Multi-Site Annual Inventory Program Across 12 Food Distribution Centers
Coordinated annual physical inventory program for regional food distributor managing fresh, frozen, and dry goods across 12 distribution centers with strict food safety and FIFO compliance requirements.
Client Overview
A regional food distributor operating 12 distribution centers across the Mid-Atlantic region, serving restaurants, institutional foodservice, and retail customers with a comprehensive portfolio of fresh, frozen, and dry goods.
The company manages over 45,000 SKUs including perishable items requiring strict temperature control, FIFO rotation, and food safety compliance across multiple temperature zones in each facility.
The Challenge
Coordinate simultaneous annual physical inventories across 12 geographically dispersed facilities while maintaining food safety standards and minimizing operational disruption.
Multi-Site Coordination
Simultaneous inventory counts across 12 facilities spanning 6 states, requiring coordinated scheduling, standardized procedures, and consistent quality control.
Temperature Integrity
Multiple temperature zones (frozen -10°F, refrigerated 34-38°F, dry ambient) requiring rapid counting to maintain product quality and food safety compliance.
Perishable Inventory
High volume of perishable items with short shelf life requiring accurate date code verification, FIFO validation, and rapid count completion to prevent spoilage.
Operational Continuity
Need to maintain daily delivery schedules to restaurants and foodservice customers while conducting comprehensive inventory counts across all facilities.
Our Solution
We deployed specialized food distribution teams with temperature-controlled counting protocols and coordinated project management across all 12 locations.
Coordinated Deployment
Deployed 85 trained counters across 12 sites with centralized project management ensuring consistent methodology and real-time progress tracking.
- Site-specific team assignments
- Standardized procedures across all locations
- Real-time communication network
Food Safety Protocols
Zone-based counting methodology prioritizing frozen and refrigerated areas with rapid completion times to maintain temperature integrity and product quality.
- Temperature monitoring during counts
- FIFO verification procedures
- Date code validation
Advanced Technology
Mobile scanning technology with cloud-based data aggregation providing real-time visibility across all 12 locations and immediate variance identification.
- Real-time data synchronization
- Automated variance reporting
- Centralized quality control
Results & Impact
Successfully completed coordinated annual inventory across all 12 facilities with zero food safety incidents.
Completed all 12 facilities within tight timeline while maintaining operations
Comprehensive count across 45,000+ SKUs in all 12 facilities
Detailed reporting with root cause analysis and improvement recommendations
Maintained perfect food safety record with no temperature excursions or spoilage
"Managing annual inventory across 12 distribution centers is always challenging, but this team made it seamless. Their understanding of food distribution operations and temperature-controlled environments was evident from day one. The coordinated approach ensured consistent results across all locations, and their food safety protocols met our internal standards. The real-time reporting gave us unprecedented visibility into the entire process. This was a very successful annual inventory program."
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