Distribution

RSS

The company debuted its latest near-zero natural gas engine technology, super-efficient diesel engines and shared its plans to introduce what it says will be a “revolutionary” heavy-duty diesel engine in 2022.

One of the best ways to reduce exhaust emissions and cut fuel costs obviously is to burn less fuel. Although fuel prices have substantially decreased in the past few years and have largely stabilized for now, beverage fleets remain proactive about reducing their fuel consumption. Between route/load optimization and updates to the latest drivetrain technology, the low-hanging fuel-economy fruit has been thoroughly harvested. Among the more common fuel saving strategies reported is the use of factory-installed idle shut-down timers to reduce unnecessary engine idling.

As a small company growing at 20 percent a year in a narrowly specialized segment of the beverage distribution business, Nampa, Idaho-based Idaho Springs Water succeeds by controlling costs in every corner of its fleet operations, including vehicle acquisition and maintenance, routing optimization, and fuel costs.

Whether its craft beer, imported bottled water, cold-pressed juices or any of the other premium beverages gaining traction, market analysts have highlighted that consumers are willing to pay a premium price if they feel they are getting value-added benefits from a product.

With a few notable exceptions, full-service leasing continues to be much more popular among the very large fleets than it is among the smaller fleets of Beverage Industry readers.

Increased SKU counts, tight warehouse and retail spaces, and delivery personnel who manage heavy cases and kegs are driving the proliferation of new mobile carts and hand trucks designed to improve ergonomics and enable warehouse staff to safely stack, retrieve and deliver products.

Advertising and marketing essentially are story-telling. Short stories by necessity but nonetheless story-telling. One of the first lessons taught about creating a story in many composition and creative writing classes is to show, don’t tell. The audience more likely will  remember a story when they’re shown a picture in their mind’s eye, than if the story merely is told.

It’s often said that change is the only absolute certainty in business. The difference between thriving, surviving or not, comes down to how one responds when those changes arrive, often at the least opportune moment.

When hurricane season arrives, meteorologists and those living along the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts rely on sophisticated data tracking and expert monitoring to stay informed and keep safe. To keep pace with an explosive number of SKUs, the beverage industry avoids the “eye of the storm” by equipping field staff with handheld technology and streamlined direct store delivery (DSD) solutions to capture data, track vehicle locations and improve productivity.