inTEAM today announced that Premier and US Foods (NYSE: USFD), one of America’s great food companies and a leading foodservice distributor, are participating in the Nourish to Flourish (N2F) Data Sharing & Analytics Initiative, as part of its 18-month pilot program that started in July 2019. Stacy Lofton, Director – Food & Nutrition Support for Premier, and Harold Fowler, director, Health Systems for US Foods, will join the N2F Technology Stakeholder Advisory Group to help monitor the process and refine data standards. This joint effort is designed to improve supply chain efficiencies by integrating GDSN (Global Data Synchronization Network) into routine business processes for K-12 operators to assist in compliance with USDA regulations.
School foodservice operators will enjoy the benefits of less paperwork while electronically sharing forecasting data and analytics among school operators, state agencies, distributors and hundreds of K-12 suppliers. Tens of thousands of K-12 product specification data records are now being published in real time to a single unified N2F database using GDSN. During the pilots, Premier and US Foods’ combined ordering and inventory functions will be integrated into the menu planning software. According to Stacy Lofton, MS, RD, SNS, “Our members can benefit from using Premier and US Foods’ integrated menu planning with pre- and post-costing, production records, inventory, and business analysis tools to better manage the supply chain and reduce waste.”
The integration of GDSN data will help suppliers develop, refine, and market products for this sector and ultimately enhance the school meals experience for the schools and the students. Advisory Group member Andrew Williams of Tyson Foods stated: “Accurate menu planning forecasts will enable us to produce and deliver the right product to the right place at the right time. Data collection and analytics designed for K-12 that includes trade and consumer feedback is essential for us to best serve specialized K-12 market needs.”
N2F initiatives create opportunities for collaboration to test and evaluate the impact of proposed solutions. Scott Dissinger of the National Dairy Council said: “This is why the NDC and the Urban School Food Alliance convened the first stakeholders’ meeting over two years ago. We envisioned innovation would occur when each work group’s initiatives mature with industry support to discover and implement best practices. The Data Sharing & Analytics Initiative does just that.”
inTEAM will be providing prototype menu planning and production records software developed in collaboration with stakeholders at no cost to pilot participants and open source data standards for industrywide use will be published at the end of the pilot period.
Visit www.n2fdata.org to learn more.
About US Foods
US Foods is one of America’s great food companies and a leading foodservice distributor, partnering with approximately 250,000 restaurants and foodservice operators to help their businesses succeed. With 25,000 employees and more than 60 locations, US Foods provides its customers with a broad and innovative food offering and a comprehensive suite of e-commerce, technology and business solutions. US Foods is headquartered in Rosemont, Ill., and generates approximately $24 billion in annual revenue. Visit www.usfoods.com to learn more. For media inquiries, contact Sara Matheu, Director Media Relations (sara.matheu@usfoods.com | 847-720-2392).
About Premier
Premier is a leading healthcare improvement company, uniting an alliance of more than 4,000 U.S. hospitals and health systems and approximately 165,000 other providers and organizations to transform healthcare. With integrated data and analytics, collaboratives, supply chain solutions, and consulting and other services, Premier enables better care and outcomes at a lower cost. The Premier Foodservice and Distribution Program is a proven, 25+ year purchasing program. It includes aggressive national distribution services, discounted contracted manufacturer agreements, technology and cost management solutions, participant satisfaction surveys and ongoing member communications to continually improve its existing contract portfolio and value-added tools and resources. The foodservice program helps drive value for more than 25,000 Premier members from various business sectors, including primary and secondary education (K-12), college and university, healthcare, hospitality, recreation and more. Visit www.premierinc.com to learn more.
About inTEAM
inTEAM’s founders literally wrote the book on managing Child Nutrition Programs. We continue to revolutionize School Food Service with superior technical and regulatory knowledge to deliver quality services that will help school districts ensure compliance and improve operating efficiency. inTEAM was recently selected as the technology provider for the national Nourish to Flourish Data Sharing & Analytics Initiative for K-12 Schools. Visit www.e-inteam.com to learn more. For media inquiries, contact Geri Hughes, VP of Operations (geri@e-inteam.com | 602-300-5228).
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