Services and solutions provided by McLane are playing a vital role in propelling Parker’s c-store chain expansion and success.
Parker’s has renewed a multi-year service agreement with supply chain services company McLane Co. Inc. McLane provides Parker’s with a number of grocery and foodservice supply chain solutions and is expected to assist Parker’s c-store chain as the company strives to double in size over the next five years.
Savannah, Ga.-based Parker’s is on track to grow from a $500 million company to a $1 billion company and has experienced 53% growth over the past three years. Central to that growth has been the retailer’s use of McLane’s suite of merchandising and technology services, which has boosted profit while cutting operational costs.
“Relationships with our vendor partners are key to the success of our company. McLane continues to go above and beyond to make sure we are able to serve our customer’s needs,” said Brandon Hofmann, chief marketing officer at Parker’s.
Last year Parker’s saved approximately 10% on cost of goods ordered with McLane’s Virtual Trade Show, an online trade show that enables McLane’s retail customers to view and book hundreds of quarterly product specials on top of any rebates they are receiving directly from their vendors. Parker’s also takes advantage of McLane’s Strategic Merchandising Portal, a complimentary Web-based gateway to the latest promotions, programs, products, services, resources and up-to-date planograms that helps the company streamline operations, optimize their product mix and increase profits.
Parker’s has reduced operational costs with McLane’s Premium Ordering Management Suite (POMS), which includes the Customer Managed Inventory (CMI) solution and Smart Hand Held (SHH) Inventory Management System barcode scanner. Driven by real-time register sales, CMI ensures retailers only order replacement products as they are sold, eliminating the need for store managers to manually place orders. The SHH scanner greatly reduces the time needed to take accurate inventory and integrates directly into Parker’s time-saving POMS applications including the Store-Level Receiving, Store-Level Reclamation and Physical Inventory apps.
Recently the company opened its first convenience store with drive-through foodservice in Claxton, Ga., where customers can purchase everything available in the store without leaving their car—including items from the store’s hot deli that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Such advances position Parker’s at the forefront of customer convenience.
“Parker’s is revolutionizing the convenience store industry with cutting edge approaches focused on saving time, increasing profitability and allowing its managers to spend more time with customers,” said Patrick NeSmith, area sales manager at McLane. “McLane is committed to keeping Parker’s on their mission of combining first-class customer service with an uncompromising commitment to quality. We look forward to our ongoing relationship with Parker’s, and what the coming years will bring.”