With a new state-of-the-art distribution facility, growth is on the horizon for Atlantic Food Distributors
As a broadline food distribution specialist, Atlantic Food Distributors (Atlantic) delivers high-quality products and services to a range of restaurants, schools, hospitals, delis, and other food businesses. Since its foundation in 1960, the company has served the northern half of Ohio, covering major markets in Columbus, Akron, Canton, and Cleveland.
Craig Jordison, COO, sits down with Food Chain to share more details about the company’s approach to service, employees, and future growth. “Originally known as Atlantic Fish, the business was founded in 1960 when our current owners’ father, Steve Manolakis, would travel from Canton to Cleveland to purchase fresh fish for his own business,” Craig opens. “Steve started to sell extra fish to other restaurants and essentially established a fish distribution business. It quickly became apparent that there was local demand for more than fish, so the business made strategic acquisitions over the years to expand its product offering.
“Today, Atlantic remains family owned and operated by second-generation family member Stan Manolakis. Stan had been working in the business for more than ten years before he took over completely, and his vision was for Atlantic to become a broadline distributor rather than a specialty one. A broadline distributor enables a customer to use a single source for all their products, from fresh poultry and dairy produce to paper goods and cleaning supplies.
“Although we’re an independent distributor, we’re part of a cooperative buying group called Frosty Acres, which has been instrumental to our success,” he adds. “Frosty Acres is a strong partner for us, not only because they assist us with bringing new solutions to our customers, but we’re also aligned on how we deliver service. Through this partnership, we have diverse buying programs and a continuous ability to offer something new to our customers.”
Investing in infrastructure
Elaborating on Atlantic’s latest developments, Craig continues: “With more than 12,000 items across all foodservice categories, Stan has grown the business significantly,” he shares. “We outgrew our site around five years ago, and we’ve been exploring new premises ever since, but we were delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Finally, our dreams are coming true, and we’ve very recently moved to a state-of-the-art, 158,000-square-foot distribution center.
“Our previous site was around 60,000 square feet, so we’re more than doubling our footprint. The new freezer is almost bigger than the entirety of our old distribution center! We also have an impressive test kitchen on site, and we’ve hired a corporate chef to do business reviews and demonstrate products to our customers. We’re already seeing increased sales based on the excitement around the new facility, as it is testament to our long-term investment plan for sustainable growth.”
Aside from growth, the new site is enabling Atlantic to focus on its digital transformation journey. “We implemented a new warehouse management system on our inbound side in 2020, and we’re rolling it out to our outbound operation in the new facility,” Craig shares. “By using scanning technology in our outbound services and adding a proof of delivery element to our ERP system, we enhance efficiency for our drivers and provide greater visibility across the product’s journey.
“We’re also implementing new truck builder technology, which will transform our outbound selection process, as it allows us to balance not just the pallets and the load but also boosts our selection efficiency. It will be a great improvement to our system and provide better experiences for both our delivery drivers and customers.”
Enhancing customer experience
As our conversation continues, Craig turns his attention to what makes the business stand out from its competition. “We offer a unique program ‘Beyond the Box,’ which provides customers with a selection of tools and solutions to help them run their businesses more effectively,” Craig explains. “We’re a very customer-centric business with three primary differentiators: a USDA-approved facility, our concierge service, and our direct sourcing strategy. First, we own a sister company in Cleveland that operates a USDA-certified production facility. This plant produces around four-million-to-five-million pounds of ground pork, ground beef, and fresh hamburger patties, enabling us to offer fresh cut steaks, pork, chicken, lamb, and veal to our customers.
“Secondly, we operate a concierge service, which many of our competitors cannot match. This means our drivers not only drop products at the door but also help our customers put products away and rotate their stock. It’s a traditional ‘milkman style’ mentality that provides an extra layer of service and care.
“Lastly, our customer directed sourcing strategy is unrivaled,” he adds. “With over half a million SKUs in our sector, it can be difficult for customers to work out what they need and when they need it. Unlike most of our competitors, we’ve launched a process for special orders. This service is very popular among our customers, and currently around 12-to-15 percent of our weekly deliveries are special orders.”
Having recently moved to its new facility, Atlantic will inevitably continue to flourish as it wins more market share in the northern Ohio area. “We anticipate 20-to-30 percent sales growth over the next five years, and we’re looking to win more market share by bringing in more people, as well as strategic acquisitions if the right opportunities arise,” Craig concludes. “We’ll continue to invest in new technologies, including AI, to enhance our customer experience in terms of both efficiency and performance.”