Innovating Warehouse Operations: City Line Distributor’s Journey

City Line Distributors has been the heart of New England's food distribution for decades. From their West Haven, CT warehouse, they’ve provided excellent service to the region’s top restaurants. As the company looked to grow, it needed a partner that would help it optimize every square inch of its 80,000-square-foot warehouse.

City Line Logo Case study
BFC Software | City Line Case Study

The Need

By 2004, City Line faced an operation largely dependent on paper tracking and reliant on the expertise of veteran individuals. They faced the same issues that are all too common in the food distribution industry: selector picking errors, inventory inaccuracies, and inefficient return processes. They needed a system that could help them not only manage their warehouse but command it.

“We needed a system that was built for the nuances of food distribution,” said Robert Berkowitz, President of City Line Foodservice. “A system that understood our needs. A team that knew our industry in and out. BFC not only grasped our challenges but provided a solution that revolutionized our distribution.”

The Implementation

City Line’s phased adoption of BFC’s software suite rapidly modernized their operations, enhancing both workflow and profitability. “The seamless integration of BFC’s solutions, informed by their deep industry knowledge and backed by continual support, made all the difference,” Robert said.

City Line Foodservice has since fully integrated BFC’s suite of products, reinventing their distribution management.  “BFC wasn't just an upgrade; it was a reinvention of how we manage our entire distribution process,” said Robert.

“The smooth transition was entirely because BFC's thorough understanding of the food distribution industry and their 24/7/365 support throughout the implementation.”

24/7/365 support

The BFC Difference

With BFC, City Line has significantly enhanced efficiency, achieving a 99.92% inventory accuracy and a notable reduction in selector mispicks and errors. This transformation underscores the impact of a two-decade journey of trust and excellence together.

99.92% inventory accuracy

City Line was able to improve their inventory accuracy to 99.92%

45% reduction in picking errors

City Line was able to reduce their picking errors by 45%

City Line Foodservice Has Trusted BFC Software for 19 Years

With BFC, City Line has significantly enhanced efficiency, achieving a 99.92% inventory accuracy and a notable reduction in selector mispicks and errors. This transformation underscores the impact of a two-decade journey of trust and excellence together.

2004
Inbound & Outbound
Dakota WMS
A purpose-built warehouse management solution designed specifically for the unique rhythm of food distribution.

“We have experienced significant savings from BFC. We are over five times as accurate, and we have eliminated all checkers. We also had an increase in the speed with which selectors pick about 5-10%.”

- Robert Berkowitz, President
45%
Improvement in selector mispicks, now at a rate of 1 in 8500 pieces.
2011
Outbound
Deliver
Real-time off the truck delivery/scanning solution for food distributors.

“Deliver became a game changer. It not only helped us get closer to that perfect order delivery by reducing errors, it has also made the delivery process for the drivers quicker, easier, and more accurate and a necessary tool they won’t work without.”

- Steven DiZinno, Operations Manager
47%
Decrease in NOTs - "not on trucks"
2021
Inbound
Dock
An efficient inbound scheduling and dock management tool for food distributors.

“Dock is much better integrated with our whole receiving process. With our older dock scheduler, we had to manually start and end each load if we wanted it to be accurate. Dock better integrates with Dakota seamlessly starting and ending the load when the receiving process starts and ends.”

- Steven DiZinno, Operations Manager
Time Saver
The transportation, carrier, vendor, and purchasing departments improved their coordination and scheduling for inbound load communication.
2022
Outbound
Select
Improves selection accuracy, productivity, and puts you in the driver's seat when it comes to managing your labor.

“We saw dramatic improvements moving to Select with a major impact in reducing mispicks and a significant reduction in NOTs.”

- Seven DiZinno, Operations Manager
45%
Decrease in picking error rate
2023
E-Commerce
FoodCarte®
 A white labeled online ordering platform built to meet the unique needs of food distributors.

"FoodCarte® has been a great asset for City Line. Not only has it improved customer service by providing an easy-to-use online ordering option for our customers, it’s an avenue for them to place orders at their convenience. It's a 24/7 sales tool, selling while we're sleeping."

- Robert Berkowitz, President