How Great Lakes Cheese Modernized Supply Chain Planning to Boost Growth and Resilience

From Spreadsheets to Cutting-Edge Supply Chain Planning

Great Lakes Cheese, a major force in America’s private-label cheese sector based in Hiram, Ohio, embarked on an impressive transformation, moving away from spreadsheet-laden inefficiencies to adopt a smarter, faster, and more resilient supply chain operation. For over 65 years, the company has quietly supplied retailers and food service providers with a wide array of cheese products, even if their brand isn’t front and center on store shelves.

Despite their seeming invisibility to consumers, Great Lakes Cheese’s footprint shows up everywhere—from backyard BBQ burger slices to comforting casserole toppings. Size and product range mean the company ships thousands of stock keeping units (SKUs) nationwide through a network of 10 facilities and a workforce of over 4,500 employees. Yet, like many large manufacturers, their earlier reliance on manual processes was starting to hold them back.

The Challenge of Growth and Legacy Systems

Initially, the company’s planning relied heavily on Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, a tool familiar and accessible but limited in the face of complex, large-scale operations. Forecasting was often based more on seasonal intuition—like expecting more burger slices in summer or shredded cheese around holidays—than on hard data analysis.

At the heart of the challenge was the lack of a formal sales and operations planning process. Planning “by gut feeling” may work in the early days, but with a portfolio exceeding 6,000 SKUs, that approach became unsustainable. Customers demanded near-perfect service levels, and managing capacity constraints alongside complex product lifecycles called for a smarter, more data-driven strategy.

One supply chain leader summed it up powerfully: watching the growing challenges without adequate tools was like watching a train barreling down the tracks—inevitable but hard to stop.

Table: Key Challenges Faced by Great Lakes Cheese Before Transformation

Implementing a Resilient Foundation with Logility

Recognizing the need for an overhaul, the company partnered with Logility to leverage its Decision Intelligence Platform, seeking to firmly engrain advanced planning tools into their operational fabric. This wasn’t about quick fixes—it was about building robust processes aligned with technology to drive value consistently.

The heart of the implementation involved four core supply chain functions:

• Demand Optimization: Replacing guesswork with statistical forecasting models to boost accuracy and confidence weeks ahead.
• Inventory Planning: Striving for lean inventory while maintaining an enviable 99% order fill rate and minimizing finished goods days.
• Supply Planning: Aligning production capacity across multiple plants, improving visibility on constraints, and enabling flexible sourcing.
• Integrated Business Planning: Creating a unified “single source of truth” across finance, sales, and operations for transparent decision-making.

This platform brought long-missing zichtbaarheid and structure. Suddenly, debates over forecasts gave way to collaborative alignment, with everyone operating from the same page. But like any culture shift, this didn’t happen overnight. Introducing clean data discipline and winning over skeptical leaders and staff required perseverance.

Protecting customer service during these changes was paramount—missed orders were simply off the table. The hard work paid off, with forecast accuracy soaring to 80% overall and 85% for high-volume SKUs, while weekly volume deviations were trimmed to a razor-thin 0-3%.

Operational Gains at a Glance

Breaking Down Silos and Fostering Collaboration

This transformation was as much about culture as technology. Previously fragmented forecasts—finance, sales, operations each doing their own thing—gave way to a shared forecast that everyone takes ownership of. The planning team grew from two individuals to a well-integrated six-person unit, balancing demand and supply sides and deeply embedded with other departments.

This coherence helped streamline communication and decision-making, enabling faster responses to demand shifts, smarter inventory control, and a well-oiled planning function viewed as a business enabler rather than just a back-office role.

List: How Cultural Shift Enhanced Supply Chain

• Unified forecast ownership across departments
• Stronger collaboration between sales, operations, and finance
• Centralized, specialized planning team embedded in operations
• Agility to respond effectively to market and demand changes

Harnessing AI and Preparing for Future Growth

The journey doesn’t stop with solid forecasting and integrated planning. Great Lakes Cheese is exploring artificial intelligence to unlock next-level capabilities in demand sensing, predictive analytics, and automated scenario planning. Even cultural shifts influenced by viral social media trends, such as TikTok-driven recipe crazes, are reshaping cheese demand in unexpected ways.

Balance between redundancy and efficiency remains a focus, as production lines spread across multiple plants require careful optimization. While machine learning isn’t fully embedded yet, the company is poised to roll out these techniques once data maturity peaks.

Emerging Focus Areas

• AI-driven demand sensing for quick reaction times
• Predictive analytics for smarter decision-making
• Dynamic allocation of production and inventory across facilities
• Leveraging viral trends and external signals in forecasting

Lessons for the Logistics and Supply Chain World

The journey of Great Lakes Cheese offers more than just a cheese story—it’s a playbook for manufacturers and logistics providers wrestling with complexity, scale, and the need for speed. In today’s environment, supply chain visibility and agility are no longer luxuries; they’re must-haves to keep products flowing, shelves stocked, and customers happy.

For logistics professionals, the implications are clear: supporting such transformations means offering solutions that can handle a high SKU mix, enable real-time visibility, and coordinate complex supplier and production networks. Tools like GetTransport.com shine here, providing affordable and global freight transportation options tailored to a variety of cargo—including bulky goods and specialized shipments—making sure supply chains stay reliable and streamlined.

Why Personal Experience Still Matters

Numbers and improvements tell a compelling story, but nothing beats firsthand experience when choosing logistics partners or transportation methods. While reviews and feedback illuminate the path, they can’t replace personal trial and error.

Platforms like GetTransport.com enable shippers and companies to access the best global cargo transport options at competitive prices. This transparency and convenience empower logistics planners to make informed decisions without breaking the bank or risking delays. Whether moving office equipment, household items, or large freight, the right platform can be a game changer.

Get the best offers with GetTransport.com.

Looking Ahead: Logistics in a Rapidly Evolving Supply Chain Landscape

While the direct global impact of Great Lakes Cheese’s internal supply chain upgrade might be a drop in the ocean, it reflects a larger trend that’s reshaping logistics everywhere: the shift to intelligence-driven, agile, and integrated supply chains. For companies managing freight and shipments, adopting tech-enabled planning becomes a ticket to competing in a world where customer expectations keep climbing.

At GetTransport.com, staying current with these trends means we continuously improve our platform to support diverse transport needs with transparency and affordability. Start planning your next delivery and secure your cargo with GetTransport.com.

Samenvatting

Great Lakes Cheese’s transition from spreadsheets to a deeply integrated, tech-enabled supply chain illustrates how traditional manufacturers can harness advanced planning platforms and data science to enhance accuracy, agility, and service levels. This transformation led to leaner inventory, tighter forecasting, and a collaborative culture that breaks down silos and strengthens decision-making. Their journey into AI and dynamic production allocation signals ongoing evolution to meet changing market demands.

For logistics and transportation, this development showcases the growing need for reliable, flexible freight solutions able to adjust to complex supply chain demands.

Services like GetTransport.com offer a perfect match, providing extensive international cargo transportation options that are cost-effective, transparent, and user-friendly. Whether handling pallets, bulky goods, or delicate shipments, platforms like these simplify the supply chain puzzle, helping businesses keep operations smooth and on schedule.