Distributor Collaboration Spurs Innovation
Life can be lonely for foodservice distributors who don’t collaborate with their industry peers.
This is especially true of independent distributors, who usually have regional expertise but often lack knowledge of innovative best practices in other geographies.
That is why many independents have built their own informal collaborative networks to compare practices and share ideas. The IFDA Solutions Conference is a major opportunity for them to meet and exchange information.
Aaron Kerkhoff, General Manager, Kohl Wholesale, based in Quincy, Ill., explained to us how this plays out. His company is an independent operator and broadliner, and he relies on collaboration to advance innovation for his organization. He also is a member of IFDA’s Planning Council for the conference, which helps guide education sessions, the show expo and other aspects of the event.
“Networking with independent distributor peers is especially helpful for my business,” Kerkhoff said. “This becomes like a share group in which you can help each other with resources and visit their facilities.”
This type of networking enables him to identify relevant and innovative technology solutions and providers. He explained, “Before I speak to a technology solutions company, it’s important for me to know they have been working with others in foodservice distribution.”
Automation is one of the biggest topics he discusses with peers.
“I am particularly interested in how automation can bring innovative approaches to reducing labor and injuries, considering all the manual labor involved in this industry.”
He is excited about the opportunity for robots to handle the most difficult and repetitive tasks currently executed by employees.
There are additional ways that distributors can succeed through analyzing best practices. They can embrace benchmarking and data-driven analytics to understand how to meet and exceed industry standards. Kerkhoff will be a panelist at a Solutions Conference education session called “Beyond Benchmark: Driving Operational Excellence in Food Distribution.” Another speaker in that session is Will Collins, CEO, BFC Software. The presentation will showcase real-world examples involving food distributors and discuss data-driven decision-making.
Article authored by freelance writer David Orgel.
