Tanimura & Antle’s Appointment-Based System Gives Customers Unsurpassed Transportation Confidence
August 2007

Spreckels, California, August 29, 2007 – Tanimura & Antle Fresh Foods, Inc. proves it’s an innovative, leading-edge solutions provider with their increasingly recognized trucking Appointments system. Built on a platform that uses state-of-the-art scheduling technologies, the system gives customers an unparalleled produce transportation advantage.

“Our unique Appointment system gives our customers the assurance that trucks can reliably arrive and, more importantly, depart within a designated time frame,” said Ken Silveira, president. “With this system, we provide a significant advantage to our customers’ logistics.”

The Appointments system interacts with forecast technology to anticipate when product will be ready for harvest. Using this forecast data means that product is tracked into the system and slated for a particular shipment before it arrives into inventory. This means less storage time, shorter turnaround, and ultimately, fresher product for Tanimura & Antle customers.

At Tanimura & Antle coolers, an estimated 200 trucks visit each day. With this type of traffic, managing trucks is critical to keeping customers satisfied while maintaining their truck fleets’ efficiencies. Average truck turn around time is 49 minutes, with 90% of appointments kept as scheduled. “Truckers in particular appreciate the consideration we show, and the fact that when they make an appointment for a particular day, that appointment is kept. They trust us”, remarked Fred Cauntay, manager of Appointments. “When we make an appointment with T&A, the times are upheld. Normally our trucks load at or before the appointment time. Bottom line, an appointment with T&A means something,” said Dale Cape of Steve Nelson Trucking. With this state-of-the-art system, the trucker does not have to be on site to make or change appointments.

Alternatively, Tanimura & Antle can source transportation to ship produce at a delivered price. Solving the transportation dilemma is of tremendous value to customers, particularly during times when trucks are scarce. Tanimura & Antle’s long-standing relationships with trucking companies allow them this edge.

Staffed by a seasoned logistics team, “the system works well because it balances the data on our system with the benefit of our experienced employees. Each Appointments desk is staffed with a person who must be able to successfully manage forecasted schedules in conjunction with communication from the in-bound truck drivers. In addition, we have supply forces to contend with. All of these combine to make our Appointments team a sort of “air traffic control”. This is really the heart of our distribution,” said Fred Cauntay, Manager of Appointments.

For reliable, on-time truck loading, Tanimura & Antle has the produce industry’s gold standard. Additional information about Tanimura & Antle may be found at www.taproduce.com.

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Tanimura & Antle is an industry leader whose commitment to premium quality produce has remained strong since its formation in 1982. The Tanimura & Antle families combined more than 50 years of experience and knowledge to establish a produce company unrivaled in its quality products, innovation and dedication to growers, customers, consumers and employees. Today, as the largest independent lettuce grower/distributor in the U.S., Tanimura & Antle farms over 60,000 acres of rich, fertile farmland and ships a full line of premium fresh produce products through North America, Europe and Asia.

Contacts:
Rick Bravo
Vice President, Sales
P.O. Box 4070
Salinas, CA 93912-4070
831-455-2950
rickbravo@taproduce.com

John Killeen
Vice President, Marketing and Business Development
P.O. Box 4070
Salinas, CA 93912-4070
831-455-2950
johnk@taproduce.com