JJ Snack Foods celebra la inauguración de su nuevo centro de distribución en Terrell, TX

Recommend spotlighting how this Terrell distribution center accelerates distribución a foodservice partners, delivering faster and more predictable service this year. This facility shortens the path from order to shelf, enabling first time fills and reducing closures tied to stockouts, while preserving product quality across temperature zones.

Under strong leadership, JJ Snack Foods hosted tours for select customers and suppliers, unveiling the first wave of initiatives to harmonize sourcing, picking, and shipping across the facility. This includes retooled operations flows and a dedicated cross-dock model that supports near real-time updates to customers’ orders and share of demand signals.

En facility is designed with an intimate floor layout that keeps teams close to core categories like fruit y cakes, while separate zones ensure climate control for sensitive items. Temperature-controlled bays, barcode-driven operationsy unique handling paths cut travel time and boost accuracy, so customers receive the right SKUs in good condition.

Early projections estimate annualised throughput that supports growth in the Terrell region, with this expansion delivering improved on-time delivery rates, reduced overhead, and clearer accountability across distribución initiatives. Este coming quarter, teams will compare actual performance to targets and adjust staffing more than once if needed.

To maximize value, partners should align ordering windows with new shift schedules, share demand forecasts, and adopt smaller, more frequent replenishments across the facility network. JJ Snack Foods can support these initiatives with up-to-date dashboards, intimate cadence calls, and joint planning sessions as part of the post-launch program.

Terrell DC launch–facility specs, tariff shifts, and strategic moves

Launch today with a cross-dock-first layout designed for driving foods sales and faster replenishment. Direct the initial openings to snack and fruit SKUs to prove the model with the team.

En facility features a 36-foot clear height, a flexible cross-dock layout, dozens of dock doors, multiple temperature zones, and added automation-ready bays to support scalable operations across plantas y el factory. These elements enable better throughput, reduce handling steps, and preserve product integrity for whole-case and split-case orders.

Tariff shifts are shaping sourcing choices; the Terrell DC will anchor regional inventories that cut cycle times and hedge against tariff volatility. By leaning toward nearer sourcing, the operation provides opportunities to improve on-time delivery for foodservice and retailer partners while keeping costs predictable for key SKUs in the three core categories: fruit, snack, and other foods.

Three unique plays guide the rollout: three targeted moves that align with the owner y team priorities. First, deepen partnerships with foodservice operators and distributors to expand oportunidades in national and regional accounts. Second, scale the added-value services across the plantas and networked factory operations to improve packaging, labeling, and case packing. Third, leverage the new openings to strengthen the focused snack and fruit portfolios while supporting conduciendo sales through providing reliable service today. The openings emphasize a deliberate play to win in three markets and solidify a resilient supply chain strategy today, with the team at the helm driving progress.

During the ceremony today, leadership highlighted milestones and expected gains from the Terrell site. источник notes a strategic emphasis on reducing transit times and expanding regional capabilities, while hola to the Terrell team for delivering a strong start and steady momentum.

117,000-square-foot Terrell DC: cold-storage specs and layout for frozen items

Recommendation: Build three independently controlled cold zones within the 117,000-square-foot Terrell DC to optimize frozen-item quality, speed picks, and reduce closures during peak periods. Today, this layout strategically aligns with a self-owned facility strategy that supports a strong, foodservice-focused operation and provides a unique platform to grow the business with the team, already delivering reliable performance for customers and suppliers alike. The approach strengthens brand partnerships and sets the stage for annualised efficiency gains across operations.

1. Zone design and temperature control
   • Blast-freeze corridor: -40°C (-40°F), 18,000 sq ft, equipped with soft-closure doors to minimize thermal loss and protect item integrity during rapid freezing.
   • Frozen storage: -20°C (-4°F), 60,000 sq ft, high-density pallet racking arranged on 36-foot-wide aisles to support three-deep pallet moves and smooth handheld picking.
   • Staging/packing: -18°C (0°F), 12,000 sq ft, located near loading docks for fast cross-dock and reduced handling time while maintaining traceability.
2. Footprint and throughput planning
   • Total footprint totals 117,000 sq ft with a clear allocation: 60,000 sq ft frozen storage, 18,000 sq ft blast-freeze, 12,000 sq ft staging, 10,000 sq ft dock/receiving, 10,000 sq ft admin/maintenance, and 7,000 sq ft mezzanine overflow.
   • Aisle network uses 36-foot-wide corridors to enable three parallel lanes, improving performance and reducing travel time for handheld picking.
3. Operations, tech and brand portfolio
   • Real-time performance dashboards and annualised energy metrics drive reductions in waste and energy use, strengthening overall efficiency and reliability.
   • The product mix already includes foods from phillyswirl, dippin, and hola lines, creating a unique, high-velocity frozen offering for foodservice and retail.
   • The team leverages handheld scanners and a cloud WMS to maintain accuracy, speed, and traceability across all operations; this self-owned facility approach aligns with the companys strategy and strengthens customer trust.
   • We can dive into data now to optimize throughput, energy use, and order accuracy, reinforcing intimate collaboration with customers and driving strong growth.

Frozen-item logistics: cold-storage capacity, throughput, and order accuracy

Recommendation: Expand cold-storage capacity by 40% at the Terrell DC and deploy a high-throughput, zone-based picking system to deliver more accurate frozen orders for phillyswirl and Dippin foods, reducing costs and boosting sales performance.

Focus our operations on throughput by mapping peak periods and aligning line speeds with demand. Use a consolidation approach that clusters high-velocity SKUs around the freezer and leverages cross-docking to cut handling time. Target annualised throughput of 120,000 cases in the frozen zones, with 40% of activity during holidays when demand spikes.

Order accuracy: implement bar-code scanning and pick-to-light across all frozen orders, and provide real-time inventory visibility to pickers. Aim for 99.5% order accuracy in the first quarter after go-live, with monthly audits to identify and fix root causes. These steps improve foodservice satisfaction and help profits by reducing returns and waste; expenses shrink as the operations around frozen items tighten.

Costs and capacity planning should be centred on energy efficiency and equipment reliability. Cut annualised energy costs with better insulation, tighter defrost cycles, and smart refrigeration controls. The Terrell facility can host a ceremony-like moment for staff and customers while the companys network benefits from stabilised cold-chain service, and the focus remains on reducing costs and improving service where it matters.

To keep momentum, establish robust vendor-managed inventory for phillyswirl and run quarterly reviews of throughput, capacity utilisation, and order accuracy. These strong metrics guide a better balance between consolidation, costs, and profits, ensuring that the new distribution center supports long-term growth around foods and snacks like phillyswirl, while remaining focused on service quality for foodservice partners and retail.

Tariffs shifts: practical steps to monitor costs and adjust sourcing

Implement a tariff watch within the procurement team now by establishing a monthly cost-review ritual that flags tariff changes by HTS code and estimates impact within 5 business days of release. Use a hosted data source and a simple scoring rubric to translate tariff shifts into actionable adjustments for production planning and vendor selection.

Classify products into three groups: snacks including pretzel items, frozen lines, and ambient foods. For each group, assign the most relevant tariff line and calculate duty per unit and per case based on current rates. Track last-month and next-month changes and document gaps with a visual map of dots showing which SKUs are most sensitive to changes.

Adopt a consolidation approach: centralize orders from two to three suppliers to reduce variability, cut freight at docks, and simplify duties reporting. Use consolidation to reduce landed cost where routes align with key openings and shipments from the factory and the distribution network. Reassess the phillyswirl and other frozen lines to capitalize on favorable tariff treatment and shorten the order cycle.

Build three forecasting scenarios: base, tariff +10%, tariff +25%. Run these through the production schedule to quantify impact on factory output and on customers. Use the 36-foot trailer costs, lane-specific freight, and port dwell times to refine the model. Maintain service levels for core customers while testing alternate suppliers.

Create a clear action calendar: write the plan, update data dashboards, and share outcomes with the team. Use a hosted platform to keep data accessible and enable growth of the sourcing footprint. Track openings and adjust sourcing to keep snacks supply steady, including pretzel lines and phillyswirl variants, with a focused approach that reduces risk to margins and stabilizes cost of foods across production and warehouses.

Project Apollo: plant closures timeline and workforce transition considerations

Recommend a phased, 12-month plant closures timeline centred on protecting customers and providing a smooth workforce transition where disruption is minimized. Start with the first closure at the smallest plant where the cost base is least aligned with the future snack portfolio, then move through the other plants on a quarterly cadence to balance expenses and service levels. This approach preserves the focused fruit snacks and dippin lines that serve foodservice customers.

Where possible, align the plan with a fiscal model that targets a net annualized expense reduction of about $28 million after the first year, with initial quarters delivering $7–9 million in adjusted costs. In this configuration, closures of three plants in Q1–Q2 and two in Q3–Q4 reduces the factory footprint by roughly 22 percent, while preserving the fruit and snacks lines that drive core foodservice demand. The affected workforce totals about 1,200 employees, with severance and relocation expenses estimated at $16 million and a retraining and redeployment budget added to support opportunities for internal transfers. This approach will accommodate the team and offer openings in the Terrell distribution center for growth roles. This plan aligns with companys governance and provides transparent accountability. If demand fell in a quarter, the plan allows adjustments within the phased framework, and we will maintain a whole-network view to preserve service levels while optimizing costs.

To accommodate the workforce, offer internal transfers to the remaining plants and to the Terrell openings, with intensive retraining for growth roles in packaging, quality, and logistics. Keep intimate, timely updates to affected teams so they understand next steps. The program stays focused on retraining and offering opportunities for employees to grow into higher-value snack and dippin line roles, with added coaching resources to smooth transitions.

Write a customer- and supplier-facing communications plan that explains the timeline, the impact on product supply, and the steps to preserve fruit snacks and dippin lines in foodservice channels. The messaging should be clear where factory changes affect deliveries, including revised lead times and rerouting options. Emphasize added openings at Terrell to support providing continued service and opportunities to grow new SKU introductions, while keeping costs and expenses in check.

Next steps include finalizing the closures schedule, confirming severance and relocation packages, updating the budget with added expenses and expected savings, and writing the formal rollout communications. Assign ownership to operations, HR, and the Terrell site team, and set monthly reviews to track progress against the whole plan. The plan will be shared with the partner companys leadership for sign-off and accountability.

GlobalData insights: leveraging GlobalData to sharpen JJ Snack Foods’ distribution strategy

Recommendation: Build a GlobalData-driven distribution blueprint around Terrell that uses a self-owned network to optimize multi-temperature operations with 36-foot trailers, aimed at lifting on-time performance and customer satisfaction.

GlobalData insights reveal the role of data governance: dive into retailer POS, production schedules, and customer feedback to align the companys distribution with demand. This approach uncovers gaps in service, highlights capacity needs, and guides SKU prioritization across the Terrell network.

Product focus covers snacks, frozen items, cakes, fruit products, and novelties. Align production and packaging with retailer promotions and seasonal peaks to maximise volume and minimize waste. GlobalData data suggests pairing core SKUs with contingency lines to close gaps in around-week demand.

Logistics plan centers on route optimization to cut backhauls and shorten cycle times, while your operations accommodate multi-temperature loads and ensure the whole cold chain stays intact. Map dots between DCs and customers to raise fill rates and improve share across regions.

Performance metrics: GlobalData benchmarks indicate on-time performance at 98%+, fill rates near 97%, and order accuracy around 99%. Profits per pallet should rise 3-5% as availability improves; GlobalData notes that 60% of top performers already achieve similar targets.

Operational blueprint for Terrell includes a two-temperature capability, a 36-foot trailer pool, and a lean pick-and-pack flow. Use self-owned distribution hubs to keep costs predictable and support focused growth for dippin dots-style frozen novelties and other fruit, cakes, and snacks lines.

Next steps: implement a 12-month rollout with quarterly milestones, validate forecasts through pilot runs, and adjust the plan based on data. Keep customers centred by soliciting feedback and sharing performance metrics with partners to optimize profitability and reach.