FOOD INDUSTRY PRODUCTIVITY CONVENTION & EXPOSITION

DAN ALAIMO

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Food Lion division of the Delhaize Group, Salisbury, N.C., said last week that it will contract with a company to provide a service commonly known in the trade as "lumping," as well as the management of the warehouse freight unloaders.

Dennis McCoy, Food Lion director of distribution, said during the 2000 Food Industry Productivity Convention & Exposition here that Food Lion has selected Progressive Logistics Services, Atlanta, to operate the in-bound trailer unloading activities. Principal sponsors of the convention are Food Distributors International, International Food Distributors Association, Food Marketing Institute and National Grocers Association.

McCoy said, "We are pleased to have Progressive Logistics Services supporting our distribution centers. They provided a very smooth transition and if that represents their continued support, we should obtain the operational improvements we are expecting from this change."

The new arrangement took effect in mid-October said a source close to the retailer and involved about 120 "load specialists," as the contractor prefers to call them, in three distribution centers: Disputanta, Va.; Greencastle, Pa., and Clinton, Tenn. PLS is attempting to professionalize the freight unloading function in grocery warehouses, noted the source.

This is not a test, but a full implementation, and replaces another service that Food Lion used for eight years, the source said.

In addition to on-site professional management, PLS will use a Web-based transactional technology to send invoices and customized reports to the retailer. Supervalu, Minneapolis, also uses PLS in "multiple" locations, said the source.

"Food Lion is acting as an advocate for our vendors and carriers to ensure that costs are kept low and service levels are improved," said Pat Tagnani, Food Lion operations manager. "Progressive Logistics Services has been charged with making that happen, and we are confident they will meet this challenge."

Among the benefits Food Lion expects from PLS are increased dock efficiency, improved carrier-warehouse relations, enhanced on-site management, less management time spent on freight handling, better management information systems and centralized carrier billing.