Bringing Home the Bacon: Transform Your Supply Chain. Transform Your Business.
Accelerating Hormel’s Strategic “Transform & Modernize” Initiative
At Hormel Foods, you manage one of the most complex multi-temperature supply chains in food manufacturing: thousands of team members, dozens of facilities, 10,000+ temperature-sensitive products, and distribution to 80 countries.
Your “Transform & Modernize” initiative demands a partner who can bridge the critical gap between planning and execution. As Steven Lykken noted, “The transformation of America’s largest food supply chains presents both an extraordinary challenge and an unprecedented opportunity for innovation and growth.” Let’s bring home the bacon together!
What Success Looks Like
From Current State to Future State
How industry leaders transformed their supply chains with FourKites
OTIF Performance
Improving OTIF and avoiding penalties
Current State at Hormel
Costly OTIF Penalties
- Reactive management of delivery exceptions
- Limited visibility into potential OTIF issues
- Penalties eating away at margins (3-5% of order value)
Intelligent
Control Tower
Future State with FourKites
Proactive OTIF Excellence
- Predict delivery failures weeks in advance
- 3-5% improvement in delivery compliance
- Enhanced retailer relationships through reliable service
"We've been able to isolate situations where the tool showed us that we were going to fail and we were able to correct the failure before it actually happens."
Detention/Dwell
Reducing detention and dwell costs
Current State at Hormel
Excessive Waiting Time
- High detention costs across your network
- Limited ability to prevent bottlenecks
- No visibility until after delays occur
Intelligent
Control Tower
Future State with FourKites
Optimized Flow
- Automated exception management and predictive insights across operations
- Proactive detention/dwell prevention
- Up to 35% rejection of invalid detention charges
"We're looking at things like detention data to make sure we're accurate with how we're paying and when we're paying."
Carrier Performance
Centralizing tracking and management
Current State at Hormel
Fragmented Management
- No centralized carrier visibility
- Hours spent on manual coordination
- Inconsistent performance standards
Intelligent
Control Tower
Future State with FourKites
Unified Control Tower
- Centralized tracking across all carriers
- 40-60% reduction in manual coordination
- Comprehensive carrier scorecards
"One thing we strive for at Tyson is to be a shipper of choice. For that, visibility data has been great."
"An adaptable, agile, data-driven supply chain that continuously improves and evolves becomes a genuine strategic advantage."
Three Meaty Challenges We Solve for Hormel Foods
1. Turn OTIF Performance Into a Competitive Advantage
The Challenge: OTIF penalties are eating into margins and damaging retailer relationships.
The Solution: FourKites’ Intelligent Control Tower™ helps you identify and resolve OTIF risks before they become penalties.
The Proof: “We’ve been able to isolate situations where the tool showed us that we were going to fail and we were able to correct the failure before it actually happened. So the customer never saw it, but it allowed us to save a load.” — Brian Stoufer, Conagra Brands.
The Impact:
- See risks with orders and shipments weeks before they could happen, not after
- Prevent OTIF penalties that can cost you 3-5% of order value
- Transform retailer relationships from penalty-focused to partnership-focused
2. Turn Frozen Goods into Hot Profits
The Challenge: Detention costs and supply chain bottlenecks are limiting your profits.
The Solution: FourKites monitors detention events throughout your network, enables you to validate detention & demurrage claims, and delivers actionable analytics that pinpoint recurring issues at specific locations or with particular carriers.
The Proof: “We’re looking at detention data to make sure we’re accurate with how we’re paying and when we’re paying. Then we use it to understand where our opportunities are for improvement.” — Chris Plant, Tyson Foods
The Impact:
- Reduce manual coordination efforts by 40-60%
- Reduce expedited shipments by 15-20%
- Earlier warning of potential delays (weeks to months in advance)
3. Take Control of Your Carrier Network
The Challenge: Fragmented carrier visibility limits your ability to coordinate.
The Solution: FourKites consolidates all carrier data into a unified view, enabling you to track performance metrics, automate communications, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your entire carrier network in one place.
The Proof: “One thing we strive for at Tyson is to be a shipper of choice. You ask any carrier about their number one commodity… it’s time. Visibility data has been great for that.” — Chris Plant, Tyson Foods
The Impact:
- One source of truth for all carrier performance
- Save 2-3 hours per person, per day in manual coordination
- Cut “Where’s my truck?” communications by 50%
Your 24/7 Supply Chain Command Center
Transforming Manual Processes into Automated Efficiency
Your supply chain teams spend countless hours on manual tasks that could be automated. Imagine having AI Agents working 24/7 to handle these routine tasks while your human team focuses on strategic priorities.
How Customer Connect AI Drives Value
- Live tracking across your orders, suppliers, and global logistics network
- Temperature monitoring for your sensitive products
- Single source of truth connecting your planning and execution systems
Real-Time Order Monitoring
- Digital models showing the real-time status of every order
- Proactive risk assessment that identifies potential issues
- Reduce expedited costs by identifying “hot” shipments for high-priority orders
Tracy: Your AI-Powered Digital Worker
- Manages carrier coordination automatically
- Keeps systems updated without manual intervention
- Tracks shipment status and proactively alerts your team to potential issues
- Works 24/7/365, never needs breaks, vacations, or sleep
Dramatic Reduction in Manual Work
- 2-3 hours less per person, per day in manual coordination
- 15-20% fewer expedited shipments
- 50% reduction in “Where’s my truck?” communications
The Connection You’re Missing
The gap between your planning systems (o9) and execution systems (OTM) is costing you visibility, time, and money. FourKites Intelligent Control Tower™ serves as the connective tissue between these systems, delivering:
- Predictive insights that identify potential problems weeks in advance
- Automated exception management that resolves issues without manual intervention
- The ability to reject up to 35% of detention charges
- Automated action when issues are detected
- Real-time temperature monitoring across your entire network
- Comprehensive analytics to drive continuous improvement
- $80,000+ annual savings in direct detention costs
Proven Results at Leading Food and Beverage Companies
18 of the Top 20 Global F&B Shippers Trust Us
Tyson Foods Case Study
- 166 hours saved monthly on track and trace activities
- 50% reduction in status inquiries
- $80,000 annual savings in labor costs
Conagra Brands Case Study
- 35% reduction in invalid detention charges
- Reduced overtime in warehouse operations
- Fewer expedited shipments through early intervention
Consistent Operational Improvements
- Enhanced visibility across production to customer
- Improved cycle time performance
- Higher facility throughput with predictive arrival times
Empowering Your “Culture of Curiosity”
Give your team tools that challenge the status quo and drive innovation:
“An adaptable, agile, data-driven supply chain that continuously improves and evolves becomes a genuine strategic advantage.” — Steven Lykken, Group Vice President, Supply Chain for Hormel Foods
At FourKites, we deliver exactly what Steven describes: a platform that enables the adaptable, data-driven supply chain that Hormel Foods needs to maintain its competitive edge.
Ready to Transform Your Supply Chain Reality?
18 of the top 20 global food & beverage companies have already discovered what FourKites can deliver:
- 3-5% OTIF improvement within 90 days
- $80,000+ in annual detention cost savings
- 50% reduction in manual coordination
See how similar results can be achieved in your complex multi-temperature network.