ORLANDO, Fla. -- About 1,200 retailer attendees got a look at new products, suppliers and services during the McLane National Trade Show in Orlando, Fla., including extensive looks at an ever-increasing foodservice push and a complete lineup of technology programs and services.
Foodservice Focus
This year, McLane grouped all foodservice suppliers into one section of the trade-show floor to focus on foodservice offerings unlike past shows where the foodservice suppliers were peppered throughout the tradeshow floor.
“The convenience-store industry is very focused on foodservice, and we want to make sure we’re helping our retailers see what we have to offer in foodservice to help them gain back margins they might be losing in other areas,” said Holly Veale, foodservice category manager for McLane Grocery Distribution.
Today, the McLane foodservice offer runs a wide gamut from bakery and sandwiches to salads and fruit cups, and standby like coffee and roller-grill products.
“We haven’t emphasized foodservice to this degree before, so this year we’re showcasing it and making sure everyone knows about it,” Veale said. “We’ve received great feedback from retailers and suppliers alike on the layout and it has started a great dialogue.”
McLane also introduced a menu of solutions organized by day-part to give retailers a view of offerings from breakfast to midnight snack. The McLane menu serves as a resource for retailers to quickly identify foodservice offerings by the day-part in which the retailer would like to expand its offerings. The menu is also backed with detailed statistics that gives retailers up to date information on the current trends in foodservice.
“We want to make sure we are helping our retailers gain foodservice dollars,” Veale said.
Technology-Minded
On the technology side, McLane features a number of direct-store-delivery, lottery, customer managed inventory and the coming-soon mobile-ordering technology applications.
“We’re investing heavily to provide functionality for our retailers in such a way that it is cost effective and provides more bang for their buck,” Deon Johnson, director, business analysis and web development said.
The offers include:
Direct Store Delivery, an application on McLane’s Smart Handheld Device that:
- Allows customers to order all McLane and non-McLane inventory and deliveries on one single device in real-time.
- Also allows customers to take inventory and create shelf labels.
- Eliminates inconsistences, streamlines processes, reduces errors and saves time and money.
“Think about having one device that allows you to place an order or check in or do a physical count for every order in your store,” Johnson said.
Lottery, an application on McLane’s Smart Handheld Device that:
- Allows retailers to quickly activate lottery books, for any state, with an easy-to-use automated interface.
- Activations are immediately communicated to the back-office system so owners know what’s going on in their stores in real time.
- Reduces errors and liabilities, saves time and improves cash flow.
Customer Managed Inventory (CMI):
- Allows managers to better manage inventory in their stores by leveling out peaks and valleys in ordering.
- POS data automatically replenishes orders to prevent stores from having excess inventory.
- In 2015, retailers will be able to use CMI on non-McLane products.
Coming in 2015--Mobile Ordering:
- In 2015, retailers will be able to place orders on their smartphones and tablets through an app that can be downloaded on iTunes or GooglePlay.
- Features the same look and feel within application.
- This will be ready on Nov 30. Beta tests will begin in a couple stores in January 2015.
- Eliminates the use of analog phone lines to send orders.
“Our smart handheld has been in the industry for six years. When you go out and buy equipment it’s expensive, and McLane has been able to lease its retailers that equipment. In 2015, we’re redoing the entire look and feel of the application with our new mobile-ordering approach,” Johnson said.
Of the complete technology offer, Tom Sicola, vice president of marketing for McLane Co., said, “We’re presenting a lot of new technology offerings at this show.”
Built around the NASCAR theme MPH—Make Profits Happen, the September McLane National Trade show drew about 1,200 attendees, including 400 customers. There were 185 exhibitors, including 36 new suppliers.
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