The FreshXperts
Anthony Totta -
Marketing Strategy, Branding
Business Development
Lee's Summit, MO
Jelger de Vriend -
Retail Sourcing & Merchandising Strategies in Europe The Netherlands
John Shelford -
Organizational Governance
Naples, FL
Mike Nicometo -
Cool Chain & Logistics
Optimization Shelf Life Enhancement
Track/Trace WMS
Iron Mountain, MI
Ron Pelger -
Retail Merchandising
Retail Operations
Shrink Recovery & Control
Reno, NV
Tim Vaux -
New Venture and Product Launch
Fresno, CA
Mike Chirveno -
Social Media
Customer Relationship Management
Kansas City, MO
Heidi Chapnick -
Internet/E-Commerce
Cross Channel Sales and Marketing
Roadmapping
Retail/Etail Plans
White Plains, NY
George Seifert -
QA Inspection
Produce Ripening
Rochester, NY
Dean Fahselt -
Produce Development
Value Added
Salinas, CA
Don Harris -
Buying Strategies and Training Organic Operations Category Development
Boulder, CO
|
|
 |
|
|
Wholesum Harvest
"Grow With Us" Sweepstakes
http://www.wholesumharvest.com/GrowWithUs
 |
Need complete visibility into your sales process? Need to know how your sales staff is performing? Need to the know the financial value of the prospects in your pipeline? Want the security of knowing all your sales data is secure in the event of a disaster?
eFreshTrack is the answer. It's a secure, hosted Customer Relationship Management solution. eSalesTrack provides full-featured campaign management, tracking of all interactions with current and potential customers including phone calls, emails and proposals and integration with your ERP system and Microsoft Outlook. eFreshTrack can also be accessed on your smartphone.
For information on eFreshTrack, contact Mike Chirveno at mchirveno@consultclearvision.com or 816-256-4507. |
|
|
Unplugging for More Productivity
By Tim Vaux
The Vaux Group
It is easier and easier to monitor the pulse of the produce business. The information stream we can now access, literally in the palms of our hands, would have previously taken a small army of analysts to assemble. Global connectivity is made easy by text, cell, Skype and email. Weather reports, field conditions, price changes and the industry's latest mergers (or talk of mergers) are available with a few clicks, strokes, Tweets or texts.
But most humans, myself included, function at our peak productivity when we are able to focus on a single problem or task. The steady stream of information that has become the norm can actually distract us, keeping us from focusing on problem solving and creative thinking. In other words, constantly being plugged in can keep us from doing the kinds of hard work and leadership that brought us to where we each are in the produce industry.
My wife, who operates a staffing firm here in California, was reminded of the danger of being overconnected earlier this year. One hectic spring day, she read an article from the Harvard Business Review titled "The Magic of Doing One Thing at a Time." According to the article, 25 to 50 percent of people report feeling overwhelmed or burdened at work. The author, a productivity expert, insisted that "what we've lost, above all, are stopping points, finish lines and boundaries." The very technology that allows us to access an amazing stream of information, and to keep our businesses running, can also create distractions from finishing tasks at hand.
 We have all experienced this. Have you ever tried to write an important proposal, or dream up your company's next strategic move, while also replying to every text or email that comes in? It's like a brain surgeon trying to operate in a roomful of a dozen energetic, curious four-year olds: nigh-on to impossible, setting yourself up for disaster.
The author of the Harvard Business Review article suggests that, to keep technology from diminishing productivity while also effectively harnessing technology's power, each business person should design ways to keep from "scratching the itch" of being constantly connected. My wife took the article to heart, carving out a few minutes later that day to "disconnect" and regain the focus required to make decisions later. Suggestions I have heard for maintaining productivity in a "wired" business culture include: - Guarding times and places where we know we are most productive. This might mean turning off the phone or email first thing in the morning to focus on the day's most important task.
- Carving out time for the things that we know rejuvenate us. If you know that missing your morning workout, or coffee, or whatever, will darken the day, then enjoy those activities without your cell phone. I know-it sounds quite radical-but you can always return those calls later.
- Making the most of meetings. One leader of a volunteer group decided that the group's monthly leadership meetings should never last more than 20 minutes and should always involve some sort of food on either side of the meeting. Participation and enthusiasm among the leadership increased, and that enthusiasm trickled down to all the members.
Other suggestions in the Harvard Business Review article, "The Magic of Doing One Thing at a Time," are to stop demanding instant responsiveness all through the day and schedule regular times to think more long term or strategically. You can view the whole article at: http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2012/03/the-magic-of-doing-one-thing-a.html
But save the link for later-it's been there since March, and it's not likely to go anywhere soon.
Vaux provides feasibility analysis, new product launch assistance, and other strategic services to the produce industry through the Vaux Group. Contact him at 559/437-9300 or timvaux@vauxgroup.com_.
|
|
|
|
|
WHAT WE DO
George Seifert, FreshXperts LLC
If your ripening program is done correctly, your rewards are well worth your efforts, as bananas are one of the top five selling items in the entire retail store. Again, not just in the produce department, but in the entire store!
That's a big number!
Controlling your shrink and shipping consistent color is the key. Your customers need to know what they can expect day in and day out.
Passionate, meticulous, detail oriented, precise, thorough; these are just a few words that describe what qualities a banana ripener needs to be successful.
No matter what size your banana ripening program is you must have a select individual (s) who's first priority is banana ripening. If they need to have other responsibilities, that's fine but the banana responsibilities have to come first.
There are well documented guidelines for banana ripening. Most programs stay somewhat close to them but many have "customized" there guidelines.
The best way to gauge your success is your shrink percent. What is yours?
If you are over 4% you definitely have room for improvement.
Here are some specific questions that have a direct impact on the success of your program:
- What is the consistency of the fruit and/or lot numbers when received from your supplier?
- How is your fruit inspected when first received at dock level?
- Is your ripening room technology adequate?
- Are your ripening rooms properly maintained?
- Are the rooms loaded properly?
- Where are your "pulper" cases located in the room?
- How often are the bananas visually inspected per day?
- How accurate are your projections per day?
- How is your fruit protected when being shipped to your stores?
"Banana ripening is a true art. You take raw, hard, sticky, cucumber like pieces of fruit and transform them into beautiful, aromatic, sweet, great tasting golden yellow bananas."
For more information on banana ripening programs, contact George Seifert, FreshXperts LLC. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
