In January 2023, grocery distributor Affiliated Foods Inc. signed with Herlitz Inventory Management for its buying team. The Amarillo, Texas-based grocery distributor plans to roll out the HIMPACT solution to its full team of buyers in the coming months to begin reaping its cost-saving and inventory-optimizing rewards.
March 30, 2023, Cambridge, MA – Herlitz Inventory Management, the leading innovator in scientific demand forecasting, replenishment, and optimization, announced that Affiliated Foods Inc. (AFI) has chosen HIMPACT as its new purchasing system. AFI was founded in 1968 as the result of a merger between two well-established grocery companies. Over the past half a century, the grocery retail cooperative and distribution center has grown to include over 700 member stores spanning eight states.
“We are very excited to partner with Herlitz, a company known for its industry-leading procurement technology,” observed Tommy Galyen, Director of Procurement for Affiliated Foods Inc. Galyen continued, “AFI is also thrilled about the capabilities and enhancements this system provides. With generational knowledge and a reputation for flexibility and outstanding customer service, we look forward to a very close relationship with Herlitz Inventory Management.”
With over seventy years of experience in the grocery wholesaler and distribution industry, AFI has created well-established buying practices that have resulted in growth and success for the business. In recent years, the management team has recognized opportunities to improve its existing processes by adopting more efficient buying tools for its team. This led the company to seek out a purchasing solution that could make the buying team more successful. AFI conducted a search and evaluation of purchasing systems available.
During their search, AFI verified that HIMPACT by Herlitz Inventory Management was a trusted purchasing solution in their industry. They decided to investigate the software in more detail to evaluate its capabilities. The Herlitz team was able to provide an opportunity for AFI to experience HIMPACT first-hand. In addition to seeing live demos and real-world use, AFI found that other wholesale buyers using HIMPACT were highly engaged and leveraged the purchasing solution to its fullest potential. Satisfied with their findings, the AFI management team decided to select HIMPACT.
“Affiliated Foods Inc. marks the fifth ROFDA wholesaler partner to sign on with HIMPACT, but they also represent another first for Herlitz IM,” remarked Carl Herlitz, President & CEO of Herlitz Inventory Management. “By partnering with ROFDA members, HIMPACT has replaced its predecessor E3TRIM several times, along with a legacy system called BICEPS. By partnering with AFI, HIMPACT will supersede the purchasing features of a system called Worldwide Chain Store Systems (WCSS) for the first time.”
Both the Herlitz Inventory Management team and the Affiliated Foods Inc. team are excited to begin working together. “The IT team at AFI has been great to work with,” Herlitz opined. “They spun up the VM and we installed HIMPACT in only two days. We will continue to roll out the solution to AFI’s team by following our swift 3-step implementation process.”
About Herlitz Inventory Management
Founded in 2009, Herlitz Inventory Management (Herlitz IM) provides tightly integrated Demand Forecasting, Order Optimization, Promotion, and Forward Buying. Herlitz’s innovative designs are an industry standard; used by thousands of companies to optimize inventory.
With end-to-end visibility and new insights, HIMPACT® is uniquely suited to today’s marketplace, delivering optimized buying quantities, highly satisfied customers, and tighter inventory management.
