WILDER, KY - The more operationally diverse partnerships you have, the easier it will be to stay quick on your feet. This idea has become even clearer to me in talking with Castellini Group of Companies’ Chris Larsen, President and Chief Executive Officer, who pulled back the curtain on Castellini’s recent operational transformation and his vision for the future.
“Castellini's mix of services can be sorted into three supply chain categories: transportation, warehousing, and supply chain value-add services. Within the supply chain value-add category, we've been historically valuable to our retail and foodservice partners through grading, sorting, and repack activities,” Chris began. “We're now leveraging those foundational skill sets to expand into larger scale light assembly repack and fulfillment for the e-commerce and direct-to-consumer marketplace.”
Castellini is recognized as an outstanding partner to both shippers and retailers in the Midwest and Southeast, and has now expanded its distribution footprint to include the Northeast. Its transportation and distribution strategy has grown in complexity, and end-to-end supply chain optimization is paramount, as Chris explained. Distribution centers in both Cincinnati, Ohio, metro and Atlanta, Georgia, metro give Castellini’s customers speed to market and access to retail growth.
“Over the course of our 126 year history, the Castellini Company has always changed and evolved with the marketplace. This is simply our next evolution,” Chris told me. “We take great pride in our history and pull from that knowledge and experience to guide us. Our transformation embraces this history and culture in two ways: by giving us the flexibility to support different markets, and by expanding our ability to be valuable at additional points across the supply chain.”
Not only is consumer behavior changing, but, as Chris relayed to me, the speed of consumer change continues to accelerate.
“That evolution puts us in a good position to earn additional market share,” he stated. “New markets continue to emerge that align well with our mix of services, and we continue to build scale within all three of our supply chain service lines.”
On a final note, Chris outlined that Castellini’s vision for the future is to be a sustainable solutions provider. As supply chain disruptions have become the norm, the company wants to be a stabilizing point in its customer’s network.
“We are currently exploring infrastructure and technology improvements across all of the Castellini Companies. Warehouse, Repack, and Consolidation are just a part of our overall supply chain capabilities,” Chris concluded. “With nationwide logistics reach, freight management, and dedicated trucking capabilities in the Cooler and Ambient space, we can truly offer end-to-end supply chain solutions.”
There is more to come from this innovative company, and ANUK will keep you up to speed.
