Consistency is a beautiful thing. From a customer perspective, it provides comfort; your favorite chain restaurant offers a similar experience whether you’re dining in Atlanta or San Francisco. From a business owner’s perspective, it provides efficiency; process consistency saves time and resources.
Inherently complex, the food supply chain enables the efficient movement of product from food producers and manufacturers to retailers, restaurants, and food service providers. For temperature-controlled items, inventory must be stored close to production sites and close to customers. The warehousing and logistics that come along with this can be tough to navigate, especially if a manufacturer has hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of inventory stretched across the supply chain at any given time.
Temperature-controlled infrastructure providers around the globe are growing their networks, but as they do, they must consider integrating their systems. Connecting warehouses and bringing customers a single source of truth for information on their inventory is crucial. Without it, producers and manufacturers must interact with each facility individually to coordinate activities for their inventory, which is inefficient and increases costs.
A better way forward
By partnering with Americold, food producers, retailers, and food service providers can optimize inventory management in one, two, or 65 of our facilities. Our warehouse management systems are all integrated into i-3PL, Americold’s proprietary supply chain management application. i-3PL provides a complete overview of inventory levels across the network, featuring automated reporting & alerts, and centralized order planning to help manufacturers manage their business. The Perfect Order dashboard displays key performance data to track service levels.
With less time spent tracking and juggling inventory, manufacturers can focus on making and selling the foods and beverages we all love.
The i-3PL supply chain management application is an integral function of the Americold Operating System (AOS), our unique business ecosystem that defines how we do what we do at every Americold facility around the world. The AOS comprises standard business practices, a defined culture, in-built innovation, and optimum value. So whether product is moving through one of our warehouses in Atlanta or one in New Zealand, the experience for our customers will be consistent.
Read more about the AOS and the operational rigor it instills at our facilities round the world. Be sure to also check out our latest video about the Food Supply Chain.