Alex Lee Case Study

Alex Lee is a North Carolina-based corporation that specializes in food services—specifically wholesale, warehouse and retail services. Alex Lee is the parent corporation for several companies, including Merchants Distributors, or MDI (food distribution), Lowe’s Foods (retail grocery store chain), Vantage Foods (meat packaging) and Consolidation Services (third-party logistics and distribution). Ted Manuel is the Data Center Manager with Alex Lee. His responsibilities include managing and purchasing forms and labels for the MDI warehouse and facility.

The Challenge

Labels are used extensively throughout Alex Lee company operations. At the MDI facility, labels are primarily used for:

Product (case) identification
Selection
Shipping at the warehouse

These warehouse labels often use barcodes. The labels must adhere equally well to:

Cardboard construction
Plastic-wrapped pallets
Steel-faced pallet storage slots

The labels must be able to function in varying environmental conditions—from the high heat of summer to the -20° temperatures of refrigeration rooms.

The Solution

In 2006, OMNI was selected to provide labels to Alex Lee. MDI uses both thermal transfer and direct thermal labels from OMNI. These include smaller case labels for selection and larger labels for pallets and totes.

Alex Lee was initially attracted to OMNI based on the pricing of products. That grew into inquiries about other significant factors, including:

Print facility proximity
Number of print facilities
Turnaround time
Communication
Problem/resolution experience

Manuel quickly discovered that OMNI offers great customer service in addition to low pricing. “OMNI’s integrity is flawless and they are a good provider with good prices,” he says.

OMNI provides high-volume labels as well as labels that move more slowly, meaning Alex Lee doesn’t have to deal with lots of different vendors for different products. Any problems or issues are immediately addressed by OMNI, and a relationship of trust has been built.

“I can tell a good vendor from a bad one and OMNI is a good vendor. I’m very happy with their customer service and support. From 2007 until now, I have had the same rep and 99% of the time he is the one I communicate with—from order to shipment and any issues in-between. Most of my other vendors have high turnover on reps, but OMNI shows their stability in me keeping the same contact for so many years. It helps build a “tribal” relationship of understanding each other’s business. I think that is very critical to a successful business partnership,” Manuel says.

The Results

Several times since the initial selection, OMNI has again and again been chosen to supply labels to Alex Lee. More than 25 vendors have been invited to bid on projects, and every time, OMNI is selected again.

Manuel credits the reasonable pricing and dependable, exemplary services as elements in the continuous selection.

“I’ve never been unpleasantly surprised,” he says. “Their shipments are always on schedule and consistent. Communication is top-notch. They don’t hassle me with calls, yet when I need to talk to someone they are always available and polite. They resolve problems quickly and to my best interest.”

Alex Lee Case Study