In 2017, Merit took over unloading operations at a leading food service distributor’s Plant City DC in Florida, replacing one of our primary competitors. At the time of the changeover, Plant City consistently ranked in the middle-to-lower tier of the client’s locations in terms of efficiency.
One of the things that sets Merit apart is that we’re never satisfied with maintaining the status quo. Our number one priority from day one was finding ways to improve the performance of the Plant City’s receiving operations.
Our combination of experienced management, daily performance tracking and reporting, direct executive involvement, and expert workforce are the advantages that allow Merit to consistently provide a higher level of service than our competitors.
Our Site Manager, Alejandro Gonzalez, immediately began looking for ways to improve process efficiency. Several key areas for improvement were identified, and a plan was instituted to take advantage of these opportunities.
The changes paid immediate dividends. Within 18 months of assuming unloading duties, Merit helped Plant City’ first shift receiving team win back-to-back “Team of the Year” awards for 2017 and 2018. This was the first time that Plant City had ever won “Team of the Year,” and according to the client’s corporate office, the first time any location had won the award in back-to-back years.
The efficiency of Plant City’s first shift receiving team was evidenced by the ratio of pallets received to errors in processing, one of the key metrics used to decide the award. In 2017, Plant City achieved a 5000:1 ratio, and in 2018 we improved that ratio to 6000:1.