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ISO Certification Enhances Saddle Creek Service
Lakeland, Fla., March 13, 2007 — Saddle Creek Corp. customers are receiving improved customer service, more accurate order selection results, and better information about their businesses thanks to the new ISO 9001: 2000 certification of the company's Lakeland, Fla., operating campus. The certification of the third-party logistics company's headquarters campus was completed in February, and improvements are being seen across Saddle Creek's warehousing, transportation and value-added businesses.
Saddle Creek management pursued certification to improve service to customers and to drive operating efficiencies and cost improvements. "As a company, we pride ourselves on doing whatever it takes to ensure customer satisfaction," said Brandi Metz, Saddle Creek ISO facilitator. "ISO certification is a natural progression for us. We already had most of the necessary processes in place. Our new management system provides us with the tools we need to stay focused on improving our operations and quickly and efficiently providing solutions for our customers."
"The certification process has enabled us to improve communication across our organization, put more accurate information for solving problems at our associates' fingertips, and improve tracking of everything from customer issues to potential hazards to exceptions to operating plans," Metz said. "Those enhancements have a significant impact on our service to our customers."
Certification included installation of Continuous Improvement Software (CIS) which enables Saddle Creek's operating associates to capture information on operational issues, exceptions, errors, and special customer requests. This results in a rich database of information about customer operations which then serves as a platform for improvements and customer communication.
"We measure our success as a company by the performance, quality and value we provide our customers," said Bruce Abels, president of Saddle Creek Corp. "Achieving ISO 9001:2000 certification throughout our organization gives us one more way to stay on top of that metric. It illustrates our company-wide commitment to quality and continuous improvement and gives us a competitive edge as we pursue new markets. Our associates have worked hard to earn this certification and are very committed to maintaining it."
The Lakeland, Fla., campus is the first Saddle Creek location to be ISO 9001:2000 certified by Moody International Certification, Inc. Other campuses also will become certified, including the Atlanta campus, where the certification process begins this month. Saddle Creek has facilities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Oklahoma.
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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 ISO 9001:2000
According to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), ISO 9001:2000 specifies quality management system requirements, allowing an organization to demonstrate its ability "to consistently provide product that meets customer and applicable regulatory requirements and aims to enhance customer satisfaction." For more information, visit www.iso.org.
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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
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