and product manager for Intelligrated, a company that spe-
cializes in material handling solutions. “If I’m a shipping
supervisor, my needs are far different than an inventory
planner’s.”
For tracking the whereabouts of items at the DC level,
Intelligrated offers a warehouse control system (WCS) that
includes visibility of products moving within the facility’s
four walls beyond that provided by warehouse management
systems. Intelligrated’s WCS “spans a lot of capabilities,
from order processing to inventory management to people
planning tools to execution monitoring and historical
tools,” Koch says. These capabilities also include real-time
performance monitoring that allows supervisors and man-
agers to make adjustments to current work flow.
Sargento finds better way to move its cheese
the various carriers’ lanes, rates, accessorial charges, and
more. But up until a few years ago, it didn’t always have
that. “We had a system that we utilized to organize loads
and put them together,” says Hartlaub. “But the old sys-
tem was very limited in what we were able to do.”
To obtain the visibility it needed, the company imple-
mented a transportation management system (TMS) from
“It allows us better visibility into the
carriers we are choosing,” says Hartlaub.
“We are able to rank them by whatever
criteria we choose. More visibility into
the carriers lane by lane is more cost
efficient.”
Today, all orders flow from Sargento’s
enterprise resource planning system to
the TMS. “Planners get visibility into the
TMS and pull those orders together,
combine them into truckloads, and
choose the most efficient route,” he
explains. “We know what our costs are
going to be.”
The system also allows Sargento to get status updates
from carriers while loads are on the road.
One of the biggest benefits for Sargento and its carri-
ers, Hartlaub says, has been the ability to transact business
electronically. Truckers now can invoice Sargento immedi-
ately upon delivery. “We used to get a large quantity of
mail,” he says. “Now, we can start the process the day the
final delivery is made. It works well for us and has reduced
the cost of invoices.”
Walk into almost any grocery store in the United States,
and you’ll find Sargento Foods’ products in the cheese
aisle. The privately held Plymouth, Wis.-based company
makes and distributes shredded, snack, and specialty
cheeses and other items to grocers and retailers around
the country.
