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West Coast and California Logistics Blog

Choosing a Food-Grade Warehouse: 5 Areas to Evaluate

Mar 4, 2018 / by Weber Logistics posted in Food Supply Chain, Food Logistics

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When outsourcing warehouse distribution, it’s essential to find the right 3PL partner. One that understands how to run a food-grade warehouse and remain in compliance with all regulatory requirements. 

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Become the Holiday Hero: Prepare your DC for the Food and Beverage Industry during Peak Season

Aug 6, 2015 / by Weber Logistics posted in West Coast Distribution, Logistics Technology, Food Supply Chain

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When you think of the holidays, what pops into your mind? Is it a winter wonderland, super sales, nonstop festive music, or is it all the FOOD! Can you image the holidays without your favorite holiday food and drinks to enjoy and share. The holidays would be ruined!

At Weber we don’t want to spoil the holiday spirit. Peak Season is approaching for the food and beverage industry and most are gearing up for holiday distribution. In order to ensure Weber can accommodate all our customer’s needs during this time, here are a few golden rules we use:

 

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Choosing the Right 3PL for Cold Chain Logistics and Food Distribution

Aug 14, 2014 / by Weber Logistics posted in Food Supply Chain, Refrigerated Trucking, Temperature Controlled Warehousing

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You know the perils of cold chain logistics and food distribution. Let your guard down, and a pallet of chocolate turns into a gooey mess, or you get stuck with racks full of canned goods nearing their sell-by date.

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The Logistics of Cold Chain Management

May 14, 2014 / by Weber Logistics posted in Food Supply Chain, Cold Chain Managment, Temperature Controlled Warehousing

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In two words: control and organization.  Cold chain management in the supply chain typically focuses on groceries, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, as well as some high tech products.  Each of the products under these umbrellas requires a constant temperature control to ensure the safe production and delivery to their final destination.

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Organic Food Storage: Key Considerations

May 7, 2014 / by Weber Logistics posted in Food Supply Chain, Temperature Controlled Warehousing, Food Logistics

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 The definition of “organic:” of, relating to, or derived from living matter. "Organic soils"

Sounds healthy, doesn’t it?  Millions of people have adopted organic foods for many of their main diet staples.  Consuming naturally grown products can be good for one’s health and these products continue to grow in popularity.  It may not seem like anything could go wrong between the farmer’s field and the retailer’s shelf, but beware: organic foods can be tainted by outside forces if not handled and stored properly and according to FDA regulations.

Choosing the right organic food warehouse partner and 3PL is a good start.  Read our paper: “Choosing a 3PL for food distribution.”

Organic Certification
It all starts with the farmer being properly certified and adhering to regulations and standards set down by the FDA.  These rules carry over to cover the transportation and safe organic food storage while they make their journey to the ultimate consumer.  A few things to consider when choosing an organic food warehouse:

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How to Choose the Right Food Logistics 3PL

Aug 28, 2013 / by Weber Logistics posted in 3PL, Food Supply Chain, Food Logistics

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You know the perils of food logistics. Let your guard down, and a truckload of perishables turns into an unsellable mess. Or you get stuck with racks full of canned goods nearing their sell-by date.

The right 3PL can help you avoid those pitfalls in food logistics distribution.  But how do you know which 3PL to trust with your food shipments?   Here are five essential questions every food shipper should ask.   These are covered in more detail in Weber’s new Insight Paper – Choosing a 3PL for Food Product Distribution. 

1. Can the 3PL monitor and maintain temperature integrity throughout the food logistics supply chain?   For temperature-sensitive products, a few degrees might spell the difference between a trip to market and a trip to the landfill.  Suddenly, you’re writing off thousands of dollars worth of product.

2. Can the 3PL meet all your customers’ requirements for code date compliance, FIFO and other picking rules?  While all your customers want to maximize product shelf life, each of them has different ideas about how to achieve that goal. Code date, expiration date, best used by date, FIFO, FEFO, LIFO—any of them might apply to a specific customer. And the rules might be different for different SKUs. Get the details wrong, and you could get stuck with product your customers refuse to take.

3. Can the 3PL help you reduce supply chain costs?  Marketing food products is a low-margin business. To maximize profit, you need to minimize costs, and that means making your food logistics operation as lean and efficient as possible. Your 3PL should demonstrate how it keeps that per-case cost as low as possible with smooth, efficient warehouse and transportation operations. 

4. Can the 3PL meet government requirements for tracing food shipments?  From the FDA to the USDA to the SEC, federal agencies have enacted a mass of regulations that describe how vendors of food for humans and pets must perform during a product recall. Even if nothing ever goes wrong with your product, you must be able to prove that you can track and trace any item by lot number. Companies that don’t meet government mandates can suffer significant penalties.

5. Does the 3PL have plenty of solid experience handling food products? Any 3PL can claim to have experience in food logistics, but how many transactions has the company handled, and for how many years? How many satisfied customers does it serve in the food industry? How many different kinds of food has it managed?

For more detail on these questions and how to tell the experts from the imposters in food logistics, download Weber’s new food logistics white paper

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Supply Chain Process: Are You Managing the Chain or the Link?

Aug 5, 2013 / by Weber Logistics posted in Third Party Logistics, Food Supply Chain

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Managing the supply chain process involves a series of constant changes, but many companies fail to manage these changes well. This is especially true where organizational structures reinforce cost control within segments of the supply chain – individual supply chain links – instead of across the complete cost chain.  In the words of the great golfer, Robert (Bobby) Jones, “It is nothing new or original to say that golf is played one stroke at a time. But it took me many years to realize it.” 

Many companies have yet to realize that a failure to evaluate supply chain changes in the context of the entire supply chain process will sub-optimize both total cost and service.
For instance, we continue to see organizations seeking to optimize their transportation spend without consideration of the impact on forward storage or handling costs.  The reverse is also true; some organizations evaluate storage or distribution alternatives solely on the handling or storage rates attainable.  Both approaches are myopic and will frequently inflate costs. 

A primary cause of a sub-optimized supply chain process is management silos.  When silos exist, either formally or informally, supply chain changes are typically evaluated in terms of individual supply chain links.   For example, when transportation services are procured separately from the product handling or warehousing purchase, there is a disconnect.  This disconnect can be amplified or reinforced by a bonus or incentive program that rewards managers for cost reductions for their fraction of the chain, often at the expense of another supply chain link. 

Cost is an important component of supply chain optimization but so are service and reputation.  Narrowly focusing on a portion of the supply chain process can also impact service levels and firm reputation.  In the instance of service, the lowest cost provider can sometimes gain business by under-estimating requirements, which results in a) poor service levels against KPIs, and/or b) added, unbudgeted costs via accessorial charges.  Poor service impacts rolling up from the end customers are hard to quantify but need to be measured as part of the evaluation of providers.  Impacts to reputation are even harder to estimate but can be lasting.  When your warehousing provider is shown to have a poor safety record or has engaged in illegal and abusive labor practices, all parties are tarred with the same brush.

When it comes to your supply chain, are you managing the chain or the link?  If it’s the latter, organizational structures and incentives are often the root of the problem.  

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It’s Hot Out There! The Importance of Cold Chain Management

Jul 17, 2013 / by Weber Logistics posted in Food Supply Chain, Cold Chain Managment, Refrigerated Trucking

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With many decades of experience in cold chain management for food industry customers in the Western U.S., Weber Logistics pays a lot of attention to the weather.  And it’s hard not to notice these days – it’s HOT out there!

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