Phillips Pet Food & Supplies to Open 15th Distribution Center

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Phillips Pet Food & Supplies, a pet product distributor and Pet Age’s 2018 Distributor of the Year, will open its 15th distribution center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on July 2. The Cedar Rapids site solidifies Phillips’ goal to deliver one national distribution network and supports the company’s upcoming Fresh & Frozen category expansion.

The Cedar Rapids site will bring products closer to customers, many who now receive products from Phillips’ Great Lakes region distribution centers. The new location will serve the Upper Midwest, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, western Wisconsin, western Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa. Customers served by the Cedar Rapids site will be on consistent delivery routes.

“The Cedar Rapids distribution center and the national expansion of Fresh & Frozen support our vision to be the preferred service provider in pet specialty,” said Todd Shelton, CEO of Phillips Pet Food & Supplies. “The Cedar Rapids site will allow us to better serve this market and is an important part of Phillips’ commitment to build the industry leading distribution platform.”

To meet the demand for the growing Fresh & Frozen category, Phillips will expand its storage capacity and distribution of Fresh & Frozen products, also on July 2, to all 50 states and Guam. Phillips will be the exclusive nationwide pet specialty distributor of Freshpet and will expand the distribution territory for the Nature’s Variety product portfolio, including frozen raw pet food. Cedar Rapids and all Phillips distribution centers and trucks are outfitted with refrigeration storage that assures product integrity.

The Cedar Rapids site will incorporate technology such as Code Dating and RF (radio frequency) scanning to provide seamless service to its customers. The Code Dating system of coding, tracking and monitoring ensures the freshness of products shipped by Phillips. RF supports inventory control and allows for more accurate product picking by warehouse staff.

The Cedar Rapids distribution center will be led by Ben Archer, operations manager, Phillips Pet Food & Supplies.