Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/519711
By Albert Rodriguez, Senior Vice President of Operations, Nogales Produce Inc. The grocery industry today under- stands the statistical trends of the ever-growing Hispanic consumer market, but many establishments – from the mom and pop stores, to national retail chains, to large chain convenience stores (c-stores) and their smaller operating counterparts – still struggle to understand the art of connecting with Hispanic customers. Many get a passing grade for appreciating the scientific statistical data, but they still fail to understand the art of actually connecting with Hispanic consumer. MASTERING THE SCIENCE, FAILING AT THE ART OF UNDERSTANDING THE HISPANIC CONSUMER An interview with Carl Herlitz, President and CEO, Herlitz IM. PSD: As the designers and builders of E3, you've had great success in wholesale and retail, supporting tens of thousands of customer loca- tions. Why have you and Anders devoted your lives to supply chain planning? CH: There are two reasons. First, we have always believed that buyers deserved a toolset to help make smarter and timelier decisions. Inventory is a distribution compa- ny's largest asset – driving both customer satisfaction and profitability. Poor customer service affects both top line and bottom line numbers. Having immediate insights and making the right buying decisions lowers inventory, improves service and the bottom line. Second, we believe that an integrated forecasting and replenishment solution built on today's technology provides huge benefits together with right-sizing inventory. Your An interview with Angela Santiago, President and CEO, The Little Potato Company Ltd. PSD: Tell our readers about The Little Potato Company. What makes your com- pany unique? AS: Most importantly, we focus solely on Creamer pota- toes. We don't sell bigger potatoes and we don't sell any other vegetables. The fact that we have proprietary rights to several Creamer potato varieties and work directly with breeders also makes us unique. We are elevating the potato to bring it back to its original glory in the con- sumer's mind and that is also very unique. Today's global produce market encompasses a variety of choices when it comes to supply chain technology. We can count on refrigerated trailers, software for quality assurance, and sensors and devices that monitor and assure the perfect temperature and location of the produce. Locus Traxx Worldwide is an IoT company leading the way in which companies provide transparency and visibility by tracking the temperature and location of their produce. Everyone talks about the "Internet of Things," or IoT. But what does the IoT mean for the cold chain industry? IDC defines the Internet of Things as Continued on Page 29 A Conversation with C3 LLC. C3 LLC is a family business committed to making the jobs of people in front-end operations easier, safer and more pro- ductive. The company's patented product, the C3 Safety Rope, is a cost-effective way to address the risks of retrieving grocery carts. "Whenever I describe our patented C3 Safety Rope, I hear the same thing: 'You should appear on Shark Tank!'" says Kassie Grimes, C3's Account Manager. Instead of seeking venture capital and acquiring debt for their start-up, Kassie Grimes and her husband Justin Grimes, Principal at C3, repurposed Kassie's parents' garage into their workshop to keep expenses low. "That common story of start-ups launching from garages cracks me up – we didn't even have our own garage at the time," Justin recalls. They've come a long way since those early days, most notably in the company's production, design and sourcing capabilities. Establishing northeast Minneapolis as headquarters has been a huge asset from a manufacturing and design perspective. "You Continued on Page 29 Continued on Page 29 HERLITZ'S HIMPACT A BEST OF BREED SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTION IOT: THE SUPPLY CHAIN'S MISSING LINK CREAMER POTATOES: SMALL BUNDLES OF BIG FLAVOR AND HEALTHY NUTRITION C3 SAFETY ROPE ADDRESSES CART RETRIEVAL RISKS Continued on Page 23 Continued on Page 23 O s e r C o m m u n i c a t i o n s G r o u p C h i c a g o M o n d a y, J u n e 8 , 2 0 1 5 AN INDEPENDENT PUBLICATION NOT AFFILIATED WITH UF