Cannery in Need of 3PL Rail Services. The Challenge: A leading seller of tomatoTransportation and distribution solution increases efficiencies

The Challenge

A leading seller of tomato products in North America, with more than 75 years’ experience, sought ways to improve its process for distributing food to grocers and food wholesalers. This food processing company supplies nearly every national retail grocer with brand and private label products. To gain an edge on competition and cut costs, its cannery division decided to rely on rail as a main mode of transportation. To assist in this effort, the company wanted a 3PL provider with longstanding experience in the storage and handling of food, who also understood complexities of rail services operations. The hopes were to have a partner deliver a solution that offered railroad services to offload, store and distribute product to its clients.

Project Goal: Provide comprehensive railroad services including offloading, storing and distribution of canned goods for a leading food processing company.

The Solution

Suddath^® takes pride in serving, partnering and growing with other entrepreneurial spirited businesses that come from a deep-rooted heritage. Suddath designed a strategic solution utilizing our Jacksonville and Miami locations, which both offer rail services and infrastructure while maintaining the highest in food-quality warehouse standards and certifications, including a 3rd party food audit for each facility. The process starts with palletized canned goods being shipped to our warehouses via railroad. Once shipments are received we unload them appropriately where the product is then sent to major grocery chain local and statewide distribution centers in full pallet quantities. Implementing this customized process has increased efficiencies across the line, resulting in 100 rail cars off-loaded annually for this client alone since 2007.