Farm Harvests RFID’s Benefits
After deploying an RFID receiving system, Paramount Farms cut its operating costs, improved its relationship with growers and avoided having to invest in expanding its facilities.
By Bob Violino
March 1, 2004—An RFID implementation can be a daunting challenge for many companies, but for Paramount Farms—one of the world’s largest suppliers of pistachios—the technology hasn’t been a tough nut to crack.
Paramount, which processes about 60 percent of the U.S. pistachio crop and exports its products to more than 20 countries, is relying on an RFID system to help automate and increase the efficiency of a key part of its business: processing the incoming shipments of pistachios from grower partners. The privately held Los Angeles-based company has enjoyed growing worldwide demand for its products for several years, and it expects the rapid growth in demand to continue for at least the next six years. This has forced Paramount to develop a more efficient method of receiving, evaluating and paying for the nuts provided by its numerous suppliers.
Paramount grows about half the pistachios it sells, with the remaining 50 percent coming from a network of some 400 partners, according to Andy Anzaldo, Paramount’s director of grower relations. All told, the company processes about 230 million pounds of nuts a year at its two facilities in Lost Hills, Calif.
The company’s products are sold through major distributors to mass retailers such as Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and Costco, as well as to large supermarket chains such as Safeway and Albertsons.
March 1, 2004—An RFID implementation can be a daunting challenge for many companies, but for Paramount Farms—one of the world’s largest suppliers of pistachios—the technology hasn’t been a tough nut to crack.
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| Trucks line up to enter the scale house |
Paramount, which processes about 60 percent of the U.S. pistachio crop and exports its products to more than 20 countries, is relying on an RFID system to help automate and increase the efficiency of a key part of its business: processing the incoming shipments of pistachios from grower partners. The privately held Los Angeles-based company has enjoyed growing worldwide demand for its products for several years, and it expects the rapid growth in demand to continue for at least the next six years. This has forced Paramount to develop a more efficient method of receiving, evaluating and paying for the nuts provided by its numerous suppliers.
Paramount grows about half the pistachios it sells, with the remaining 50 percent coming from a network of some 400 partners, according to Andy Anzaldo, Paramount’s director of grower relations. All told, the company processes about 230 million pounds of nuts a year at its two facilities in Lost Hills, Calif.
The company’s products are sold through major distributors to mass retailers such as Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and Costco, as well as to large supermarket chains such as Safeway and Albertsons.
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