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Smart & Final Streamlines Supply Chain Operations

With a total of 282 locations, Smart & Final Stores LLC operates 247 non-membership warehouse stores for food and foodservice supplies under the “Smart & Final” and “Smart Foodservice” in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho and northern Mexico.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Smart & Final’s customer base includes caterers, food service professionals, small businesses and individual consumers. Following its October 2007 acquisition of 35 stores from Whole Foods, Smart & Final also operates farmer’s market-style stores under the “Henry’s Farmers Markets” and “Sun Harvest Markets” banners in California and Texas.

Smart & Final wanted to consolidate all of its supply chain operations into a single system in order to streamline company operations, save money and position itself for growth.

Because the company stocks each of its stores from five California warehouse locations—in Commerce, Rancho Cucamonga, Modesto, Brea and Riverside, as well as a sixth location in Phoenix, Arizona—Smart & Final knew that it could easily unite its siloed buying merchandising with warehouse and store operations. In turn, Smart & Final would be able to create a streamlined, unified supply chain to serve all of its stores and accommodate any acquisitions.

An example of the importance of this strategy was made apparent in 2008 when Smart & Final integrated 35 stores and a warehouse, acquired from Whole Foods in 2007, into its existing IT system.
Smart & Final re-engineered its supply chain operation—including the location and design of distribution centers, the product flow channels and the system infrastructure—to create a streamlined, agile supply chain. Key to the success of the new network was the design and implementation of a cube movement segregation philosophy. Step one was uniting siloed buying, merchandising, and warehouse and store operations departments.

Smart & Final also implemented several initiatives designed to decrease costs, reduce waste and increase efficiency in its warehouses. For example, by implementing wireless processes in the warehouse, including wireless picking, Smart & Final was able to create paperless warehouses.

Elimination of paper order forms are part of a larger green campaign created by Smart & Final geared towards reducing waste, further streamlining warehouse operations and reducing transportation. Smart & Final also implemented systemic cross-docking, enabling warehouses to increase efficiencies, reduce unnecessary movement of fast moving and/or seasonal goods and move merchandise more quickly from the warehouse to the store.