LOS GATOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FoodLink®, the leader in supply chain and commerce solutions for the fresh food industry, today announced a series of new customers that have selected its FoodLink PTI supply chain traceability solution for fresh produce.
Retail grocers are requiring new levels of information about the origin and history of the fresh food they sell. As a result, growers and shippers of fresh produce are turning to solutions such as FoodLink to simplify compliance with new industry standards for labeling and tracking the food they grow and transport. FoodLink combines advanced case and item-level tracking with a broad commerce network of buyers and sellers transacting over the FoodLink network, enabling faster and more cost effective information about where food is grown and packed all the way through the complete supply chain of shipping, purchasing and receiving by retail category managers and ultimately bringing full visibility to consumers.
“We have seen a large increase in demand for the FoodLink PTI and warehouse management solutions as the produce industry moves to comply with new requirements for traceability,” said Kevin Brooks, chief marketing officer, FoodLink. “Growers and shippers are getting serious about which solutions are the most cost effective and scalable across their operations, and we’re happy to help them succeed.”
New growers and marketers choosing the FoodLink PTI solution include Hirakata Farms, Pandol Associates Marketing and Roberson Onion Company.
Hirakata Farms
Hirakata Farms is a fifth generation family farm growing Rocky Ford melons in southeastern Colorado. In the packing house, FoodLink assigns unique tracking codes for each type of melon based on its harvest date and location, and prints industry standard labels at the end of each line. The process enables real-time electronic monitoring of harvested produce all the way to the receiving retailer distribution center.
“The ability to track food to its source and across the supply chain is something we strongly support, but we needed a partner that could work the way we do, without requiring a lot of expensive redesign or rethinking of our operations,” said Glen Hirakata, operations manager and partner, Hirakata Farms. “The FoodLink team was great, and they offered us a practical, flexible solution that will help us meet all current and future industry requirements for traceability.”
Pandol Associates Marketing
Pandol Marketing is an established grower, shipper, and distributor of fresh California produce, specializing in table grapes, citrus and kiwis.
“We considered a wide range of factors when we researched out choice of PTI software. After we evaluated areas such as ease of use, versatility, scalability, portability, cost and customer service, we chose FoodLink,” said Jim Pandol, president, Pandol Associates Marketing, Inc.
Roberson Onion
Roberson Onion Company was founded by Steve Roberson more than 30 years ago as a grower, packer and shipper of the Vidalia Onion. The company is a year round supplier of sweet, domestic and utility onions, and has working partnerships with growers in North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Georgia and Peru for sweet onions, sweet potatoes, eastern apples, blueberries and watermelons.
“We have been using FoodLink as a sales platform for some time, and it made sense to add on the PTI component,” said Brent Bryson, vice president, sales, Roberson Onion Company. “It was, for us, an obvious choice due to the strength of their team and technology, and their experience helping produce companies stay compliant with retailer requirements.”
About FoodLink
FoodLink is the leader in supply chain and commerce solutions for fresh food and traceability, connecting the perishable goods supply chain from the farm to the customer with an online network representing more than 2,000 companies including growers, shippers, carriers, retail grocers and wholesalers. For more information, visit www.foodlink.net.
