Warehousing: Page 246

Omnichannel Puts Food Supply Chains Through the Wringer

E-commerce grabs a bigger share of food sales, disrupting fulfillment strategies.

Because of the complexity of overhauling distribution and logistics, the technologically-savvy “pure-play” online retailers, known in some quarters as “basket bandits,” are eating the brick and mortar retailers’ lunch.

Grubhub Maintains Dominance in a Less Crowded Food Delivery Market

Since 2013, at least 25 food delivery companies have failed, according to data tracked by venture-capital research firm CB Insights.

With funding from investors harder to come by, it’s an open question whether these startups will be able to continue providing a service that can rival Grubhub in speed, reliability, and convenience at a competitive price.

Bayer Agrees to Acquire Monsanto For $66 Billion, Creating Mega Ag Company

The proposed merger will likely face an intense and lengthy regulatory process in the United States, Canada, Brazil, the European Union and elsewhere.

Werner Baumann (left), CEO of Bayer AG, and Hugh Grant (right), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Monsanto.

Uber Tests Self-Driving Cars in Pittsburgh, Envisions Food Deliveries

The test represents Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick’s vision to have a fleet of autonomous vehicles replace the company’s roughly 1.5 million drivers and to ferry food, packages and commuters around urban centers.

Uber Self driving Pittsburgh 57dac00f81834

Software & Technology

USDA to Test Online Shopping Using Food Stamps

To help accomplish this complex goal, USDA officials are expected to announce Thursday a request for online grocery retailers to participate in the program, which is expected to begin next summer.

Online shopping has dramatically altered buying habits for most Americans in recent years, and now, the $75 billion federal food stamps program, officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is moving toward making that option available to the 43 million or so people across the country receiving benefits.

B&G Foods Seeks to Acquire ACH Food Companies

Snack foods company B&G Foods is in talks to acquire ACH Food Companies Inc, the producer of Mazola cooking oil, from food supplier and retailer Associated British Foods Plc.

The deal would strengthen B&G's hold on shelf-stable products sold in the center of a grocery store, expanding a portfolio that already includes staples such as Mrs. Dash salt-free flavoring and Vermont Maid syrups.

Private Railcar Food and Beverage Association Forms to Address Opportunities

In September of 2015, a group of 10 leading food and beverage companies got together for three days to discuss improvements to managing and utilizing their private railcar fleets. From this summit, the PRFBA organization was born.

The association meets with the four Class 1 North American railroads at least twice per year as a group and the BOD’s meet with the railroads as well throughout the year.

CRST International Acquires Gardner Trucking Inc.

Gardner is considered the largest truckload carrier based in California and a leading provider of specialized regional truckload services, logistics, drayage and warehouse services for bulk and commodity end-to-end markets.

The Gardner acquisition is the single largest acquisition in CRST’s history. Adding the Gardner service portfolio to CRST greatly accelerates CRST’s goal of reaching $2 billion in annualized revenues by 2018.

Blue Harvest Fisheries Acquires Hygrade Ocean Products

With operations in Newport News, Virginia, and Fairhaven, Massachusetts, Blue Harvest owns a fleet of 15 scallop vessels and is an active participant in the bluefin tuna and swordfish fisheries.

Blue Harvest Fisheries, LLC has acquired Hygrade Ocean Products Inc., a New Bedford, Mass.-based processor and distributor of scallops, cod, and other premium fish products for an undisclosed sum.

Peapod’s Growth Slows Over Logistics Issues

The grocery delivery platform has also spent much of the last year-and-a-half fending off customer service complaints related to its app.

While sales were still growing, they dropped into the single digits at around 9 percent, instead of the double-digit growth that has been the norm of late.

Software Solutions

Ensuring an ERP Deployment Reaches a Successful Conclusion

Overall, ERP projects will be more successful when they are treated as a “Business Transformation” project and the most successful projects enjoy management team support, driven from the highest level.

Robert Frost, Group CEO, LINKFRESH

Drones to Deliver Chipotle Burritos to Virginia Tech

Project Wing will use self-guided hybrids that can fly like a plane or hover like a helicopter. They will make deliveries from a Chipotle food truck to assess the accuracy of navigation systems and how people respond.

The experimental service, to begin this month and last just a few weeks, is a test by Project Wing, a unit of Alphabet Inc. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. and the Blacksburg, Va., university have agreed to participate.

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