HY-VEE facilities food preparation closure has officially been announced in a press statement. They confirmed to shut down their two main areas first Fresh Commissary facility in Ankeny, Iowa and second Short Cuts facility in Chariton, Iowa, this decision affected nearly hundreds of employees and Hy-Vee said the main reason is to make fresh and better food for customer.
HY-VEE facilities food preparation closure decision doesn’t mean that they are completely shutting down. This is a part of their future plan to boast their business and get more stable.
Hy-Vee is a Midwestern food chain supermarket in united stated. This company was found in early 1930’s by Charles Hyde and David Vredenburg as Hyde & Vredenburg (Original name). Initially this company was started as a small store to provide affordable and good quality product in local markets. Later, in 1952 they renamed the company as Hy-Vee, derive from their founder’s names.
Hy-Vee is an employee-owned food chain market and known for full-service market because they sell huge variety of products include:
. Groceries
. Household goods
. Pharmacy and health products
. Prepared food
. Electronic and small appliance
. Prepared food
. Wines and Beers
Over the year Company chains expanded and currently more than 285 store are in 8 different states of USA are owned by Hy-Vee. Around 90,000 employees, which make Hy-Vee among one of the largest employee-owned company in United States.
Main Factors behind Closure
Behind HY-VEE facilities food preparation closure there was several reasons:
1-Food quality and hygiene compliance
Hy-Vee have large food preparation facilities, where they prepare most of their food, then sent to their grocery stores. During the time of transportations most of their foods loss their freshness and taste, which decline the quality of the product and having large area means large production, holding large amount of productions increase the risk of germ spreading, which will make food unsafe.
2-Increasing operating expenses
Handling large area cost a lot. From managing large area maintenance to labor, transportation, energy and utilities cost high, that why Hy-Vee decided to move their food preparation facilities back to their stores.
3- Ongoing supply chain challenges
Having a large food facility area and then shipping them to another area creates lots of problems like delays in delivery, higher transport risk, shortage of ingredients and unstable market condition.
To avoid these problems, HY-VEE facilities food preparation closure led to moving their food preparation areas to their store
4- Evolving consumer purchasing patterns
In today’s time people purchasing behavior has changed. People prefer healthy and fresh food instead of prepacked food, always search for food which will be prepared within some minutes and need custom made food so, they can see how they are prepared so they enjoy fresh and tasty food according to their taste.
Due to these changes, Hy-Vee facilities food preparation closure took place and shifted their food preparation area to their stores
Outcome for Decision
The decision for closure of food facilities has several outcomes:
1-Updates in Store Products
With new update and strategies like preparing fresh and high quality foods, custom options, adjusting menus and taste based on local demand, and expanding online grocery store. These strategies will increase their sale in future and make Hy-Vee a competitive competitor for other grocery chains
2- Impact on Staff
Due to closure of their two main food facilities areas has affected around 461 employees and this was big problem for the workers to find new jobs but Hy-Vee said they will help these employees by:
. Many of the workers will get job in supermarket in different roles.
. After shifting food preparation to store means need of more staff, they are organizing hiring event and giving training to employees of closed facilities for store level role like deli, bakery and kitchen staff.
. If positions get limited, they will relocate the remaining employees to any nearby location.
3-Updated Safety Procedures
After shifting food preparation facilities to their store, Hy-Vee introduce new safety steps to keep food safe and hygienic by:
. Clean cooking areas
. Employee hygiene training
. Health monitoring
. Regular inspection
. Temperature check
Through these steps Hy-Vee will maintain their strong quality standards.
Hy-Vee’s Future Goals
HY-VEE facilities food preparation closure purpose was to work on those plans which will help them to boost their growth and get more stable in future.
1-Enhance Freshness and Quality
Hy-Vee is upgrading their store and want all their foods to be prepared in the store so the customers will receive fresh and good quality food and can custom their food according to their need or tastes.
2- Local Growers and Distributors
Instead of relying on big national vendors, Hy-Vee is working with local farmers to obtain fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat from their stores and partnership with local distributors who will deliver fresh items to the store. By providing fresh items and keeping demand of buyers, Hy-Vee will obtain trust of customers.
3-Enhance Online Services
After HY-VEE facilities food preparation closure, they are upgrading their online services. Now a days online is more popular than shopping traditionally in store. This platform allow their customer to purchase groceries items, household items or any meal from their device.
Hy-Vee plan to improve online services by working on fast delivery, better pick-up options and expanding product selections. With these strategies Hy-Vee can compete online market competitors.
4- Increase Eco-Friendly Practices
Hy-Vee is taking initiative on being more environment friendly, in many of stores they had started eco-friendly practices like using sustainable packaging, reducing food waste, donating to food banks, recycling, energy saving and local sourcing.
These strategies will help Hy-Vee to promote sustainable practices.
Conclusion
After HY-VEE facilities food preparation closure, they still retain the ownership of Ankeny and Chariton facilities. While the closure of their two large food preparation has impacted around 461 worker but company provide support and provide alternative jobs in their grocery stores or nearby locations.
As the grocery stores are evolving with the time, Hy-Vee is also working on upgrading their grocery stores to provide better shopping experience. For customer they are focusing on quality and freshness of product and also on customer satisfaction.
HY-VEE facilities food preparation closure doesn’t mean that it’s the ending, they are working to improve their grocery stories and customer services to boost their growth and get more stable in future.