, managers and drivers alike will find ELDs help them comply with new reporting and temperature monitoring regulations.

An ELD will allow drivers to eliminate form and manner violations, which are usually caused by data entry errors, says Tom Cuthbertson, vice president of regulatory safety at Omnitracs.

Under the ELD mandate, drivers

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Photo Credit Blue Tree Systems

is

Photo Credit International Telematics

t

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SUPPLY CHAIN LEARNING CENTER

™

A DIVISION OF THE

LEARNING HUB

NOW AVAILABLE

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Brought to you by:

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Customized, Affordable On-Site Training For more information, contact: Jolene Gulley, Group Publisher Supply & Demand Chain Executive Food Logistics Phone: 480.413.0354 Mobile: 262.473.9285 jgulley@ACBusinessMedia.com SupplyChainLearningCenter.com

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3/15/16 1:39 PM

SR: TELEMATICS continued

Real-time fault code descriptions and vehicle performance data help fleet managers schedule shop time and maintenance resources to increase uptime and improve customer service.

with fully-automated, long-range wireless RFID temperature, product, and door sensors and an easy-to-use management dashboard providing the most comprehensive solution on the market, says Brad Bartlett, Cooltrax director of sales.

New tools arrive Zonar offers its V3 control unit that transmits fault codes from the vehicle to maintenance and fleet managers, often before the driver is aware of a problem, says Fred Fakkema, vice president of compliance at the Seattle, Wash.-based company.

Real-time fault code descriptions and vehicle performance data help fleet managers schedule shop time and maintenance resources to increase uptime and improve customer service.

One of the reasons PeopleNet acquired Cadec Global Inc. was the opportunity to pair its fleet mobility

JUNE 2022, 2016

CHICAGO

technology with Cadec’s back-end analytics tools specific to food distribution, says Angela Shue, general manager for PeopleNet’s PowerVue system. The ability to integrate direct-store-delivery (DSD) functions into PeopleNet’s fleet management system can deliver benefits in the areas of safety, advanced customer service and performance metrics.

Colin Sutherland, executive vice president of sales at Ontario, Canada-based Geotab, thinks predictive maintenance is one of the most important improvements to come to market. A signal from the engine can alert the driver of maintenance concerns such as when a coolant is running low prior to the engine light going on. This will allow the driver to take care of the issue before an unplanned roadside failure.

The combination of satellite and cellular communication (dual mode) delivers telematics connectivity for near real-time alerts on fleet status, location, etc., providing greater visibility and utilization, says Tom

Robinson, senior vice president for Fort Lee, N.J.-based ORBCOMM, which provides cold chain temperature and location monitoring for trailers, containers, chassis, rail cars, gensets and ocean vessels.

More challenges As solutions providers tout new capabilities, fleet managers can get overwhelmed and have a hard time understanding how the technology works and/or how it will help them.

Hence, to take advantage of the technologies that promise better management insights, fleet managers must work with technology suppliers to understand how the systems work and the level of aftermarket support offered.

“There is tremendous opportunity to address long-standing industry challenges, especially in areas of safety, with proactive intervention,” says Don Osterberg, a transportation advisor at SmartDrive Systems, a San Diego, Calif.-based provider of driving performance solutions.

FIND SOLUTIONS TO ALL YOUR COLD CHAIN LOGISTICS NEEDS UNDER ONE ROOF This NEW event has been specifically designed for food processors, manufacturers, and other professionals dealing in frozen, refrigerated, ambient, and fresh operations.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION #GCCE2016 The Global Cold Chain Expo will be co-located with United Fresh 2016, FMI Connect, and the International Floriculture Expo. Visit all the shows for one low cost!

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FOOD LOGISTICS | MARCH 2016

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www.foodlogistics.com

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

US SOUTHWEST

B Y JULIO ESPINOZA AND DOUG BRUHNKE

ARIZONA-SONORA PARTNERSHIP

POINTS TO STRONGER SOUTHWEST CROSS-BORDER TRADE Behind the alarming headlines about Mexican border problems, business and government leaders create trade partnerships for food and other products.

ESPINOZA

BRUHNKE

•

W

hen it comes to the U.S. Southwest border, much attention has focused on national security threats such as drug and human trafficking, as well as terrorism. However, the U.S./Mexico border also offers opportunities, thanks to its natural strengths such as the industrial clusters already in place. What’s possibly even more important to the stability and prosperity of the border is the leadership being undertaken to improve cross-border trade.

An initiative called the “New Arizona-Sonora Partnership” has been already set in motion by players on both sides of the border, including state and local governments, the private sector, academics, interest groups and advocates. The days when Phoenix, Ariz., and Hermosillo, Sonora, were not collaborating are gone, and both Arizonans and Sonorans are engaging actively in trade, investment, cooperation and political dialog.

There is a new understanding on both sides of the border, but why is it so important to keep this momentum going? How can we foster the current mutual understanding and progress?

After Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Sonora Gov. Claudia Pavlovich took office last year, they made clear that the Arizona-Sonora relationship was a priority for their administrations, and over the last year there have been very symbolic moments of trust at the capitol level.

While the press has extensively covered the state level dialog and initiatives, local governments, along with the private sector

PHOENIX

389 MILES

TUCSON

SONORA

• The Southwest border is rich in transportation infrastructure.

(Global Chamber) and pundits have shown leadership by working aggressively behind the scenes in keeping the momentum going.

While at the federal level there is an ongoing debate on the direction of U.S. foreign and national security policies, at the city and community level, every stakeholder understands that peace and stability can be achieved by international trade that translates into economic development without any other ideology than increasing profits.

Helping the economy grow and redistributing the revenue can be achieved at a regional level only if we are able to enable and encourage decision makers (in the public and private sectors) to meet, trust each other and work together for a new Arizona-Sonora Partnership to continue fostering the economic interdependence that binds both sides and developing new logistical infrastructure to make the American Southwest a competitive regional block in the Pacific region. This cooperation is taking place at the dawn of

the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which will counterbalance the Chinese and Russian economies (in case they decline the treaty) and boost the U.S. leadership in the world and the Pacific Rim.

Arizona steps forward In April 2015, the richest man in the world, who happens to be Mexican Carlos Slim, came to Phoenix thanks to the leadership of a handful of people led by attorney Mike Patterson of the Polsinelli law firm in Phoenix, Hank Marshall, economic development officer with the City of Phoenix, the Phoenix Business Journal and Global Chamber to talk about the U.S./Mexico interdependence and the importance of investing in education and training. On the sidelines of this event, many conversations became business opportunities for Canadian, Mexican and U.S. companies.

At the metro level, last October, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton led a trade mission that included a bipar-

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Global Chamber, globalchamber.org | Building and International Economic Network, connectbien.com

www.foodlogistics.com

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MARCH 2016 | FOOD LOGISTICS

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT continued

If Phoenix is successful in its

globalization efforts, the whole state will make progress, because Phoenix metro concentrates the

largest share of companies that are engaged in foreign trade.

If we manage to develop clusters and supply chains, we can utilize the competitive advantages of both parties to truly create

a vibrant region.

tisan group of five Arizona mayors to Mexico City to expand economic opportunities and exchange best business practices between smalland medium-size businesses. Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera of Mexico City and Mayor Stanton signed a memorandum of understanding creating a Global Cities Economic Partnership between the cities.

That same month, Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild and Mayor Ernesto Munro of Rocky Point led a group of 17 mayors from Sonora and Arizona to meet each other after the new Sonoran mayors took office in September, having for witnesses of honor the regional consuls of Mexico and the U.S. This meeting provided a continuation of efforts already in place to strengthen the channels of communication at the local level, such as the Maricopa Association of Governments’ Ari-Son Mega region project that was introduced in 2014, along with the BIEN (Building and International Economic Network) free business online database, for furthering the city-level dialog and the business-to-business connections.

A NAFTA search engine BIEN has the support of important business leaders in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. and is envisioned to be the web search engine for the businessmen of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) looking to expand operations in the North American region, reducing the hazard of business-to-business outreach.

While Phoenix concentrates the most advanced industrial clusters in Arizona, it is also clear that Tucson, besides being the natural logistical

hub into Mexico for its geo-strategic location and cultural closeness, is transitioning into the higher value industries.

On January 2016, Mayor Rothschild, for the second year in a row, hosted the Borderlands Trade Conference for discussing how to make the most of the industrial clusters created by NAFTA. The City of Tucson, with the support of many mayors of Arizona, Sonora and Sinaloa, positioned itself as the gateway of Arizona into Mexico.

On Feb. 10, 2016, the City of Phoenix hosted conversations at the office of Michael Patterson of the Polsinelli law firm, who has been a great advocate for the globalization of Arizona. With the Secretary of Economy of Sonora and his assistant secretary and directors for foreign trade, the leaders discussed the current state and future of the Arizona-Sonora economic relationship from the traditional sectors (food and tourism) to the modern sectors (high-end manufacturing and new technologies).

Focus on small firms The leaders agreed there are two complementary economies that need to move forward into more advanced industrial clusters at the small- and medium-size business level to the transnational corporation level.

NAFTA’s assumption is that three economies of different sizes and with different capacities can supplement each other to be a competitive region in the global economy. This same premise applies to Arizona and Sonora, and we can foster the bilateral interdependence in the best interest of both states.

If we manage to develop clusters and supply chains, we can utilize the

competitive advantages of both parties to truly create a vibrant region.

By attracting foreign and national investment to Arizona, hosting the headquarters and logistical operations in Arizona, while making the most of Mexico’s business-friendly environment (low operation costs and intellectual property enforcement), the American Southwest can truly become the fifth largest economic engine in the world with a population of about 60 million consumers and a GDP of $3 trillion.

Investment grows Once again the business leaders, public servants and experts confirmed that the Phoenix International State of the Metro is not only competitive and diverse, but beneficial to our constituencies. Gilbert, Mesa, Phoenix and Surprise are leaders in attracting foreign and national direct investment to create high-wage jobs that make Phoenix a global metropolitan area in which we all can live, study, work, prosper and retire.

If Phoenix is successful in its globalization efforts, the whole state will make progress, because Phoenix metro concentrates the largest share of companies that are engaged in foreign trade.

We must remain steadfast in viewing progress in open, honest and transparent ways so that businesses in the metropolitan areas of Arizona and Sonora continue their interaction and growth.

Julio Espinoza is a U.S. Mexico relationship expert currently advising local governments in Arizona and Sonora on their international efforts.

He can be reached at giulioalessandro@ gmail.com.

Doug Bruhnke is the founder and CEO of Global Chamber, an organization based in Phoenix, Ariz.

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May 25

The B2B Sharing Economy April 20

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Warehouse Automation

Use of technology to share resources like truck and warehouse capacity is an emerging trend in supply chain management—and, it’s a disruption whose effects are just being realized. Join us to discuss what lies ahead.

_________________ Warehouse automation can drive efficiency, safety and productivity. Panelists discuss the financial commitment— and ROI—associated with automation and the best strategies to assure those investments deliver.

New and improved software, equipment and technology are enabling carriers and cold storage providers to create a truly integrated cold chain that extends shelf life and enhances food safety and security.

November 9 September 21

Software & Technology

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_________________ Software and technology innovations are driving safety, efficiency, compliance and visibility throughout the food supply chain. Learn more about the latest developments in this fast-moving segment of our industry.

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Rail Surges Ahead

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Rail is playing a bigger role in the transportation of food and beverages. From North America’s Class I’s to regional and specialized services, rail is emerging as a reliable, cost efficient and sustainable addition to the transportation mix.

December 7

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Dates are subject to change.

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If you are interested in becoming a panel expert sponsor (up to 4 sponsors maximum), please contact Judy Welp at 480-821-1093 or jwelp@acbusinessmedia.com.

com/webinars FLOG0316_49-51_ECONDEV EM_ES_LS.indd 51

3/15/16 2:51 PM

FOOD (AND MORE) FOR THOUGHT

BY RUSSELL WALKER

Why FOOD TRACEABILITY Continues To Grow In Importance

R WA L K E R

KEY POINTS Food products are increasingly:

➊ global in sourcing ➋ traded by various intermediaries

➌ poorly examined at critical steps in manufacturing

➍ used as ingredients in industrial or largescale food production (masking their origin).

ecent events in the food industry have sparked a greater focus on the importance of traceability in food supply chains.

The challenges facing Chipotle in 2015 around sourcing or humanely raised pork and then separately with bouts of E. coli show that food supply and safety issues are very much in the media.

Much of the recent attention on food origination has focused on the use of genetically modified organisms (GMO) in food products. Whole Foods Market announced a commitment to label all GMO products in its retail offerings by 2018. This means that Whole Foods will confirm GMO use in over 100,000 food suppliers—a herculean task.

Numerous apps are now available to assist buyers in identifying GMO foods when shopping in stores.

Meanwhile, state laws on the labeling of genetically-modified foods have been passed in Maine, Connecticut, and Vermont, and were narrowly defeated at the ballot in various others. Consumers have demonstrated a dramatic increase in their desire for more information about food supply.

Beyond GMO concerns Although GMO status has taken the spotlight to date, the consumer interest in food supply extends far beyond GMOs. New apps allow shoppers to identify features of food when making purchasing decisions, like Buycott and HarvestMark.

Even Applegate, a leading meat producer, provides videos about the sourcing of food items on its webpage. Videos are linked via barcode numbers unique to products, allowing customers to see who produced

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their meat and where.

In the summer of 2014, another company shook our consciousness around global food supply and its safety. OSI Group, an Illinois-based firm that supplies large, international fast food outlets in China, apologized for selling expired and possibly rotten meat through its Chinese division, Shanghai Husi Food Co. The division was responsible for processing chicken and beef sold to many American fast food restaurants, including McDonald’s, Papa John’s, Burger King, KFC, and Pizza Hut, as well as fast food outlets in parts of northern China.

This case shows the great reliance the international food supply has on a few major food processors. The fact that this case was brought to light by a disgruntled employee—and not by food supply chain detection or even a quality check by restaurants— further suggests that stronger surveillance and confirmation of our food supply are sorely needed.

The new supply chain Like the horsemeat scandal in Europe in 2013, this case highlights the complex, international web of food transfers that challenge restaurants and food suppliers in tracking and verifying the origin of food. Market evidence suggests that customers care greatly about food sourcing and food safety: Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, watched sales at its outlets in China drop over 14 percent in the scandal’s aftermath.

In the U.S., the FDA has taken steps to designate “high-risk foods” as required by the Food Safety Modernization Act. The goal is to focus particularly on foodborne

outbreaks that occur or are amplified at critical processing steps. Challenges in tracking food and ensuring food safety in light of recent large-scale food safety cases have contributed to President Obama proposing to centralize food safety responsibilities under a new, single food safety agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, as compared to the 15 governmental agencies that currently have a voice on the matter.

Efforts to label the GMO status of food shows an increasing interest in understanding what we consume.

They also illustrate the need to expand awareness of other important factors in the supply of food, such as its origin, handling, farming and husbandry practices, and even the environmental impact of its production.

As shown by the OSI case, the food supply does show singular “bottlenecks,” or major food handlers that supply many restaurants and customers. This makes food tracing more difficult but even more important.

These features suggest that food traceability is needed more than ever. The past year saw advances in the U.S. supply chain, such as GMO labeling, consumer interest in developing additional food origin labeling schemes, and steps by the FDA to track “high-risk foods.” Foodservice operators should be proactive and share information about sourcing and origin, and consider adopting food labeling standards as well as purchasing from suppliers who permit tracing through apps and barcodes, for instance.

Russell Walker, Ph.D., is a clinical associate professor at the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. www.foodlogistics.com

3/15/16 1:27 PM

Challenge MercuryGate to find savings in your logistics network

The “Food Logistics Champions: Rock Stars of the Supply Chain” award profiles people in our industry whose hard work and vision are driving the global food/beverage supply chain forward. Represented on the list are industry veterans and newcomers, corporate executives and entrepreneurs, and those with backgrounds in academia, agriculture and related industries. Congratulations to these Champions!

6

™

CHRIS ANATRA NECS, Inc.

DAVID BENJAMIN Locus Traxx Worldwide

ROBERT F. BYRNE Terra Technology

TIM CORTES Plug Power

ANN DRAKE DSC Logistics

DON DURM PLM Trailer Leasing

CHAD LAUCHER ODW Logistics, Inc.

KRISTINE MAURO Kellogg Company

BRIAN MILLER Intesource, a PROACTIS Company

HOLLY MOCKUS Alchemy Systems

DOUG NIEMEYER TEKLYNX International SAS

JON SHAW Carrier Transicold & Refrigerated Systems

NELLY YUNTA Customized Brokers, a Crowley Company

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STEVE SAGER ExtenData

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Global Supply Chain S the Food and Beverag

For more than a century, Great Dane has delivered unparalleled Americanmade products. As the times have changed, our products have changed too, incorporating smarter technology, greater innovation and better customization. But running through every refrigerated and dry freight trailer, every flatbed and every truck body we make is one thing that will never change: our commitment to helping you get the job done. Let’s go.

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AN OPEN, CONSISTENT FLOW OF INFORMATION IS A CRITICAL FIRST STEP.

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Issue No. 174 March 2016

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