<p style="text-indent:0px; line-height:12px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Los Gatos, CA-</span><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">By ANUK Staff<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">01.22.13</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>FoodLink is celebrating an impressive 2012 as it reports a third straight year of record growth. The company attributes growth to new retail customers, expanded business with existing customers and a surge of new suppliers and service partners joining its online commerce network.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/foodlink012313body1.jpg" alt="Images012213" /><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“This was a good year for FoodLink and an even better one for our customers,” said Eric Peters, President and CEO, FoodLink. “Many of the early industry projects and efforts to increase efficiency and traceability in fresh food are being embraced by the mainstream, and there is no longer much doubt about the tangible benefits that come from improvements in growing, shipping and merchandising safe, fresh food while eliminating waste from the supply chain. FoodLink has long been a leader in this area, and we look forward to continuing that trend.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">FoodLink moved determinedly into the market for PTI solutions in 2012, by acquiring pioneering SaaS solution provider TrueTrac LLC. TrueTrac’s suite of products enables growers and shippers to electronically track the origins and movement of fresh food through the supply chain, and to comply with new food safety regulations while supporting consumer demand for more information about the source and freshness of their food.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“We looked at other solutions, but FoodLink stood out as the most flexible, cost effective way for us to connect with our growers in Central and South America, and to achieve our goals in terms of labeling and traceability,” said Mike Bowe, Vice President, Dave’s Specialty Imports, one of FoodLink’s new PTI customers.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">FoodLink also added United Supermarkets to the network in 2012 and enabled customers to directly transact with high volume buyers such as Costco as well as regional brands such as Stater Brothers, Inc. FoodLink also brought new inventory management capabilities to one its longtime customers C&S Wholesalers. The company also expanded business with Ahold USA, Topco Associates, Associated Wholesale Grocers, Roundy’s Supermarkets and Unified Grocers.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“FoodLink will provide us with the real-time data that we need to improve our buying. Their network connects us with our suppliers and carriers to help us make the best buying decisions and improve our supply chain efficiency. Given the increased importance of produce in our stores, FoodLink will help us continue to make this category a differentiator,” said Tommy Wilkins, Director of Produce Procurement, United Supermarkets.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">With FoodLink DirectConnect, suppliers had many new options on FoodLink in 2012. High volume suppliers signed up for the service that directly integrates back-end financial and operational systems with the FoodLink network. New customers in 2012 include Calavo Growers, Inc., Grower’s Express LLC, Mastronardi Produce, Ltd. and Sunsprout of Lancaster. In addition, FoodLink's new Deal Manager enabled suppliers to build an online product catalog and run promotions that aligned with retailer merchandising strategies.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Overall, over 50 new suppliers signed up for annual subscriptions, network traffic increased with more than 320 new supplier-buyer relationships, orders for fresh produce increased by 26% over the previous year, and more than 100,000 items were promoted across the new Deal Manager platform.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.foodlink.net"_new">FoodLink</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
