FOOD LION TO JOIN TRANSPORT NETWORK

JULIE GALLAGHER

SALISBURY, N.C. -- Food Lion here plans to join an online network later this quarter that will allow it to more easily communicate with its existing inbound transportation providers as well as new providers.

The transportation network, One Retail, provided by One Network Enterprises (formerly Elogex), Dallas, will facilitate Web-based order management for shipments into the 1,200-store retailer's seven distribution centers in five states.

"The network will provide us with the ability to place loads out to bid, select primary carriers and automate our scheduling process," said Dennis McCoy, vice president of distribution, Food Lion. "The more we can improve on data exchange, the quicker we can improve our operations."

One Network Enterprises is one of several providers that address inbound transportation; others are G-Log, Manugistics, BGI International, Nistevo and LeanLogistics.

Food Lion currently works with approximately 300 carriers and relies on a third-party provider for carrier selection and the delivery of loads.

When it becomes part of the One Retail network, Food Lion will have the ability to communicate with all of the 700 carriers and 40 vendors who've opted for membership in the network.

"The network provides proven grocery industry experience as well as a strong network of vendors and carriers," said McCoy.

About 150 Food Lion employees will have access to the network. They will be split into 36 administrative, 90 dispatch and 24 visibility users, according to One Network Enterprises.

Large Retail Members

Kroger, Safeway and Publix Super Markets, and their suppliers and transportation providers, are also members of the network. Retailers cannot communicate with one another on the network.

"When a retailer becomes a member of the network they automatically have access to the carriers who already partake in the network, by virtue of the other retailer members," said Cor Hoekstra, head of the transportation management practice, One Network Enterprises.

Communication among network members is facilitated through a common, secure URL. Once users have been authenticated, the system determines the functions that they're authorized to perform and the information they're granted access to, according to Hoekstra.

A retailer's integration into the network generally takes between 30 and 60 days, said Bill Vining, manager for the Food Lion account, One Network Enterprises. He explained that Food Lion's order system and financial applications must be integrated with the system, and its servers must be configured to accommodate its workflow requirements. Administrative users will have access to all functions of the system; dispatch users are limited to planning areas; and visibility users can only access certain shipment and order information.

"When users log in they are assigned roles and views," said Hoekstra. "Roles allow them to perform certain functions and a view determines the order and shipment data that a user can look at. It works this way because you don't want people tripping over each other."

The processes for integrating supplier and transportation providers to the network only take a few days and are less involved than those required for retailer integrations.

Carriers are charged a $50 monthly subscription fee for the service that allows them to schedule 50 appointments a month. Costs for retailers were unavailable.

Of the more than 700 carriers that were approached to join the network, only a few declined, said Hoekstra.

"They understand that it only takes a couple of clicks to schedule an appointment and that they might get additional business from other retailers," he said.