Finding Innovative Distribution Solutions
Foodservice distributors who visited the IFDA Solutions Conference expo found innovative ideas they are further examining.
That was the feedback from those exploring applications for transportation, supply chain, warehouses and other parts of their businesses.
This year’s expo featured more than 170 exhibitors, about a third of them new to the conference. The mix included “trusted vendor partners continuing to innovate” and “treasure hunting opportunities from new exhibitors who may hold the key to solving challenges you didn’t even know you had,” Mark Allen, IFDA’s President and CEO, told attendees at the conference, held in Columbus, Ohio.
John Bordewick, General Manager, Dot Foods, came across a few exhibitors taking innovative approaches to asset tracking in the supply chain.
“We’ve got a lot of assets like bulkheads [to separate dry, frozen, and cooler in the same trailer] and load bars [to keep the loads sturdy]. I saw some tracking devices that can help us monitor those as they move around the country, and I brought a few ideas back that I’ll be exploring further.”
He also visited with a solution provider that uses computer chips to power cameras placed throughout a facility.
“The cameras can read case labels from pick to load,” he observed. “It felt very futuristic. I think this technology would help with mispicks, service levels, and overall shipping accuracy. It’s definitely one of the more intriguing products I saw.”
Jon Birdwell, Director of Warehouse Operations, Ben E. Keith Co, explored an interesting inventory control solution called Dexory Inventory Warehouse Automation. He said it can perform up to 55,000 scans a day and is able to reach heights of 40 feet, calling it “a great tool to aid in inventory counts.”
Meanwhile, he noticed that slotting solutions and tools for cube capabilities were readily available from several companies, and observed that the traditional racking of a distribution center is being reinvented for case movement and volume limits.
On the transportation side, Jim Hoss, Senior Vice President of Transportation and Operations, Cash-Wa Distributing, said his company will be testing an innovative new AI-powered trailer backup camera solution from exhibitor Samsara to evaluate its ability to reduce accidents.
“If it works for us, we’ll be rolling it out fleet-wide,” he said.
On another front, Mike Peterson, Director of Information Technology, Kohl Wholesale, gathered additional information at the conference about cybersecurity, and he plans to bring it back so ownership and the IT team can explore feasibility of implementation.
“It will help keep our company and supply chain more resilient,” he said.
He took note of how cybersecurity is continuing to advance as a key factor in distribution operations.
“What used to be an afterthought is now front and center,” he elaborated. “We are targets for the threat actors, whether in phishing for a ransom or to disrupt the supply chain of the United States for political reasons. Device, email, and platform security are equally important as physical security. Three years ago, who would have known we would have an educational session at IFDA on SPF, DKIM, and DMARC? That’s really getting into the weeds, but it’s important that distributors are aware of this and why it is important to implement.”
Article authored by freelance writer David Orgel.
