The Food & Beverage Transportation Management Paradox: The Gap Between Intent And Execution

By RedPrairie

Compared with other industries, Food & Beverage manufacturers and distributors are faced with unique challenges in moving products through the supply chain. Aside from the fact food items are highly perishable, and therefore speed is of the essence, shipments are often temperature controlled (46% in the AMR research covered below) and subject to extensive FDADA tracking requirements from original source to final destination.

Because of these challenges and RedPrairie's long track record of supporting the Food & Beverage industry, we commissioned AMR Research to conduct research on transportation management issues facing this industry, as well as the Consumer Goods and Chemicals industries. What they found may surprise you. There were definite gaps between what the decision-makers interviewed said were their intentions for transportation strategy and what actions and metrics they used to execute those strategies. AMR published an executive summary of their findings, available exclusively from RedPrairie, in March 2010 in a report titled: Transportation Management: Lessons from a Difficult Two Years.