From Restaurant to Store Shelf

Enter Greystar Products Incorporated. Founded in 1999, the company's mission is to help expand the horizon of well-known restaurant brands to the grocery store. Founded by two grocery industry veterans Terry Italia and Greg Hayes, Greystar Products develops, manufactures, promotes, distributes and markets products to grocery and membership stores, giving consumers the ability to enjoy the same tastes in their own kitchens.

In 1999, Greystar collaborated with Tony Roma's restaurants to make its sauces available to grocery retailers. Now the barbecue sauce is in homes across the country, providing home-cooked meals with Tony Roma's signature barbecue taste, making ribs, steaks and chicken taste just like those served at the restaurants.

From Restaurant to Grocery Store Aisle
With Tony Roma onboard, Greystar Products began searching for a supply chain provider to handle distribution for the company's products. Greystar needed a new logistics partner that was responsive and knew the food industry inside and out. The company had to decide between adding the resources to handle logistics in-house or searching for a dependable provider who could stand up to the rigorous demands of the food industry.

"We searched carefully for a company who could deliver our products to grocers with as much attention to detail as we would have provided ourselves," says Terry Italia, president, Greystar Products Incorporated. "It was essential to maintain great relationships with our retail clients. Our expectations for superior customer service were high."

Greystar Products needed an innovative partner that could provide reliable customer support 24/7, as well as warehousing and transportation services suitable to meet the demands of its retailer customers. Greystar Products turned to the logistics solutions provider, CaseStack Inc.

The Solution
Greystar Products formed its partnership with CaseStack in 2003. Impressed with the system's combination of an advanced transportation and warehousing system with proprietary, web-based software to provide end-to-end fulfillment services, Greystar knew CaseStack was the right choice to keep its retail customers supplied. At the same time, Greystar saw that it would reap the benefits and economies of a global logistics system without all the infrastructure costs.

"Providing logistic services like that of a major food company is very important to our success," says Italia. "CaseStack allows us to do this by handling all our logistics needs. For a small company like ours that doesn't have its own internal logistics department, it makes a lot of sense to outsource to a company that is well-known in the industry."

Greystar's products are self-shipped to four of CaseStack's strategically located warehouses in California, Texas, Pennsylvania and Georgia. From these locations the products are then shipped out to major retailers across the country. The company's warehouses are equipped to handle the needs of each customer and can be customized to handle problems, should any arise. In one case, Greystar had a request from a retailer to place specialized stamps with the PO number on each case. Without the stamps, the manufacturer would be charged a fine. The solution was able to hold the order and stamp each case before it shipped, helping Greystar avoid the strict penalties. In addition to accommodating special requests, CaseStack's staff is adept at managing damaged products in an efficient manner, as well as pulling samples for special shipping via UPS or FedEx and notifying the customer of shortages.

Another incentive for Greystar Products in choosing the system is the company's retailer-driven consolidation program. The consolidation program combines two or three separate deliveries heading to the same distribution center, store or region into one full truckload delivery. The solution pools Greystar's products and receives a reduced freight rate. The consolidated program not only saves Greystar Products money but also cuts back on CO₂ emissions, road congestion and dock congestion.

"CaseStack's consolidation program helps save us money because of key partnerships they have with major retailers to whom we ship," Italia says.

Inventory Visibility 24/7
Greystar also benefits from the solution's proprietary Web-based technology, providing complete inventory visibility. As soon as products enter the warehouse, CaseStack inputs them into an online system that allows Greystar to interface with its inventory, gaining valuable supply-chain information -- all in real time. Greystar's employees log onto the system's web-based interface to check inventory, monitor shipments and change product description. The system is user-friendly and available to Greystar's employees 24/7.

"Having an online system that we can access 24/7 to check inventory up-to-the-minute is essential to run our business properly," says Italia. "CaseStack's one-of-a-kind system enables us to be more responsive and give our customers the service levels they expect."

The system allows Greystar to set minimum inventory levels, and if product ever dips below this inventory, an e-mail is sent to Greystar to notify the company of the shortage. The solution does everything from taking, holding, shipping, canceling and editing orders.

Conclusion
The relationship between Greystar Products and CaseStack assures that Tony Roma's barbecue sauces stay stocked in grocery stores and has been a key ingredient of the success of its mission to deliver the authentic Tony Roma's barbecue sauces to grocers and ultimately into the homes of hungry consumers nationwide.

"Working with the CaseStack team has been a great experience, and we couldn't ask for a more functional logistics provider for our Tony Roma's barbecue sauces," concludes Italia. "They are extremely responsive to our every need -- no matter how unique or specialized the request."