ORLANDO, Fla. — In a collaborative effort with Nestlé Purina PetCare, Price Chopper Supermarkets, Schenectday, N.Y., started paying its invoices electronically through an electronic funds transfer (EFT) system and developing a weekly scorecard, among other initiatives.
Previously Price Chopper just “cut a check and stuck it in the mail,” said Mark Chandler, Price Chopper’s vice president, supply chain, during a session yesterday at the FMI/GMA Supply Chain Conference here. But by paying through EFT, the chain is earning an incentive from Nestlé that offsets the cost of the electronic system, he said.
“In the past we didn’t see the value [of EFT],” Chandler said. “But then we said, ‘This is crazy — why not do it?’ It has a great ROI.”
Price Chopper also wanted to make sure it was measuring Nestlé’s distribution metrics properly and set baselines for turns, lead times, case picks, service levels, days on hand and inventory costs. “There’s a scorecard every week,” he said.
Nestlé and Price Chopper also worked out a new delivery pattern for wet canned pet food that increased both turns and service levels.
