Case Studies - C&M Food Distributing

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C&M Foods Spreads its Flavor with CaseStack

Improving supply chain and logistics solutions improved the bottom line for C&M Foods.

The process of marinating meat to enhance its flavor and texture has been around for thousands of years, but it was only thirty years ago that a small steakhouse in Jasper, Alabama, introduced its original hickory flavor marinade. Today, C&M Foods makes it easy for meat lovers to enjoy its special recipe far beyond the Alabama town through its Moore's Marinade sauces. With CaseStack's integrated logistics solutions, the now Birmingham-headquartered company is able to deliver a taste of the South to consumers across the United States.

The popularity of the original marinade prompted a promising growth opportunity, so C&M Foods decided to include teriyaki and buffalo wing sauces to its product line. With this expansion came the need to improve supply chain management and logistics. David Bell, President of C&M Foods, recalls, "Prior to working with CaseStack, we used to have one person call up three freight companies to see who had the best price for each order that came in." Since David and his team joined CaseStack in June of 2004, they have had more time to devote to growing the business.

While C&M Foods struggled with its logistics strategy, one of its largest customers was going through its own changes. While C&M spent a lot of time trying to get shipments out and delivered on time, the nation's largest retailer was turning to consolidation. They wanted to minimize the number of trucks at the dock in order to accommodate the holiday increase in deliveries. Larger deliveries received priority, but C&M foods did not have the capacity to consolidate their loads. Problems in logistics management threatened C&M's growing success.

The CaseStack Solution

David Bell turned to CaseStack. CaseStack provided the solution with its retailer-driven consolidation program. The program "mass transits" products, which promotes truckload consolidation by using a master purchase order created by the retailer. It is a win-win situation for the retailer and C&M, since it reduces dock congestion and also allows companies like C&M to receive preferred status on deliveries.

C&M joined CaseStack's warehousing and consolidation program in 2004. The company is currently distributing its products from CaseStack's Texas, Georgia, Chicago, and Pennsylvania locations. This creates a much stronger impact than C&M could have achieved on its own in Birmingham. This extended reach puts Moore's Marinades on the shelves of retailers nation-wide.

From C&M's perspective as a growing business, consolidation freed up employees for managing freight and inventory instead of having to hassle with tedious details.

Inventory Replenishment

Manager David Murib realizes many benefits from the simplicity that real-time reporting allows. CaseStack's Fortune 500 caliber web-based technology allows David to log in every few days to check inventory levels. He attests to the web-based technology's convenience, especially for reconciling end of the month numbers.

CaseStack's Warehouse Account Manager for C&M, Catalina Munoz, says, "The C&M team know how to take advantage of the resources that we have provided them. If David has a question on inventory, I know he is looking at our website and I can quickly respond to him; with access to the same information, issues can be quickly addressed. Our website is definitely one of our best tools to help out our customers with inventory management."

While consolidation initially attracted C&M to partner with CaseStack, the web-based technology has continued to provide smooth day-to-day operations. CaseStack's ability to understand and meet the needs of small businesses helps keep the relationship strong. "I know I will be taken care of," says David Bell.

Results

C&M no longer experiences the shipping limitations or delays that characterized the time prior to CaseStack. C&M is able to monitor freight and has the peace of mind of knowing that the product is delivered and received. As a result, they have more time to focus on other aspects of its business like the introduction of new products.

Bell sees CaseStack as a natural fit for smaller companies, providing the resources needed to compete with larger businesses.