Ryder Named In Food Logistics’ Top 3PL, Cold Storage Providers List
By Anuja Abraham
Ryder System, Inc., a leader in supply chain, warehousing, and transportation management solutions, today announced it has been named to the Top 100 3PL and Cold Storage Providers list published by Food Logistics magazine, the only publication dedicated exclusively to the food and beverage supply chain. Ryder’s inclusion in the list reflects the company’s best-in-class supply chain execution in the food and beverage sector.
“The companies on this year’s list offer tremendous value to their customers in the food and beverage sector, starting with their understanding of the requirements and demands unique to this space,” said Lara L. Sowinski, editor-in-chief of Food Logistics. “For one, food and beverage supply chains operate in a highly regulated environment where safe and secure transportation and warehousing of the product, which often involves temperature-controlled facilities and equipment, is paramount. In addition, the constant introduction of new products coupled with increased consumer demand for more fresh produce raises the stakes even higher.”
With more than 30 million square feet of warehouse space throughout its global network, Ryder offers a full suite of supply chain management solutions for the food and beverage industry that include food packaging, distribution management, transportation management, dedicated contract carriage, and the Ryder Control Tower, a proprietary solution that provides visibility to in-transit inventory at the part/SKU level and allows for real-time adjustments to delivery. Through its Mixing and Consolidation Centers (MACC), Ryder also helps food and beverage companies reduce transportation miles and obtain greater efficiencies.
In January 2011, Ryder completed the acquisition of third party logistics provider Total Logistics Control (TLC) and significantly expanded its customer base in the consumer packaged goods sector. In May of this year, Ryder further expanded its food packaging capability by investing in significant enhancements to its 327,000-square-foot food packaging and distribution center in the major vegetable growing area of Beaver Dam, Wis. Ryder added 15,000 square feet of temperature-controlled space for a total of 342,000 square feet of low temperature (-10° to 45° degrees Fahrenheit) space at the Beaver Dam Logistics Center to provide food manufacturers with state-of-the-art distribution, packaging, and production capabilities for a wide array of frozen and refrigerated foods. Enhancements also included a packaging line with seven-station blending capability, high-speed robotic palletizing, and automatic and semi-automatic cartoning.
“We bring our expertise managing complex value-added warehousing and packaging operations as well as our strong capabilities in transportation management and dedicated contract carriage to food and beverage companies,” said Darin Cooprider, Vice President and General Manager of Consumer Packaged Goods, Ryder Supply Chain Solutions. “The result is outstanding supply chain execution, reliability, and the continuous innovation our customers need to run their supply chains efficiently.”
