Technology Emerges as a Competitive Differentiator

Schafer Systems International, Charlotte, NC

Web site: www.ssi-schaefer.us

Year founded: 1937

Number of employees: 9,000

Number of food customers: N/A

Solution name(s): Schaefer Case Picker (SCP), Schaefer Miniload Crane (SMC), Schaefer Quad Shuttle (SQS), Schaefer Orbiter System, Schaefer Mobile Racking, and Conveyor

Worth noting: “One of the biggest problems that grocery and food service distributors face is how they can get product out the door for the least amount of expenditure. With the growing cost of food, in order to stay competitive they need to be able to lower cost without lowering throughput and keeping the supply chain safe. Food distributors need to know that they are keeping the supply chain as safe and cost effective as possible for the customers, and their own well-being.”

ShipXpress, Jacksonville Beach, FL

Web site: www.shipxpress.com

Year founded: 2000

Number of employees: 85

Number of food customers: 6

Solution name(s): ShipX Trax, ShipX E-BOL, ShipX Rates, ShipX Portal, ShipX Shop, ShipX Accounting

Worth noting: “The Food industry is faced with the age old challenge of too much to do in too little time. Despite the tremendous spend on information technology, much of the information that supply chain executives need for making critical decisions is not accessible Company: Silvon Software, Westmont, IL

Silvon Software, Westmont, IL

Web site: www.silvon.com

Year founded: 1987

Number of employees: 50

Number of food customers: 150

Solution name(s): Stratum

Worth noting: “The Silvon Stratum suite of operational planning, analysis and reporting applications is designed to help food manufacturers and distributors meet numerous challenges, including less predictable demand and supply, business-driven reporting, and demonstrating product category and promotional performance knowledge.”

SMC³, Peachtree City, GA

Web site: www.smc3.com

Year founded: 1935

Number of employees: 86

Number of food customers: 160

Solution name(s): CzarLite, RateWare XL, CarrierConnect XL, BidSense

Worth noting: “SMC³ is the leading provider of data, technology and education as an integrated solution to the freight transportation community. SMC³ delivers its core competency—LTL pricing expertise—through collaborative pricing technology that supports end-to-end, ongoing predictability in shipper/3PL-carrier relationships. Best known for its CzarLite®, Bid$ense® and RateWare® solutions, the company serves more than 5,000 customers throughout North America, including shippers, carriers, logistics service providers and freight-payment companies. The company also partners with leading transportation software developers for complete interoperability.”

Software Logistechs, Toledo, OH

Web site: www.softwarelogistechs.com

Year founded: 1997

Number of employees: 5

Number of food customers: 10

Solution name(s): DC-Xpress WMS

Worth noting: “One key issue to today’s food/grocery distributors is the visibility and management of perishable inventory. Many product managers that hold this responsibility today are left in the dark. As a result, they cannot provide their customers with guaranteed shelf-life contracts or product becomes distressed and spoiled. DC-Xpress WMS solves this problem by automatically managing perishable inventory to inform product managers of inventory approaching distressed conditions.”

Sologlobe, Montreal, Canada

Web site: www.sologlobe.com

Year founded: 1997

Number of employees: 40

Number of food customers: 20

Solution name(s): Solochain WMS, Solochain MES

Worth noting: “With the new FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, traceability is an important challenge.”

SPS Commerce, Minneapolis, MN

Web site: www.spscommerce.com

Year founded: 1998

Number of employees: 425

Number of food customers: 6,000

Solution name(s): SPSCommerce.net, Trading Partner Integration, Trading Partner Intelligence, Trading Partner Enablement, Trading Partner Applications, Trading Partner Suppliers

Worth noting: “With more than 40,000 customers worldwide, SPS Commerce gives retail trading partners an intelligent way to manage and fulfill orders. SPS operates one of the industry’s largest trading partner integration centers, SPSCommerce.net. SPSCommerce.net includes the industry’s most extensive and up-to-date repository of EDI transaction maps and POS data from leading retailers, grocers and distributors, ensuring greater reliability, faster implementations, extensive supply chain visibility, and insight for customers.”

Supply Chain Intelligence, Cary, NC

Web site: www.scintelligence.com

Year founded: 2001

Number of employees: N/A

Number of food customers: 32

Solution name(s): iSaaS, SCI’s Intelligence Suite, Outbound Shipment Intelligence, Demand Distribution Intelligence, Inbound Shipment Intelligence, Inbound Dock Scheduling Intelligence, Order Matching Intelligence, Outbound Dock Scheduling Intelligence, Cross-dock Intelligence

Worth noting: “Supply Chain Intelligence is a transportation logistics software company providing enterprise and subscription-based services based on a unique set of optimizers designed for the industries served. iSuite is a suite of products delivering optimal solutions for both inbound and outbound needs.”

Supply Chain Optimizers, Getzville, NY

Web site: www.supplychainoptimizers.com

Year founded: 1986

Number of employees: 10

Number of food customers: 30

Solution name(s): Packaging optimization; operations and distribution network design and optimization; private fleet analysis; transportation reviews and cost reduction projects; and S&OP consulting

Worth noting: “The biggest challenge facing distributors and manufacturers in the grocery and food service areas is how to reduce both carbon footprint and rein in costs at the same time. The Supply Chain Optimizers’ packaging optimization and network design do both. By getting the packaging right, companies reduce costs of corrugate, labor, and transportation while reducing carbon emissions. The network optimization work reduces cost while reducing miles driven and the associated carbon impact—a win-win situation.”

Swisslog, Newport News, VA

Web site: www.swisslog.com

Year founded: 1898

Number of employees: 2,200

Number of food customers: 50

Solution name(s): A variety of material handling solutions for warehouses and distribution centers providing inventory and order fulfillment solutions

Worth noting: “One of the biggest challenges facing the food and beverage sector is the overall organization of their distribution facilities—the efficient and accurate storage and order fulfillment of food items.”

Syntelic Solutions Corporation, Germantown, MD

Web site: www.syntelic.com

Year founded: 1996

Number of employees: 13

Number of food customers: 10

Solution name(s): Syntelic Enterprise

Worth noting: “Grocery and food service distribution is a high volume, low margin proposition, where inefficiencies in any area reduce profitability, i.e. damaged goods, miss-picks, wasted minutes in loading and unloading trucks, and out of route miles. Customer service—meeting delivery time windows, and expectations—is also important to food service distributors. As operations grow more complex, and every aspect of supply chain operations is considered for optimization, the sheer amount of data to be evaluated can be overwhelming. Software systems, unless fully integrated, create silos of data and mask opportunities to use supply chain data for decisions that squeeze out new cost savings and optimize operations at every turn.”

TAKE Solutions, Princeton, NJ

Web site: www.takesolutions.com/scm

Year founded: 2001

Number of employees: 1,100

Number of food customers: 20+

Solution name(s): Gemini Data Collection & OneSCM Collaboration Suite

Worth noting: “TAKE helps customers automate their inventory, manufacturing, and distribution processes through data collection to achieve lot traceability, inventory accuracy, cost of goods sold processes, reduced raw material shortages, and removal of excess inventory and inefficient data entry from their system.”