San Francisco, CA -- In January, 2012, the Smoke Jumpers industry expert group will kick off the year with a meeting focused on GPOs.  Defining the GPO, establishing guidelines and implementing change will be among the goals of this team over the course of a two day meeting.  Key questions will be debated including but not limited to:  What is the true contribution of a GPO - concept versus reality?  How is membership determined?  What is the realized purchasing influence?  What are the disciplines of engagement that organizations should establish?

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Chicago -- Paul Wietecha, President/CEO, Blacksmith Applications was asked to speak at a foodservice industry meeting hosted by Technomic, Inc.  In a presentation entitled “A Call for Action - Expect more of the same without a new game plan” Paul shared what the industry could expect to see over the next five years including: Industry growth; purchasing consolidation; differentiated products; trade a “survival” mechanism; and what he called “The Race to the Bottom.”  His reference title includes such trends as survival versus performance funds, category RFPs and closed-coding, GPO proliferation as well as a spread of deviated pricing ending meaningful “street business” among others.

He also shared with the group actions that can be taken to turn a positive result.  The more up-hill climb, investing, for manufacturers to design and develop true relevant points of difference within the product offering; or, to become truly operator focused and what exactly that might mean.  He also discussed trade spending and what can be done to make major strides forward from focused trade and pricing strategy to accountability, identifying issues such as spending decisions among groups with opposing responsibilities and objectives, to developing analytics as a core competency.

This look at trends and inevitable outcomes without positive modifications was followed by a group discussion focused on the opportunities, required actions and dramatically improved outcomes .

About Technomic

Technomic, Inc. provides clients with the facts, insights and consulting support they need to enhance their business strategies, decisions and results. Its services include numerous publications and digital products, as well as proprietary studies and ongoing research on all aspects of the food industry. (Source: Technomic, Inc.)

PUBLIC Hotel, Chicago, IL -- While the Smoke Jumpers Inaugural Meeting focused on analytics, the September meeting delivered four areas of content focusing on the challenges of delivering tools for sales force effectiveness while reducing tasks.  

Case Study 

The case study format works to present real life challenges within a company scenario that allows teams to problem solve and propose workable solutions -- both short and long term in execution scope. 

Operator Panel  

A panel of industry operators participated in a roundtable discussion focused on those areas of the engagement cycle from which they receive the most value.  One of the goals of the session was to begin defining the type of information operators require in order to make informed decisions, thus allowing organizations to arm sales personnel appropriately (e.g., the “tools” element of the agenda).    

Analytics Pilot Update 

A progress report was presented as a follow on to Session I Analytics. 

Roundtable Discussions 

As a result of requests to provide time for smaller breakout discussions, the following breakouts were held to focus on the topics of:

GPO compliance and options for controlling the growth of conversion from street business     

Best practices and lessons learned relative to third-party data acquisition providers (e.g., Instill, Tibersoft, CBS) 

Lake Forest, IL -- Pactiv Corporation is upgrading it’s implementation with Blacksmith Applications in order to extend its functionality to include distributor rebate processing, operator POD claims and GPO settlement.  Pactiv and Blacksmith have partnered in trade management solutions since 2004 and will continue their growth and evolution with additional functionality for FORGE Analytics with a focus on claims processing.  

Blacksmith, the leading provider of contract, trade and deduction management solutions for the foodservice and consumer goods industry, was selected after a six month evaluation of alternatives inclusive of ERP and Pricing Analytics providers.

About Pactiv

Pactiv Corporation, located in Lake Forest, Illinois, is a leader in the consumer and  foodservice/food packaging markets.  From beverage, take-out, home meal replacement, deli and bakery packaging to tableware and catering products, 80 percent of Pactiv’s sales are from market sectors in which it holds the No. 1 or No.2 market share position.  It’s well known Hefty brand products play a successful role in its revenue of well over $3 billion, broad product lines and unique distribution system.

FORGE  ANALYTICS is a registered service mark of Blacksmith Applications, Inc.

Trump Hotel, Chicago, IL -- The inaugural meeting of the industry expert group Smoke Jumpers commenced with the mission of bringing together leading industry experts to discuss and work to solve major industry challenges.  

Solving major industry challenges is difficult to do alone.  Trailblazers often become bogged down attempting a solo assault given the challenges of getting to actions beyond the ideas.

A team approach increases the odds of success through the synergy of comprehensive solutions that are more broadly accepted by peers.  

Paul Wietecha, President/CEO, Blacksmith Applications, stated “The issues we are planning to tackle are common in the industry and in need of solutions for a broad range of manufacturers.  This group of industry experts will help pave the way for evolution across significant, yet common, manufacturer challenges with actionable ideas that will drive results within their respective organizations and the industry as a whole.”

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Buffalo, NY -- Rich Products Corporation, pioneer in the frozen food industry, has selected Blacksmith Applications, Inc., the leading provider of contract, trade, and deduction management solutions for the foodservice and consumer goods industries.  

After an extensive evaluation of alternatives in the market, Rich’s will begin a full implementation of Blacksmith’s FORGE suite of products inclusive of its Analytics solutions.  The value proposition, more effective management of deduction processing and approval workflow through greater visibility to the economic impacts of proposed pricing and trade spending.  By enabling timely and reliable analysis of sales, trade and financial information, more informed decisions can be made and consistent controls established based on profitability and available budgets.

About Rich’s

Rich Products Corporation, headquartered in Buffalo, NY, is known as a pioneer in the frozen food industry and as a leading supplier and solutions provider to foodservice, in-store bakery and retail. Since 1945 Rich’s has grown to $2.9 billion in annual revenue, in 100 countries, selling more than 2,000 products across nine categories that include: Toppings & Icings, Sweet Goods, Appetizers, Finished Desserts, Pizza Products, Italian Specialties, Bread & Rolls, Bar-B-Q and Shrimp & Seafood. Technology and innovation has brought foods such as whipped toppings that retain their shape for hours to dough that doesn’t require proofing.    

FORGE ANALYTICS is a registered service mark of Blacksmith Applications, Inc.

Northfield, IL -- Kraft Foods, one of the world’s leading consumer and foodservice branded products, and Blacksmith Applications, a leading provider of trade management solutions, have begun a pilot assessing functionality of the FORGE suite of pricing, sales reporting and analytical tools relative to Kraft’s requirements.  Visibility into non-commercial purchasing trends, analysis of business by operator segment and operator purchase analytics are a few of the areas of focus.

With an interest in more strategic and efficient trade spending, more accurate and timely data, in-depth analysis, and the ability to leverage that data become requirements providing actionable business intelligence for key business decisions in order to maximize ROIs.  Visibility into the effectiveness of increased trade spending has gone from necessary to critical.

About Kraft 

Kraft Foods, headquartered in Northfield, IL, commands global leadership in categories including biscuits (cookies), chocolate, gum, candy and nuts with revenues of nearly $50 billion.  Take cookies for example; in North America, popular consumer brands include Oreos, Ritz, Chips Ahoy!, Wheat Thins, and Triscuit.  Ritz alone witnessed consumption in the year following the brand’s introduction into the US in 1934.  Nine categories represent foodservice including: Cold beverages, desserts, dressings, hot beverages, meals, meat & dairy, sauces, snacks and spreads.

FORGE is a registered service mark of Blacksmith Applications, Inc.

Fountain Inn, SC -- D&W Fine Pack, serving the restaurant, grocery, bakery, product and food processor markets, has selected Blacksmith Applications, the leading provider of contract, trade and deduction management solutions for the foodservice and consumer goods industry.  The two will partner to address the complexities of D&W’s three business units including CM Packaging, Stone Plastics and PDI.

Functionality will be focused on the management of pricing with emphasis on approval routing and evaluation.  Leveraging Blacksmith’s FORGE capabilities, defining the right price and getting it to the market quickly will now be possible saving time and money by facilitating improved analysis with less effort through additional enhancements such as:  Freight-based pricing tools, improved volume forecasting, budget-based management tools to augment existing margin approval controls, and settlement auto pay features.

About D&W

Headquartered in Fountain Inn, South Carolina, D&W Fine Pack is among one of the largest foodservice packaging companies in North America at $400 million in revenue, 1,600 employees, and 11 locations across North America.  From food service to supermarkets and food processors, its unique and innovative packaging spans product lines including but not limited to: Tableware, cutlery & kits, straws & stirrers, deli, bakery and aluminum containers and meal kits.  

FORGE is a registered service mark of Blacksmith Applications, Inc.

Austin, MN -- Following a six month multi-functional team evaluation, Hormel Foods has selected Blacksmith Applications, the leading provider of contract, trade and deduction management solutions for the foodservice and consumer goods industry.  

Tailored solutions to meet Hormel’s requirements included analysis of operated-based contract and claim processing workflow through complete automation of the claim workflow, inclusive of validation and settlement.  This streamlined claim settlement process represents a 'Best In Class' approach within the industry relative to cycle time and automation.

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