Your facilitator was too impatient. Several substantive comments were made just before or just after my intervention. Here are a couple that I think are worth moving to the "front page."
Given the time left this morning, please consolidate all your responses to this post. Use the comment space at the bottom of this posting.
WHOLESALE FOOD
Assuming any fuel shortage issues have been resolved, or at least tempered, we will be continuing service to our retail food customers as long as we can. There comes a point though where we have to decide when to suspend operations and when to suspend transportation. Especially in our perishable/frozen facilities, we have to decide when to stop loading trucks, which will be done by discussing the situation with our customers and coming to a mutual agreement.
We want to provide product to the stores as long as we can, however we also do not want to get stuck with a lot of full trucks sitting on the yard that cannot be delivered until after the storm passes. It takes some time to make these decisions, and gain alignment from the customers, but with the storm hitting on Tuesday morning and throughout the day on Tuesday, hopefully on Monday we would have plans developed with the customers as far as what to try to do Tuesday before the storm hits our most dense area of stores.
Hand in hand with the operations plan is our plan for when to take the drivers off of the roads.
We want to try to give our drivers enough time to get in and make their deliveries and then get out of the danger area prior to the storm hitting. And of course, once evacuations and road blocks start happening, it makes it more difficult for us to get in to make the deliveries. In addition, our retail customers will start determining when they will close their stores and send their local people home. We will be in close communication with our customers on early store closures in the Virginia/Baltimore/DC area for Tuesday.
We will be having twice daily calls with most customers at this point, and our Sales team will be in close communication outside of those calls throughout the day with their contacts at retail HQs to get information on store closures.
We should already have positioned some SWAT and 3rd party to cover post-storm needs for Ops/Trans, but we will be continuously evaluating the situation. We will have already positioned generators in the Mid-Atlantic as well, in case our MD facilities lose street power.
FROM MEDICAL DISTRIBUTION
Hospital Customers were encouraged to place orders in amounts greater than normal beginning mid-last week in anticipation of the Storm.
-This continued throughout the weekend as we informed our customers that we will most likely not be able to deliver on Tuesday evening.
-Order cut off times for Customers on Monday 10/28 was 11am
-We held Team Talks with all teammates last week reviewing Hurricane preparedness "for the family". We passed out documents over the last 2 weeks in prep for this event(s).
-Too often companies spend so much time prepping our businesses and customers for events such as this we forget to about the fact that our business will not run without our teams being in good health and safely taking care of their families.
-All receiving was completed by 10am, teammates were then used to pick early orders for our night shift.
-All night shift teammates were told to come in early on Monday to pick early orders so driver dispatch could be accelerated.
-The goal is to have all deliveries completed for our JIT customers by 10pm Monday night.
-Most deliveries are being made with 26 foot straight trucks to avoid tractor trailer use due to high winds.
-Drivers instructed to top off all tanks prior to return to building.
-Office Teammates were sent home at 12noon, with he exception of a few customer service reps.
-All Sales Teams are working from Home and scheduled conf calls with the DC Operations every 4 hours is their way of keeping informed and to pass info to customers.
-Eastern Shore orders were in by 9am and trucks were dispatched to ensure safe return. We came in through Delaware in anticipation that the bay Bridge would be closed due to wind restrictions (+45mph).
-Drivers will report back conditions upon arrival at their customers.
-The building was secured Tuesday morning at 1am with all teammates safely home.
-The last driver returned to building at midnight, the GM, Dist Mgr and Lead Driver secured vehicles.
-Teammates have Mgt Phone chain, cell phone list and GM is in possession of the SAT Phone. All Mgrs to report back to GM any teammate issues and ensure safe departure and arrival at home.
-GM calls Corporate Office 24 Hour Command Center to report back status since the last Corp CC at 10pm.
-Anticipate loss of power and generator to operate.. Tank was topped off and schedule PMI was verified to have taken place in March 2013. 72 hours worth of power is ensured. Fuel company has us on high priority for refill by Thursday or Friday.
-GM will make the call on Tuesday morning, when/if to return to building. He will notify management team.
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