Food Logistics serves the entire food supply chain industry with targeted content for manufacturers, retailers, and distributors.
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S P E C I A L R E P O R T 24 JUNE 2014 • FOOD LOGISTICS www.foodlogistics.com of management, ranging from wireless monitoring to wireless access to wireless verification, providing customers with a customized level of asset manage- ment for their specific application. IFCO (www.ifco-us.com) Based in Tampa, Fla., IFCO recently released a study confirming its returnable plastic con- tainers as a sustainable packaging option. The returnable plastic con- tainers generate 82 per- cent less solid waste, consume 92 percent less water, require 49 percent less energy, and lower ozone depletion by 76 percent for a weighted average of 10 top pro- duce commodities com- pared with shipping the same amount of produce in display-ready corru- gated boxes, the company noted. iGPS Inc. (www.igps.net) The iGPS pallet is 35 percent lighter than the typical multi-use wood pallet, according to the company, thus reducing fuel costs during transport and helping reduce pollution from greenhouse gas emissions. The pallet's full top deck coverage reduces product damage and returned loads, adding efficiency to the supply chain. If a pallet is damaged, however, it will not end up in a landfill, but will be 100 percent recycled by being molded into a new one. Inmar (www.inmar.com) Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Inmar provides real time supply chain data and analytics for products as they move through the forward and reverse supply chain. The company's supply chain analytics team helped clients reduce damages by 40 percent while its technology and networks help better manage returns and recalls in the food and beverage supply chain. Insight Inc. (www.insight-mss.com) Manassas, Va.-based Insight Inc. finds that clients can reduce costs between 5 and 20 percent by implementing green initiatives such as lowering mileage and idle times and filling trucks to capac- ity. One customer placed pallets on two levels, allowing them to reduce the number of daily truckloads by 40 percent and to save $110,000 per year. PepsiCo Inc. saved $44 million by switching from corrugated to reusable plastic shipping containers for one liter and 20-ounce bottles, conserving 196 million pounds of cor- rugated material. JustFoodERP (www.justfoodERP.com) Pittsburgh, Pa.-based JustFoodERP uses Microsoft software to help food processors and food distributors lower inventory costs and improve food safety. Each JustFoodERP customer measures their own food waste, energy consumption, and paper usage in their JustFoodERP systems. This year, the company launched a new product—JF Plant—that provides real-time metrics on a tablet right at the start or end of a food production line, result- ing in best practices in the recording of data around production energy usage. Kane Is Able (www.kaneisable.com) Scranton, Pa.-based Kane Is Able utilizes a concept called col- laborative distribution to reduce the costs in the supply chain while minimizing the impact on the environment. Through this initiative, the company pools the inventory and shipments of middle-market consumer goods manufacturers so common retail customers can receive fewer, larger shipments. The program reduces costs across the consumer goods supply chain and reduces carbon emissions since the same volume of goods is delivered using fewer trucks. Kenco (www.kencogroup.com) Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Kenco recently upgraded the lighting at facilities in Chattanooga and Reading, Pa. managed for a large U.S. coffee and coffeemaker manufacturer and a large U.S. food tray and food container manufacturer. The lighting array has saved about 222,170 kilowatt hours annually and is anticipated to reduce greenhouse gas emission by 137.2 tons in one year. The company has continued to implement sustainability dash- boards, which track usage of electricity, natural gas, and water. The dashboards also monitor labor costs and measure the output of both landfill waste and recyclable materials. The Kennedy Group (www.kennedygrp.com) The Kennedy Group, based in Cleveland, Ohio, provides solutions to help customers package, promote, identify and track their products. The company's sustainable solutions product line features environmentally-friendly labeling, packaging and PROVIDERS 2014 TOP Inmar recently renovated its headquarters in Winston/Salem, N.C., a former tobacco facility that is now Platinum LEED certified. IFCO's returnable plastic containers reduce solid waste, use less water and energy, and cause less ozone deple- tion compared with shipping produce in display-ready, corrugated boxes. FLOG_18-35_0614 GreenProviders.indd 24 6/12/14 8:56 AM