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Efficiency gains in
distribution centers.
After purchasing the products,
Delhaize creates more savings with
efficient logistics. Whether from help
ing a supplier find the best lanes or
via back-hauling by Delhaize-owned
transportation, there is always room
for incremental improvement. At
Delhaize Group's distribution cent
ers, further efficiency gains are
made. Storage is expensive and so
is installing warehouse manage
ment systems. In order to achieve
the highest return possible it is cru
cial that products find their way into,
through, and out of the warehouse
as fast and efficiently as possible.
One example of a state-of-the-
art warehouse complex within the
Delhaize Group network can be
found in the semi-automated distri
bution centers of Delhaize Belgium in
Zellik, near Brussels. In these ware
houses, fresh products can both be
processed at a very high speed and
with a high level of customization.
This standardized customization not
only makes it possible to increase
the freshness of the products deliv
ered to the store, it also enables the
distribution center to supply a store
with only the number of products that
store expects to be able to sell. This
increased speed as well as height
ened selectivity both significantly
diminishes food waste store level
and increases inventory rotation at
the distribution center, which results
in fresher products for the customer
and higher returns for the Group. In
the U.S., Delhaize America installed
an overarching Supply Chain Mas
ter Network to increase the perfor
mance of its distribution centers and
logistic network. This master network
not only results in better conditions
from suppliers, because of the scale
advantages, it also increases the
quality of the products and reduces
the transportation costs.
While warehouse management sys
tems work well at distribution cent
ers, small inventories at store level
require a very different ordering sys
tem. At all operational companies
across Delhaize Group, systems have
been installed to optimize the store
inventory levels. For example, In 2012
Food Lion implemented Computer
Assisted Ordering (CAO) for center
store items at all 1,138 Food Lion
stores. Three Food Lion districts are
piloting CAO in fresh departments. In
Delhaize Europe, an important sup
port tool being implemented is SAP
Retail. This implementation repre
sents a new common way of work
ing across the region that unites
the foundational operating systems
and supply chain standard practices
across Delhaize Europe. It includes
the purchase, sale and handling
of products throughout both ware
houses and stores. The first phase
of the system implementation was
successfully launched in Greece in
2012 and will be further rolled out in
the rest of the European operations
in 2013.
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