WINN-DIXIE CONTRACTS WITH MANUGISTICS FOR EXPEDITING SHIPMENTS

WINN-DIXIE CONTRACTS WITH MANUGISTICS FOR EXPEDITING SHIPMENTS    Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. has contracted with Manugistics Group Inc., a provider of profit optimization solutions, to reshape the major U.S. retail food chain's inbound and outbound transportation.
   Using Manugistics’ Global Logistics Management solution, Winn-Dixie has completed a four-month beta period of collaborating electronically with more than 20 carriers.
   With more than 1,000 stores in 12 states and the Bahamas, Winn-Dixie operates a multi-tiered distribution network involving multiple commodities and several modes of transportation. Since 2001, the company has given high priority to controlling its cost of freight on inbound products from vendors.
   Winn-Dixie now buys more products on a 'free on board' vendor basis, collecting the freight allowance from the vendor for those loads, and then contracting with Winn-Dixie’s own selected carriers.
   Manugistics’ solutions have made logistics “a core competency at Winn-Dixie,” said Dick Judd, the retailer’s vice president of warehousing and distribution. “I am very pleased with the results we’re seeing in the first phase of our project. We’re on track to hit our target numbers, and will likely see full project pay-back in less than a year.”