Portland, ME July 2, 2001 Contract management solutions company I-many Inc. and Distribution Market Advantage, a leading consortium of independent foodservice distribution companies, announced today the launch of their Contract and Program Portal. The portal is designed to help DMA members, who have a combined $12 billion in sales, strengthen their industry relationships by automating such processes as customer loyalty incentive programs, deviated billing, rebates and market development funds. I-many's Contract and Program Portal provides a central repository for contract information and streamlines how manufacturers, chain operators and distributors manage their contracts.
"The Contract and Program Portal is a huge win for the foodservice supply chain," said Tom Stewart, vice president of business development for DMA. "The ability to create and manage product contracts between manufacturers, distributors and operators significantly reduces the administrative cost of trade management for every constituent. We see this as an important step in the establishment of a common foodservice trade management environment."
DMA, with annual sales of over $900 million in the multi-unit operator segment, is an Illinois-based company representing 15 of the most prominent independent foodservice distributors in the country, including Allen Foods, Ben E. Keith Foods, HPC Foodservice and Reinhart Foodservice. "This collaborative achievement is the essence of what EFR is bringing to our industry by jointly creating a product that will result in real savings for all partners in the supply chain," said Jim Lavender, executive vice president for Ben E. Keith Foods.
Patty Duffey, national distributor trade manager at General Mills Foodservice said, "At General Mills, we find the most critical element of successful program management is clear communications between the operator and distributor account managers. This increases accuracy and decreases administrative time, which will allow us to focus our efforts helping the customer to improve their business, which is the ultimate goal."
DMA acts as an independent link between manufacturers, restaurant chain operators and distributors. DMA counts among its customers such powerhouses as Luby's Cafeterias, and works with brand-name manufacturers like Tyson Foods, General Mills and Sara Lee Corp.
