Manufacturing Today - May/June 2017 - 109
Southern CaseArts To create a compelling experience for its customers, Southern often relies on its retail partners for new ideas. "The best ideas come from the retailers," McMurray relates. "Such as when someone comes to us and says, 'I want to offer a new fresh foods program to my customers. Will you help us design it?' That's where the best ideas come from." To cover a broad range of potential customers, Southern has created three product lines and is able to make modifications to each one: * The Standard line can be ordered straight from Southern's catalog of offerings. Roughly 220 models are offered, and most can be built in five different lengths. * The Customized Standard line includes Standard models customized for a retailer's specific needs. "We're very good at taking one of those 220 models and adding a feature to meet customers' needs," McMurray says. "Maybe it could be a little taller or wider, or any number of things." * With the Tailor Made line, Southern CaseArts' design and engineering team works with a customer to develop their vision from concept to completion. 1990s, Southern was forced to look elsewhere to grow. "We began calling on stores in the Northeast," McMurray recalls. "We did a high-profile store in Manhattan and from there, one customer led to another." And as Southern continued to expand, it found itself catering not only to different customers, but to different cultures. Grocery stores can be very different depending on the region of the country, creating the need for what McMurray calls "locally relevant merchandising." Its ability to serve various regions has led to industry recognition. Southern won a 2017 Retail Environments magazine Silver Design award for its work with Chicago retailer Cermak Fresh Market. "We're very honored by that award," McMurray says. "We have taken a lot of customers there to showcase our work." Despite the recognition, the measure of Southern's success is simple. "We're doing our job if the food is presented in some way that they are enjoying their shopping experience," McMurray notes. mt Oftentimes a grocer will utilize all three of Southern's offerings, but McMurray estimates that 70 percent of Southern's business comes from the Standard line. The Customized Standard line represents another 25 percent, and the remainder belongs to the Tailor Made line. Southern has experienced considerable growth in recent years, owing to a number of factors. The first is that grocers have to work hard to set themselves apart, and the successful ones do. McMurray notes that there has been a renaissance in how food is viewed and experienced, thanks to cooking shows and other programs. "If you look at grocers, the center of the store is really going by the wayside," McMurray notes. "But if you look at the stores that really do fresh food, you can see a resurgence. The experience of food is such a social aspect of our lives, and people are drawn to that." Another factor leading to growth has been growing the product list to more than 220 models, increasing options for customers. Plus, one huge contributing factor is the willingness to simply say "yes." "By saying 'yes we can do that' when customers ask for new designs," McMurray says, "we open ourselves up to new possibilities ourselves." Local Merchandising When Southern CaseArts began, it served a customer base in the South. As the industry started to consolidate in the mid MAY/JUNE 2017 manufacturing-today.com 109