Kane Is Able Inc. has developed the Code Green Collaborative Distribution program to help small and mid-sized manufacturers of consumer packaged goods to make their distribution systems more environmentally responsible. The program rewards both manufacturers and their retail customers for collaborating to ship and receive products from multiple vendors as part of a single shipment. It begins with a "super-regional" distribution center in the Northeast, and will later expand nationally as the newer and more efficient model takes hold. Chris Kane, the company's vice president of marketing and sales, said the program was developed to reduce logistics costs in the CPG sector while responding to the global drive toward more energy-efficient supply chains. One possible outcome is the consolidation of shipments from multiple manufacturers and distribution points within a given region. Kane said the program offers smaller CPG companies the volume-based efficiencies already enjoyed by their larger competition. They can co-locate inventory in Kane's Northeast collaborative distribution center; the vendor will then consolidate outbound freight moving to common retailer delivery destinations. Savings will be shared with both manufacturers and their retail customers, Kane said. Kane has dedicated one million square feet of space at its Scranton, Pa., campus to collaborative distribution. Nationally, the company operates 8.5 million square feet of distribution space.

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