CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORY
‍

— LATINA BOULEVARD FOODS

From Paper Picking To Six-figure Monthly Savings.

After decades of running warehouse operations on pen and paper, Latina Boulevard Foods moved to Dakota WMS to reduce costly mispicks, reduce returns, optimize truck building, and prepare for upcoming traceability regulations.

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Latina Boulevard Foods Case Study
53%
Mispick Reduction
Significant decrease in fulfillment errors.
17%
Productivity (PPH)
Increase in selection speed per hour.
62%
NOTs Reduction
Dramatic drop in ‘Not On Truck’ incidents.
26%
Credit Reduction
More efficient operations reduced costly credits.
Cost Efficiency
Six-figure
Monthly savings realized through optimization
Eliminated the need
for a full physical inventory count, saving effort typically requiring
30+ people
Time Reduction
50%
Time reduced truck building and rework

THE CHALLENGE

Manual operations were working hard. The process was not scaling.

Latina Boulevard Foods was moving 20,000–30,000 cases per night with paper load sheets, tribal knowledge, and manual truck-building decisions. As volume grew, errors, rework, credits, and inventory blind spots became too costly to ignore.

Before Dakota WMS
!
Frequent mispicks and items placed on the wrong trucks
!
Paper-based selection across 20,000–30,000 nightly cases
!
Manual pallet building and repeated restacking
!
Limited visibility into who picked, built, moved, or validated product
!
Product spoilage, expiration losses, and traceability pressure
“
When we looked year over year, nothing changed except the system — and the results were undeniable.
Tim Marble, COO, Latina Boulevard Foods

WHY NOW

The warehouse had reached a tipping point.

Operating nearly 400,000 square feet and moving 25,000+ cases per night on pen and paper was no longer sustainable. Latina knew a WMS was necessary, but leadership also understood the organization had to be operationally ready before technology alone could succeed.

Building the foundation first
✓
Invested in barcode readiness and warehouse infrastructure
✓
Added a dedicated Project Manager to lead implementation
✓
Created a structured game plan before selecting technology
✓
Focused on organizational readiness, not just software
“
The timing wasn’t just about technology — it was about organizational readiness.
Latina Boulevard Foods Leadership Team

WHY DAKOTA WMS

Built for food distribution operations.

Latina evaluated multiple warehouse systems before selecting Dakota WMS. The decision came down to foodservice expertise, practical workflows, inbound and outbound functionality, and confidence in the implementation partnership.

Why Dakota stood out
  • Deep foodservice distribution expertise
  • Strong inbound & outbound warehouse functionality
  • Lot traceability and compliance readiness
  • Practical operator-focused workflows
  • Seamless integration with existing ERP environment
The operational need
  • Visibility into warehouse performance
  • Reduction in costly mispicks and returns
  • Improved accountability across shifts
  • Better inventory confidence and truck accuracy
  • A scalable warehouse foundation for growth
Paper-driven warehouse
  • Load sheets guided nightly selection.
  • Night managers built pallets manually based on experience.
  • Errors were hard to diagnose until trucks left the building.
  • Truck flow depended heavily on tribal knowledge.
Scan-driven operation
  • Pick validation reduced mispicks and improved accountability.
  • GTIN and UPC capture strengthened receiving accuracy.
  • Leadership gained visibility into performance and exceptions.
  • Latina began tracking KPIs that were not possible before.

Financial impact

Six-figure savings with a stronger warehouse foundation.

Dakota WMS helped Latina convert warehouse accuracy, labor visibility, and outbound control into measurable financial results within months.

Six Figures
Consistent six-figure operational savings after implementation, driven by improved accuracy, reduced rework, stronger outbound flow, and labor optimization.
20–40
Fewer returned cases per day
Improved validation reduced downstream credits and returns.
30+
Physical inventory headcount avoided
Latina eliminated the need for a full physical inventory count with 30+ people.
10
Selection roles reallocated
Auditors and checkers were redeployed into higher-value warehouse roles.

IMPLEMENTATION

A practical path from paper to digital.

Latina did not rush into technology. Leadership built the right internal structure, invested in readiness, and partnered closely with Dakota WMS to make adoption stick across inbound and outbound teams.

1
Built the foundation
Latina added project ownership, identified barcode needs, prepared equipment, and aligned warehouse leadership.
2
Inbound go-live
Inbound launched on May 17, with Dakota helping establish clean GTIN and UPC capture at receiving.
3
Outbound go-live
Outbound launched at the end of July after testing, training, and shift-level preparation.
4
Fully live
By November 1, Latina was live across all areas and operating with stronger visibility, control, and accountability.

OUTBOUND OPTIMIZATION

TruckBuilder® changed the way nightly routes were built.

Before Dakota WMS, three night managers built pallets manually and adjusted constantly as selectors reported back. With TruckBuilder®, Latina moved to system-driven optimization, faster labels, better accountability, and stronger outbound flow.

40
Routes built nightly
3.5 hrs
Typical truck-building completion time, down from 6–7 hours

WAREHOUSE TRANSFORMATION

Latina gained the visibility to manage by facts, not assumptions.

Dakota WMS gave Latina the operational control to reduce errors, improve selection productivity, strengthen traceability, and build a more scalable food distribution warehouse.

Operational gains
✓
Higher picking accuracy through scan-based validation
✓
Earlier truck completion and improved outbound flow
✓
Stronger expiration control and inventory confidence
✓
Improved lot traceability and regulatory readiness
✓
Defined warehouse roles for loaders, replenishers, and optimized selectors
Cultural impact
✓
Leadership now sees who built each truck and who picked each order
✓
Scan compliance became a measurable performance standard
✓
“Perfect trucks” became a realistic KPI
✓
Teams gained confidence in repeatable, scalable warehouse processes
✓
Latina built an operational foundation for future growth