Unified Western Grocers Rolls out WMS

Grocery wholesaler turns to Retalix for warehouse management solution as part of real-time warehousing initiative

Grocery wholesaler turns to Retalix for warehouse management solution as part of real-time warehousing initiative

Dallas — August 27, 2004 — Grocery wholesaler Unified Western Grocers is rolling out a warehouse management system (WMS) from Retalix as part of the company's real-time warehousing initiative.

The largest retailer-owned grocery wholesaler in the western United States, accounting for nearly $3 billion in 2003 sales, Unified installed the Retalix TRICEPS Warehouse Management Solution at its Commerce, Calif. distribution center (DC) earlier this summer.

Retalix says that the TRICEPS solution improves productivity by enabling paperless, end-to-end inventory management from the point of receipt until final shipment. User companies can benefit from a flow of real-time, synchronized information that allows for more accurate tracking of warehouse inventory levels, reduced handling and inventory charges, improved labor productivity and more efficient management of store orders, according to the solution provider.

"Retalix's TRICEPS is helping us make more efficient use of our space, as well as improving our labor productivity and the quality of selection for our members," said Greg Vick, Unified's director of distribution. "With the installation at Commerce, our largest facility, we will be linking TRICEPS to Retalix's MDS Yard and Dock application, which will ensure timely and more accurate delivery to our stores. The combined efficiencies of these two solutions working together we expect will generate significant cost savings that we can pass along to our independent members."

The Commerce DC deployment follows the installation of the solution at the distributor's Portland, Ore. facility last year, which enabled Unified to deliver new levels of service to the company's 2,000 independent retailer members throughout their six state service area. Unified plans to deploy TRICEPS at all its other distribution centers.

"We are very pleased to see Unified rollout TRICEPS across their enterprise and support them in their push to synchronize and optimize their supply chain and warehouse management operations," said Jeff Yelton, CEO of Retalix USA.

Yelton added that TRICEPS offers food retailers a high level of real-time capabilities, including radio frequency (RF)-based voice selection functionality that can help drive advances in productivity and accuracy.

TRICEPS was developed by OMI International, a supplier of supply chain execution and warehouse management solutions, which Retalix acquired in January. In all, Retalix said that the TRICEPS solution is installed in over a hundred warehouses and distribution centers, with retail grocery, wholesalers and other large consumer package goods distributors.

Unified Western Grocers, Inc., with headquarters in Commerce, CA is a retailer-owned grocery distributor that supplies over 2,000 retail stores throughout the western United States. Unified, created in September 1999 from the merger of Certified Grocers of California of Los Angeles and United Grocers of Portland, Ore., generated approximately $2.8 billion in sales during the 2003 fiscal year.
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