| |
Saddle Creek Opens Cross-Dock Operation in Florida
Lakeland, Fla., Sept. 6, 2007 —Saddle Creek Corp. announced today that the third-party logistics company has completed construction of a new high-volume cross-dock at its Lakeland, Fla. headquarters. The 98,600-square-foot facility is designed to provide distribution services for one of Saddle Creek’s key accounts as well as potential new business.
Saddle Creek’s flexibility is key for this perishable food manufacturer. The new facility is expected to be approximately 40 percent larger than the manufacturer will need initially. The remaining portion of the cross-dock building will be used for other business until this customer has need for additional space in the facility.
“By building a comprehensive cross-dock facility with room to grow, we’ll be able to accommodate our customer’s increased volume now and their projected double-digit growth in years to come,” said Michael DelBovo, senior vice president of Saddle Creek Transportation Inc., a subsidiary of Saddle Creek Corporation. “As a 3PL, we have the resources and flexibility to provide a custom solution that can adapt to our customers’ changing business needs.”
The new cross-dock will allow product to be pushed through in a smaller time frame, enabling the product to hit the shelves more quickly – a critical benefit for the manufacturer’s fresh product. “Our customer can now deliver even fresher product to consumers,” said DelBovo. “As a company, we pride ourselves on service excellence, so we’re especially excited to help our customer improve service to the consumer.”
Previously, the manufacturer used an existing Saddle Creek facility to handle its products. Designing the new facility exclusively as a true cross-dock will also result in labor savings. Product will be loaded continuously rather than being stored for several hours on the floor. “Bypassing the extra handling effort will result in labor productivity gains of approximately 15 to 20 percent,” said DelBovo.
The operation is managed by David Burr, Saddle Creek director of customer logistics. A team of 27 Saddle Creek associates operate the facility 24 hours a day, five days a week. Saddle Creek’s transportation arm will manage deliveries to retailers in Florida, southern Georgia and southern Alabama.
“For more than 15 years, Saddle Creek has been successfully managing cross-docks for customers in various industries, including beverage and retail. Recently, we’ve seen an increasing need in the marketplace for more cross-dock operations – especially among Florida retail companies, as our recent Food Logistics Industry Report* indicates,” said DelBovo. “At Saddle Creek, we do whatever it takes to address the needs of our customers. In this case, that included building a cross-dock for this manufacturer.”
* To download a copy of the 2007 Food Logistics Industry Report, go to www.saddlecrk.com/fl
# # #
About Saddle Creek Corporation
Saddle Creek Corp., headquartered in Lakeland, Fla., provides integrated warehousing, transportation, and value-added services nationwide. For more information, visit www.saddlecrk.com
About Saddle Creek Transportation Inc.
Saddle Creek Transportation, a subsidiary of Saddle Creek Corp., offers a full range of transportation services nationwide, including truckload, LTL, flatbed, and consolidation services.
|
|
Contact:
Stephen G. Cook
Vice President,
Saddle Creek Corporation
Telephone: 863/668-4316
E-Mail: stephen.cook@saddlecrk.com
Brian Everett
Senior Partner,
MindShare Strategies, Inc.
Telephone: 952/442-5638, ext. 201
E-Mail: media@mindshare.bz
Saddle Creek Newsroom 
Media Center
|
