category. All it took was one phone call to Gary stating we needed help on this project and in two days he was here at Crest to make sure we were taken care of. Also, Gary wouldn’t be able to do the great job he does for Crest with out the support of his team at SupplyWorks. We would like to take this time and thank Cortney Craig, Sam Colyott and everyone else at SupplyWorks for all the hard work they do for Crest Foods. You think all that would keep a man busy, but it must not be enough for him as he is very involved in his home town community of Amboy, IL. He is involved with Knights of Columbus, Amboy Park Board, and Depot Days just to name a few. Gary previously won the Supplier of the Year award in 2010 and then again six years later in 2016. If you remem- ber the article in the Crest Ink from 2016, we challenged Gary to win this award in another six years. Congratula- tions Gary! It only took you two years! The second supplier we recognized reminded us that Change Is Good. JM Swank has been with Crest Foods since the early years, and has been in attendance at our supplier appreciation day year after year. To say they are an impor- tant cog in our wheel would be an understatement. JM Swank has gone through quite the metamorphosis over the years, from family owned, then sold to a big corpo- ration (Con Agra,) and now spun off to an equities group. During this time there have been some turbulent mo- ments to say the least in both service style and people turn over. The hard working dedicated team at JM Swank has embraced these changes and this year they have shined through more than ever. The team has stepped up and met Crest’s ever increasing (changing) demands in a multitude of areas. Documenta- tion requirements have increased enormously this year, and Swank has been first to step up and embrace the Trace Gains system. The sheer number of documents needed as we purchase hundreds of ingredients from hundreds of suppliers needing multiple documents can be overwhelming, yet Swank has complied with all these demands. Coverage and service in getting new ingredients to our R&D group has picked up this year. Swank has become the go-to distributor for Crest Foods. Improved communication with Swank and our R&D team has been key to this growth. Documentation requirement turn around has been quick; low minimum order quantities; short sample lead time; and price have all become the driving force in new ingredient requests being sent to JM Swank. For the Purchasing Department, market information supplied on numerous key ingredient areas has been stepped up this year. Scheduled bi-monthly conference calls between Crest and not just Swank distribution team members, but also actual suppliers has been a great help in keeping up with what is happening in the markets. Discussions on
not just current pricing, but projecting future trends and supply issues has helped make educated decisions and form solid ingredient strategies. We could go on and on about the many rush shipments, and issues of the day, but bottom line is the people at JM Swank have gone way above and beyond this year to make it hap- pen. Congratulations and thank
you again to all of our suppli- ers. We appreciate all that you do for Crest Foods. Pictured: Left: Gary Wilhelm (SupplyWorks) and Matt Rich- ardson. Right: Mary McWethy, Rachel Saltz, Laurie Rath (JM Swank), Amanda Yotty (JM Swank), Angie Stokes (JM Swank), and Becky Hen s on
October, November & December 2018 Crest Ink 5
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