Unopened e.mail..Good supply chain information - Prep early

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From Raliegh on the web-

From: Richard Wright > To: civicprep > Subject: [civicprep] Grocers and the 20 day supply myth > Date: Thursday, September 23, 1999 12:42 PM > > >From the Civic Preparedness discussion list. To post messages to this list, address them to civicprep@4hlists.org. > ------------------------------ > > Further to the conversations on food supply lines: > > We were at a BC government Y2K summit this week where a grocer said the > 20 day supply of food in the chain (which we were quoted by USDA a few > weeks ago) is a myth. I talked to him after the summit (which was all > off the record) and wrote this column from his remarks. Thought it might

> be of interest. > > Richard Wright > ********************* > Column 40 - Grocers > > Thrifty Foods says prepare now, not later > > In June 1999, Thrifty Foods, a Vancouver Island grocery chain, partnered > with Pacific Coast Savings and stuffed 100,000 Y2K brochures in > customer's grocery bags. The brochure, Y2K Individual Family > Preparedness, was just one visible effort to prepare Thrifty customers > for the coming millennium and has become a template for retailers around > the globe, including Stainsby's and A&P. > Bruce Thompson, Thrifty's risk manager, says the company began working > on the issue in 1997. "We had good advice," he says. "We started early, > identified the problems, had one person in charge and addressed the > problem as not only a technological problem but a human problem." > Since then Thrifty's has become one of the "best practices" examples in > community and corporate Y2K work, quick and eager to attend community > forums and join in any conversation. The company is a Vancouver Island > chain of 15 stores, with a wholesale division that services 50 > independent stores, wholly Canadian, with some franchises and > owner-operators. They have long been known for their community > consciousness and focus on local produce. > Thrifty's message in Y2K preparedness is simple: if you are going to > prepare, do it now. Thompson says, "It is not our job or role to tell you > to prepare. That's a personal decision. But 50 percent of our customers > have indicated they will be preparing for more than the usual 3-7 day > suggestion. Our advice is do it now, not in the last week of December." > Supply lines are delicate. The US Department of Agriculture says there is > a 20-day supply of food in the chain. Thompson says yes, in absolutely > ideal conditions there is a 20 day supply, of things like Tabasco sauce, > but not of the goods and products people will stock up in preparing for > possible shortages. A customer survey has shown that the four things > people will stock up are: water, canned soup, canned fruit and canned > vegetables. > Thompson explains that while manufacturers can respond to an increased > demand they cannot respond with a one or two week window. > Like many in the Y2K business Thompson has few concerns about business > in Canada. "Compliance is no longer the issue--preparation is the issue," > he says. His concerns now are for "pre-event issues", late stockpiling > and similar issues. > Thrifty's will be increasing their inventory, at some capital cost. "We > are doing what we can to prepare and be sure our customers are supplied," > says Thompson. Preparation, he says in summary, "should be sooner, rather > than later." > Next week: a look at cyber-terrorism and the RCMP's Project Solstice. >

Info from the trenches, not the entrenched!

Respectfully; Michael

-- Michael (mikeymac@uswest.net), November 06, 1999

Answers

Gol dang! Ah wants mah tobasco sauce!

-- (ah@guarahn.tee), November 06, 1999.

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