Frito Lay Canada says it recently replaced its Montreal cross-dock facility with the Warehouse on Wheels System by Demountable Concepts Inc., based in Glassboro, N.J.
In 2006 Frito Lay Canada had about 365 separate facilities distributing snack food to retail centers from six factories across the country. This large number of distribution centers led company decision makers to determine that retooling its distribution systems would increase efficiency and result in significant savings.
Most of Frito Lay’s facilities were cross-dock operations being serviced by larger distribution centers. Trucks would arrive at the regional cross-dock, and product would be unloaded, sorted and loaded into local delivery trucks that made retail deliveries. While researching ways to make its cross-docks more efficient, Frito Lay discovered Warehouse on Wheels, a truck-based alternative to cross-docking used for hub-and-spoke retail distribution throughout North America.
With Warehouse on Wheels, multiple demountable truck bodies are long-hauled to a regional market on semi-trailers and demounted at a predetermined location. The bodies then are mounted by local straight delivery trucks that make the retail deliveries. In the meantime, the semi-trailer returns to the distribution center with empty bodies from the previous round of deliveries.
Rustin Cassway, president of Demountable Concepts, is excited about the possibilities for both companies. “The Warehouse on Wheels System has proven itself effective in many industries,” Cassway says. “The Frito Lay operation represents an entry into the snack food industry for Demountable Concepts, and Warehouse on Wheels is an excellent cost-control tool for Frito Lay.”
