All Star continues to exhibit strength in numbers with membership and volume gains along with new features on their website for member savings. Also new is the addition of Joel Bryant to the purchasing staff.  Joel comes to All Star with over 14 years of dairy buying experience with a major retail grocery chain as well as working in a dairy processing plant.  
 
Led by Executive Director Jeff Sterne and a very capable and experienced staff, All Star has purchasing relationships with nearly 285 individual companies representing over 420 plants. 
 
Along with membership additions, growth is coming from new programs such as sugar, dairy commodities, pest control, peanuts, truck refrigerants/fluids and bossy carts. Other new programs include wooden pallets, fleet tracking/diagnostics, processing equipment/parts, cleaning/sanitation, water treatment and ice cream packaging. This is in addition to their list of over 150 suppliers offering discounts in the major categories of: 
  • Packaging (resin, caps, cartons, bottles, bags, labels, bulk cans, bulk totes)
  • Ingredients (flavorings, juice/tea concentrates, nuts, confections, powders, vitamins, drink bases, oils, sweeteners, fruits)
  • Cleaning/Sanitizing/Water Treatment/Lubricants
  • Coolers/Freezers/Dispensers/Lab Supplies/Uniforms
  • Plastic Cases & Pallets/Ink Jet Coders/Stretch & Shrink Film
  • Tires/Trucks/Autos/Parts/Decals/Oil/Forklifts & Parts
“Our members continue to look for ways to save money and trust in our capabilities to secure top-quality suppliers at reduced pricing to facilitate that need,” Sterne said. “Without the help from a larger buying entity, companies find themselves at a distinct disadvantage when they buy supplies using only their own purchasing power. Additionally, our members frequently use our other services to remain profitable and competitive.” 
 

Valuable services that pay-off

Beyond saving the members money with purchasing programs, All Star offers many services to its members to assist in savings, compliance and efficiency such as:
 
Web-based quotes for freight, cream, dairy powder. Obtaining quotes from up to five different freight haulers/consolidators and four different Cream/Dairy Powder companies is as easy as clicking a button.
 
Also new on the All Star website. Members can access detailed invoice information via a comprehensive electronic billing program. 
 
All Star University. Qualified consultants that specialize in the following areas of concentration offer members expert advice at discounted rates: 
  • Operations and Food Safety
  • Engineering & Maintenance     
  • Manufacturing Intelligence
  • Accounting & Software
  • Distribution
  • Blow Molding Equipment
  • Safety & OSHA Compliance
  • Human Resource Services
Quality Assurance. In March of 2013 All Star announced that its annual audit has been realigned with the standard SQF audit to save members from obtaining two separate examinations.  This allows a member to be SQF-certified at a low discounted rate at the same time participating in the annual awards program. Randolph Associates will continue to conduct the audits as well as satisfy third-party audit requirements and certifications.  
 
Park City Score Tracker. Monitoring store out-of-stocks, returns, promotion movement and space allocation continues to affect membership sales.  All Star has discovered the answer. Score Tracker provides sales by chain, by store, by SKU, and by day using store scan data.  All Star has negotiated the comprehensive program at a very low affordable price for its members.  
 
Park City ReposiTrak. Managing risk associated with tracking food through the entire food chain can be extremely cumbersome as well as difficult.  This program addresses the three most important facets of the FSMA requirements: Document Management, Track & Trace and Perpetual Inventory within the Supply Chain. Park City along with Leavitt Partners has a computer software program that can address regulatory, reputational and potential financial liability risk. All Star is offering this program to its members.
This article was prepared by All Star Dairy Association. For more information, visit www.allstarassociation.com.