Case Study
Institutional Knowledge Pairs with Sophisticated Technology for a Modernized Supply Chain
Founded in 1995 and operating eight manufacturing plants, Middleton Wisconsin, cooperative Foremost Farms is among the nations’ largest milk cooperatives. Like many traditional milk co-ops, relentless competition in the arenas of finished goods and milk supply has challenged profitability and put its membership base at risk. Foremost Farms’ leadership recognized that radical improvement was needed to deliver the supply chain efficiency gains and cost reductions needed for success in today’s dairy industry.
The experiences and the tools that Ever.Ag provided – not just the technology and software, but also the consulting based on their experience – helped expedite our journey forward in a motivated and planful way.
Darin Hanson
SVP, Supply Chain & Risk Management,
Foremost Farms USA
Where the Foremost Farms/Ever.Ag Supply Chain Partnership Began
After a haul-rate benchmarking project suggested a million-dollar savings opportunity, Foremost Farms’ leadership gave Ever.Ag its first major hauling challenge—full procurement and dispatch responsibility for its biggest balancing plant, where outbound load volume ricocheted between three and thirty loads per day with just 36 hours’ notice.
Ever.Ag went to work. With its Trading Exchange platform, massive hauler network, innovative hauler contracting approach and a KPI-driven continuous improvement process Ever.Ag delivered—doubling the original savings target with a 30% reduction in haul rates while enhancing service and transparency.
The Partnership Grew
Encouraged by the win on plant-to-plant movements, Foremost Farms’ leadership made the bold decision to entrust the full transformation and operation of its milk supply chain to Ever.Ag—along with a cost-savings goal of $5-7M.
Ever.Ag put together an integrated people, process and technology solution to transform Foremost Farms’ supply chain in just two years, including:
Farm2Plant Cost and Hauler Margin Analysis
- Baselining every route and cost
- Quantifying margin and over/underpay for every hauler
- Determining true cost to haul each farm
Route and Load Assignment Optimization
- Hauling optimization tools to identify route and assignment changes and cut miles and cost
- A dozen optimization initiatives to eliminate impediments to efficiency across farm quality, hauler capability/equipment, plant receiving, and farm storage and infrastructure
New Hauling Program
- New competitive, sustainable hauler pay structure
- New member hauling contribution structure, providing ROIs to members for on-farm investments to reduce hauling expense
Cross-Function Transformation Leadership Team
- Foremost/Ever.Ag team with key leaders from operations, sales, transportation and membership to execute optimization initiatives and deliver savings
Ever.Ag Technology Platform
- Transportation Optimization
- Dispatch
- Mobile Manifest
- Payroll
Supply Chain Managed Services
- Supply chain analysis and optimization
- Daily milk dispatch
- Hauler relations, procurement and compliance
- Producer and hauler payroll
KPIs, Business Improvement and Savings Tracking
- Haul cost/efficiency metrics and performance benchmarks
- Plant turn-time, downtime, diversions and associated costs
- Hauler performance
- Milk quality
- Milk quality
- Optimization initiative savings
Results
Foremost Farms’ Colleen Carr, VP, Sales, discuss the importance of using innovation to maximize the value of dairy solids across the entire supply chain.
Our newly connected supply chain and partnership with Ever.Ag has all of the different systems and pieces of our organization talking to each other and working together to cut supply chain cost for our members.
Darin Hanson
SVP, Supply Chain & Risk Management,
Foremost Farms USA
Read more about Foremost Farms’ partnership and success with Ever.Ag
In-Plant Innovations
Using Real-Time Data to Run Smarter, Leaner, and Faster
Sales & Operational Planning (S&OP)
S&OP Solutions to Maximize Every Drop of Milk