Need the perfect meal for the mothers in your life? ES3, with the help of some of our partners, has you covered! Roasted Vegetable Omelet Ingredients: Measure: Olive oil 2 tbsp Shallots, 12 small, minced 1 cup Egg Beaters® Liquid Eggs, thawed 18 cups Water 4 cups Roasted carrots (1/2″) 3 cups Frozen ORE-IDA fried potato cubes 3 cups Roasted MEZZETTA red bell peppers 3 cups Roasted MEZZETTA yellow bell peppers 3 cups Roasted zucchini (1/2″) 3 cups Roasted mushrooms, quartered 3 cups Roasted garlic, sliced 5 tbsp Rosemary, fresh, chopped 2 tbsp Thyme, fresh, chopped 1 tbsp Kosher salt 1 tbsp Black pepper 1 tbsp PAM® High Yield Canola Spray, as needed Shredded Asiago 6 cups Preparation: Melt I Can’t believe It’s Not Butter…
Getting Food Fast Instead of Eating Fast Food
Drive-thru grocery pick-up, or click-and-collect, is gaining ground in France. Before long, this model will likely gain ground in the US, as it is a reasonable last-mile delivery system for low population density areas of the US. These areas do not have enough households per square mile to justify daily home-delivery infrastructure. Plus, click-and-collect solves the multi-temperature challenges that come with home delivery. Plan your weeknight dinners and order the needed groceries during your lunch break, and then pick them up at the drive-thru on your way home. Getting food fast instead of eating fast food! Drive-through only grocer Zoomin Market opens in Olathe BY JOYCE SMITH The Kansas City Star Olathe’s new drive-through-only grocery store, Zoomin Market, is a hot new idea, but it…
6. Knowing the Unknown: Tacking Through the Demand and Anticipating the Shifts
Predicting and preparing for the future is the hallmark of success. Statisticians have spent entire careers trying to determine optimal production and shipments. Yet perfect forecasts still elude statisticians, and high error rates and incorrect inventory levels are the norm. While no crystal ball has yet emerged, the integration of real time demand data is beginning to reduce error rates in an industry plagued with on-shelf-availability problems. High out-of-stock rates have haunted the CPG industry, ranging from six to ten percent across all grocery items. Out-of-stocks are harmful to both retailers and manufacturers, as they are consumers’ least favorite shopping experience. Fifty percent of consumers will abandon their basket when they cannot purchase their desired item, and 70% of these consumers will flee to a…
The Internet of Things Needs a Supply Chain of New Ideas
There is no question that consumers have more choices of what to buy than ever before but the choices of how they buy are growing at an even faster pace. Technology has changed the way we shop and it is going to continue to change. What has not changed much over the last 50 years is how we get the goods from the factory to the consumer. Supply chains need to change to meet the new demands – faster delivery, smaller quantities, everything everywhere. It’s an exciting time. Brave New World By M.V. Greene, STORES Magazine he “Internet of Things,” where objects in the physical world are connected to electronic virtual networks, is poised to turn retail on its head. Not since the introduction of…
Pantry, Dash, Flow…What’s Next for Amazon?
UPDATE: We know what’s next- for now anyways. Check out #AmazonCart, another way Amazon is making it easier for consumers to purchase items with ease. A new partnership with Twitter lets consumers reply to tweets that feature an Amazon product link, using the hashtag #AmazonCart. The new partnership will use the hashtag reply as a signal to automatically add that items to the consumer’s Amazon cart, allowing for easy purchase the next time they sign in. Watch the launch video here. [divider] [dropcap ]A[/dropcap]mazon has been up to a lot of activity in the grocery and CPG industry lately. In conjunction with Q1’s results, Amazon introduced Amazon Pantry Prime, a service exclusively for Prime members. Available nationally, shoppers can fill a box with any pack size, and have…
Groupon Basics to Compete with Club Channel
Groupon announced its newest service, Groupon Basics, last week. The service is moving into a crowded area, as it is designed to compete with Costco, Sam’s Club, BJ’s, etc., plus Amazon’s new Pantry service. Basics offers 120 health, household, and personal care items for bulk purchase, and the company plans to expand to grocery categories in the coming months. The service features national brands, including Gillette, Dove, and Pantene. Shoppers do not need a membership to purchase through Groupon, unlike Costco, Sam’s Club, and Amazon’s Prime Pantry. Orders over $24.99 ship for free, and for a short time, shoppers will receive 5% of their purchase back in “Groupon Bucks,” Groupon’s virtual currency. “We’re putting the bulk buying power of Groupon to work for our customers, helping them…
Millennials and Brand Loyalty: Not Necessarily Exclusive
Many commentators have decried the demise of brand loyalty with the rise of the Millennial Generation. As a Millennial, I don’t think they’ve gotten it right. Luckily, my peers have spoken in up in a recent study conducted by Adroit Digital in January 2014. The results found that 64% of Millennials consider themselves to be just as brand loyal as their parents, but 77% said they “evaluate brands on a different set of criteria than their parents.” Having grown up with technology, Millennials are constantly connected, and think nothing of researching a product or brand in-store or online before making a purchase. This research can impact purchasing behavior: for instance, outside of financial reasons, the number one reason that Millennials will switch brands is if…
Last Mile Delivery: Amazon Takes the Plunge
The Wall Street Journal reports Amazon is piloting last-mile delivery in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York, likely incorporating learnings from Amazon’s established last mile delivery network in the UK. According to Jeff Bezos, this UK network was built because “commercial carriers couldn’t support our peak volumes.” This past Christmas season, Amazon experienced a similar problem with UPS and FedEx stateside, likely adding urgency to the last-mile delivery project in the US. Analysts estimate that Amazon shipped 608 million packages last year, at shipping costs of $2 – $8 per package, with the cheapest costs through USPS and higher costs through FedEx/UPS. The postal service is estimated to have handled 35% of the volume; UPS 30%; regional shippers 18%; and FedEx 17%. If/when Amazon expands its own…
7. From Back Office to Board Room: Supply Chain Gets Promoted
The days of the supply chain team being tucked under Operations and taking a back seat to functions like Marketing are waning. Supply chain is quickly becoming a board room topic as companies look to reduce costs and improve service, evolve to omni-channel, and become resilient to catastrophic events that could damage market share and even share price. CEOs, Boards, and Shareholders are seeing the impact that an experienced Chief Supply Chain Officer (CSCO) can have on the company. They are looking for the CSCO to deliver shareholder value in five primary areas: 1. Higher Sales: Fast and flexible supply networks improve on-shelf-availability and service to customers. Multiple studies have shown that a 3 to 4% improvement in service to the back room…
ES3 and C&S Provide 23,400 Books to Area Children
Keene, NH; April 11, 2014 – ES3 and C&S employees volunteered during National Volunteer Week by sorting and packing 23,400 books for kids in the Monadnock Region. This event, generously sponsored by First Book, has given 31 area schools and non-profit organizations brand new books. First Book is a non-profit organization that provides brand new books to children in need, distributing nearly 115 million books to date. Over 50% of New Hampshire fourth grade students score at reading levels that are considered “below proficient.” Of those students, 75% are from low-income families (Annie E. Casey Foundation, Kids Count Data Center). In a survey of 1,800 members of the First Book network, 99.1% said that the organization increases educational opportunities, allowing children to achieve a higher…