Featured Shipper Profile 2022: Tyson Foods

Presented by FreightWaves in partnership with TriumphPay, the Shipper of Choice Awards recognize manufacturers, distributors and retailers who are doing their best to support the US economy by combating driver delays, providing affordable facilities and understanding what it takes to address supply inefficiencies. chain.

Among the top 25 Selection of shippers for 2022 it’s … Tyson Foods.

About Tyson Foods

Why Tyson Foods made the cut

Tyson was nominated because “they care about their carriers and drivers, and they work hard to make drivers want their cargo.”

According to Chris Kozak, Associate Director of Contract Carriers at Tyson Foods, “To be an award-winning shipper is a great honor for Tyson Foods. We have a very demanding business, and our carriers and private fleet really push us every day. Every year we recognize 30-40 of our suppliers as premium carriers.”

Kozak told FreightWaves that he attributes his company’s recognition as a Shipper of Choice to “embracing our ‘5 C’ culture.” Our five C’s are Caring, Candor, Creativity, Collaboration and Commitment. They drive what we do and how we do it.”

Supply chain management in a pandemic

Tyson Foods, founded in 1935, is one of the world’s largest food companies and a recognized leader in protein production. Its brands include Tyson, Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, Ball Park, Sara Lee and State Fair. Of the company’s $47 billion in sales in fiscal 2021 (through Oct. 2), 37% was beef, 29% chicken, 19% prepared meals, 11% pork and 4% international sales and other products.

Like all producers, Tyson has faced logistical challenges in the age of COVID. The company said its supply chain “remained largely intact” due to “contingency plans for our manufacturing facilities as well as our external suppliers.” As for trucking, Tyson said it “has been able to leverage our extensive distribution network and large fleet of private vehicles to help mitigate the impact of COVID-19.”

This is partly due to the correct handling of truckers and thus the appearance of the shipper of choice. In March 2020, as a thank you to its employees and truck drivers who “fed the nation” during the pandemic, Tyson awarded approximately $60 million in bonuses to “Tyson drivers and truckers.”

Beyond people, it’s also about planning and leveraging data and technology to fine-tune logistics operations.

During the company’s latest quarterly conference call on August 8, Tyson CEO Donnie King explained: “We continue to accelerate digitization at Tyson through our supply chain planning and execution processes.

“We expect to put a lot of effort into our supply chain [into] those things we can control. The productivity program, for example, is huge for us in terms of automation and technology. We’ve been investing for over a year now, and we’re starting to see some of these things pay off, not just this quarter, but going forward.

“Some of the things we’ve done in terms of autonomous planning and trying to improve forecast accuracy and disaster relief — we’re much better today than we were a quarter or two quarters ago.

“There is more to do, but the supply chain is improving. We work right. We’re just looking for opportunities to keep getting better.”

About the TriumphPay partner by selected shipper

TriumphPay is the premier payment network in the transportation industry, trusted by leading shippers, brokers, factors and carriers. Its innovative and highly automated FinTech payment solution brings savings and efficiency to legacy transportation payment processes for network members. Integrated financing options leverage the strength of TriumphPay’s parent bank and can provide liquidity and cash flow visibility.

TriumphPay is a division of TBK Bank, SSB, Member FDIC and Member Triumph Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: TBK) group.

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