“How do I meet the demands of my largest customer and grow my business?” That’s the challenge faced by the owner of Food Service Distributors (FSD), a small Indiana company that distributes chili in cans and microwaveable bowls to retailers, including Wal-Mart, and restaurants. He found the answer when he joined forces with DSC Logistics and began taking advantage of our MOST (Multi-Vendor Optimization Strategy) consolidation program.

FSD’s largest customer is Wal-Mart. FSD, a typical Wal-Mart supplier—small, regional, willing to accommodate Wal-Mart’s demands—has always shipped small amounts of product at a time. Now with Wal-Mart’s Remix program increasing the number of orders but reducing the size of those orders, FSD needs the benefits of our consolidation program even more. Our innovative program allows FSD and other participating vendors to maintain product inventory at any, or all, of the five strategically located MOST Logistics Centers, all food grade certified. We consolidate FSD’s orders with orders from multiple Wal-Mart vendors and deliver full truckloads to each of Wal-Mart’s 40 regional remix distribution centers. For FSD and other vendors, DSC functions as the compliance arm, a partner to help them through the remix transition slated for the spring of 2006.

For FSD, the benefits of MOST go beyond providing a high level of service to Wal-Mart. With DSC’s capabilities, FSD has access to a nationwide network, can ship by any mode to any place in the country and can take advantage of competitive pricing. In fact, DSC can give the small company everything it needs and can’t get done on its own in terms of customer service and operations—standard reporting, network, technology, facilities, buildings. Since partnering with DSC, FSD has introduced a new product and started shipping to a new location.

DSC handles 100 percent of FSD’s logistics business because the owner knows he can trust us. We know that small companies like FSD require more personalized service and we pay attention to all their needs. FSD receives good value from DSC’s MOST program, and we’ve learned there are lots of rewards in earning somebody’s trust.

With DSC, a logistics partner he can trust, FSD’s owner can meet the demands of the large customer and grow the business. And, we can make it possible for a small company to compete like a big one.