Gordon Food goes mobile
implemented Maximo Mobile Suite, the wireless deployment of MRO
Software's strategic asset management solution, Maximo.
Gordon Food Service, a US broadline foodservice distributor, has implemented Maximo Mobile Suite, the wireless deployment of MRO Software's strategic asset management solution, Maximo.
Gordon Food Service is deploying the Maximo Mobile Suite at four of its automated warehouses. These automated warehouses contain miles of conveyors, automated storage and retrieval systems, and complex refrigeration systems. In this environment, where workers are tasked with completing regular maintenance and safety procedures, the ability to track and report critical asset data provides strategic value to the organisation.
Because the technicians are not shop-based but are always out on the floor, the mobile technology provides a method for them to track, report and complete work without having to return to the shop to use the computer. By extending Maximo to mobile devices, Gordon Food Service expects real-time inventory management to help increase operational efficiencies and improve overall quality of service.
Gordon Food Service employees can now access relevant inventory and maintenance data; and meet stringent food safety standards in an un-tethered environment. For example, after checking the temperature on a refrigerator in the distribution centre, workers can input the information directly into their handheld devices, reducing paperwork, increasing data accuracy and minimising downtime.
Additionally, the Maximo Mobile Suite improves Gordon Food Service's safety procedures by enabling workers to conduct mandatory lock out/tag out routines via their handheld devices.
"Based on the benefits we have achieved during the past nine years using Maximo, the decision to upgrade to the Maximo Mobile suite was an easy one," said Mark Grimes, control systems developer for Gordon Food Service. "We are confident this system will help us improve data entry accuracy, increase efficiency, cut costs and maintain the quality of foodservice we have built our reputation on. Using Maximo and improved internal processes, we have reduced our inventory levels by five percent, and we anticipate that the addition of mobile system will help us to meet our goal of an additional 10 per cent in inventory reduction over the next year."
Gordon Food Service, a 103-year-old family owned and managed broadline foodservice distributor, is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The company's distribution network services 30,000 customers with over 12,000 products in nine US states and six Canadian provinces. Gordon Food Service, which has over 5,000 employees, generated annual sales over $2 billion (€2bn) in the last fiscal year.
