Publix_Optimizes_Inventory_and_Transportation_Management

Publix Optimizes Inventory and Transportation Management Company History Publix was founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, the son of a rural Georgia grocer. Jenkins moved to Winter Haven, Florida, in 1927 and took a job as a stock clerk at the local Piggly Wiggly. He became the store’s manager six weeks later at the age of 17. At 20, he borrowed less than $2,000 and started his own 27-by-65-foot grocery store across the street with five employees. The store earned $500 its first year, in the midst of the Great Depression. Jenkins was one of the first in the grocery business to stress customer service and high-quality goods. While most of his competitors focused on price and productivity, the signs on the front of the Publix store read, ‘Where shopping is a pleasure,’ reflecting the firm’s early belief in the importance of customer satisfaction. Jenkins also stressed employee satisfaction, promoting almost entirely from within, and giving his workers a large amount of control over the section of the store in which they worked. Publix Super Markets tops the list of privately owned supermarket operators in the US. By emphasizing service and a family-friendly image over price, Publix has grown faster and been more profitable than Winn-Dixie Stores and other rivals. More than two-thirds of its 1,000-plus stores are in Florida, but it also operates in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Publix makes some of its own bakery, deli, and dairy goods, and many stores house pharmacies and banks. It also operates liquor stores, convenience stores, and Crispers restaurants in Florida. Founder George Jenkins began offering stock to Publix employees in 1930. Employees own about 30% of Publix, which is still run by the Jenkins family. Inventory and Transportation Management Publix selects Manhattan Associates to optimize Inventory and Transportation Management on June 2, 2008. As part of the Manhattan SCOPE (Supply Chain Optimization-Planning through Execution) portfolio, Transportation Lifecycle Management (TLM) is an integrated solution that will enable Publix to maintain complete control of its network and confidently make right transportation decisions across departments and external entities based on service needs, locations, carrier commitments and costs. Difficult economic conditions, skyrocketing energy costs and sustainability pressures are making transportation management systems (TMS) one of the fastest growing application segments with double-digit market growth for 2008. Because of the cumulative pressures, leading edge companies now take a more holistic view of the role and importance transportation plays in achieving their supply chain performance goals. In addition to enhancing its transportation procurement process, Publix will optimize transportation decisions in several areas, including store and warehouse replenishment, manufacturing raw materials and transferring products among facilities through both the company’s private fleet and contracted carriers. Manhattan’s TLM solution satisfies the grocery industry’s need to optimize how freight moves into and out of warehouses and stores using the most cost-effective combination of company-owned and contract carrier trucks. The software enables private fleet dispatch, appointment scheduling and incremental bidding to compare and help manage food manufacturer freight allowances. It also provides capabilities to manage specific challenges in the produce industry, and delivers full visibility into vendor managed deliveries. As a result, Publix will be able to manage inventory more efficiently, increase utilization of its fleet with planned and opportunistic backhauls while not violating tractor, trailer or driver rules, save fuel and ultimately enhance customer service while lowering costs. Manhattan’s TLM solution directly supports Publix’s focus on environmental sustainability and its promise to ‘make shopping a pleasure’ by having stores stocked with the products customers want. Manhattan’s work with leaders in the grocery industry has helped them craft capabilities extremely well-suited to wisely using fuel, fully tapping capacity in trucks and warehouses, intelligently delivering different types of products with varying shelf lives to the right stores and managing inventory to reduce waste. References: www.theferrarigroup.com, www. refrigeratedtrans.com , and google.com