Introduction

GlacierPoint Enterprises, headquartered in Bronx, NY, is recognized as one of the largest Direct Store Delivery (DSD) distributors in the U.S. With over 20 strategically located facilities, they serve key markets across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, Illinois, and Indiana. Their expansive reach continues to grow through a robust network of 600 delivery routes, providing seamless distribution for iconic brands like Häagen-Dazs, Ben & Jerry’s, Blue Bunny, and their very own Sweet Summits line. This rapid expansion highlights their leadership in the DSD space, consistently delivering excellence to their partners and customers.

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To manage the complexity of frozen food distribution, GlacierPoint uses IntegraSys’ Direct Store Delivery (DSD) software. This tailored system has helped GlacierPoint scale its operations efficiently while maintaining cold chain standards for frozen products. With IntegraSys’ DSD software, they can better manage routes, track deliveries in real-time, and ensure product quality from the warehouse to the store.

In this case study, we’ll explore the challenges GlacierPoint faced with its previous system, how IntegraSys delivered the right solution, and its measurable impact on its operations.

The Challenge

Before selecting IntegraSys as their strategic ERP solution, GlacierPoint Enterprises had acquired businesses using various ERP solutions, including a home-grown system, DSD Manager, and Oracle to manage their direct store delivery operations. While these other solutions, like Oracle, may be powerful platforms, they were not designed to handle the specific demands of DSD. As GlacierPoint’s expansion continued into new regions across the Northeast and Midwest, their growing number of delivery routes became increasingly challenging to manage.

The limitations of their existing system became clear:

• Lack of DSD-specific functionality:  While solutions like Oracle provided a robust foundation, it required numerous customizations to accommodate the unique needs of direct store delivery. Critical tasks like pricing, routing, order processing, and data management were overly complex and inefficient, making day-to-day operations more challenging and costly.
• Operational inefficiencies: After acquiring seven ice cream and frozen food companies, GlacierPoint faced the challenge of operating in multiple systems. The process was time-consuming, and their inability to scale quickly led to delays and increased costs. They needed a solution—and a partner—to integrate these companies into one seamless software platform and establish more efficient, streamlined operations.
• Fragmented sales insights: Generating comprehensive sales data required running separate reports across multiple systems, leading to a time-consuming process to extract the required data and then manually map it to provide a consolidated management report.
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GlacierPoint needed a single, efficient, and scalable solution to streamline operations and support their growth. After careful consideration, they selected IntegraSys DSD Manager as their strategic ERP solution.

The Solution: IntegraSys DSD Manager Application Suite

IntegraSys worked with the GlacierPoint IT team to migrate and consolidate the various legacy systems into a single GlacierPoint DSD solution to meet GlacierPoint's operational requirements. The key to success was successfully transforming and consolidating Oracle, home-grown, and multiple DSD systems into a single enterprise DSD platform without business disruption.

Key components of the IntegraSys solution included:

• DSD Manager ERP: DSD Manager is an ERP system built specifically for the Direct Store Delivery industry. Its comprehensive backend and mobile front end are designed to efficiently manage GlacierPoint’s 600+ pre-sale and delivery routes. By streamlining the ordering and delivery process, DSD Manager ensures products are delivered accurately and on time, meeting the unique demands of DSD operations.
• Route Manager Mobile App: IntegraSys’ mobile app is designed to streamline order-taking, delivery, and route management. It also includes features for asset auditing, such as maintaining freezers and other equipment. The app ensures invoices are 100% accurate at the time of delivery, with real-time inventory updates, correct pricing, store stamp and signature capture, and seamless communication—ensuring everything is documented correctly.
• Web Ordering: Customers could now place orders online, speeding up the ordering process and reducing manual entry errors. Web ordering is also connected to the routing, inventory, and customer credit terms to ensure the customer has all they need to place their order quickly. This integration resulted in faster order fulfillment and higher customer satisfaction. For some of their customers with advanced requirements, GlacierPoint selected Pepper Web Ordering (a strategic partner of IntegraSys).  This solution provides customer-facing iOS and Android apps and the ability to take credit card payments.
• Business Intelligence (BI): Sales data from all of GlacierPoint’s locations were collected and stored in IntegraSys’ data warehouse to provide advanced analytics and reporting capabilities. This BI solution gave GlacierPoint deep insights into its operations, from customers and route performance to the best-performing products. With this real-time information, GlacierPoint could make proactive decisions that drove operational efficiency.
• Mobile Printing: The IntegraSys Mobile App provides printing directly from their mobile devices to a mobile printer. GlacierPoint selected the Brother RJ4230 4” Mobile Printer for its impressive print speed, battery life, rugged durability, and wireless connectivity options like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

By focusing on GlacierPoint’s specific needs, IntegraSys delivered a solution that combined customized features and DSD expertise. Additionally, their 24/7 customer support ensured GlacierPoint’s operations never missed a beat—vital for a round-the-clock operation delivering frozen goods in multiple regions.

The Results and Impact

Since adopting IntegraSys’ DSD software, GlacierPoint Enterprises has seen transformative improvements:

• One Seamless Platform: The GlacierPoint IT team, along with the engagement and support of IntegraSys, successfully unified seven acquired companies into a single solution that has streamlined sales, consolidated operations, improved inventory management, and simplified business and financial reporting.
• Faster delivery times: Delivery efficiencies increased enabling GlacierPoint to meet customer demands quickly while maintaining the integrity of frozen products.
• Increased route efficiency: With optimized route management, GlacierPoint saw improved route efficiency.
• Improved inventory accuracy: Inventory accuracy increased while reducing out-of-stock situations and improving order fulfillment rates.

One of the most impactful changes was consolidating seven different software platforms—including Oracle, a home-grown platform, and five separate instances of IntegraSys DSD software—into one platform. This eliminated redundant processes, reduced errors, and gave GlacierPoint better control over its data. With real-time analytics through IntegraSys’ BI tools, GlacierPoint can now track and analyze route performance more effectively, making data-driven decisions that lead to more efficient deliveries and lower costs.

This strategic decision to work with a specialized provider like IntegraSys, which understands DSD's unique demands, has given GlacierPoint a competitive edge in its market.

IntegraSys is a valued partner that provides a robust Direct Store Delivery (DSD) solution that has allowed our business to integrate and streamline operations across multiple regions successfully. In addition to delivering a DSD-specific platform that is critical to our business operations, the partnership we have established is truly valued. The IntegraSys team is responsive to our business needs and a trusted partner in our continued growth.  – Vincent Angelucci, CTO, GlacierPoint Enterprises

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Key Takeaways

The partnership between GlacierPoint Enterprises and IntegraSys demonstrates several critical advantages of choosing specialized Direct Store Delivery (DSD) software for large-scale operations:

Faster Implementation

GlacierPoint was able to swiftly merge multiple systems into a single platform, streamlining GlacierPoint’s operations far more effectively than larger, generic providers.

DSD-Specific Features

IntegraSys delivered essential DSD functionality, including a comprehensive ERP system tailored for DSD operations. This system featured a full financial suite, EDI, inventory management (including FIFO inventory), optimized route planning, real-time data analytics, and web ordering.  These tools directly addressed GlacierPoint’s requirements in managing their frozen food distribution operations.

Customized Growth

Unlike off-the-shelf software, IntegraSys provides fully customized DSD solutions to meet each distributor's specific requirements. For GlacierPoint, this meant implementing features and options within the application suite for the unique demands of the frozen food industry. IntegraSys continuously updates its software to adapt to the latest industry trends and regulations, offering unlimited upgrades to ensure distributors stay ahead. This flexibility and commitment to growth have been critical in supporting GlacierPoint’s rapid expansion.

24/7 Support

IntegraSys’ around-the-clock customer support ensured that GlacierPoint’s operations ran smoothly.   The IntegraSys team’s responsiveness to issues (big and small) was a key success factor in this implementation.

This case study underscores the importance of working with a specialized provider who understands the specific needs of Direct Store Delivery and offers flexible, scalable solutions that deliver real results.

Conclusion

By choosing IntegraSys, GlacierPoint Enterprises made a strategic decision that will support its continued growth for years to come. IntegraSys’ DSD-specific software solved GlacierPoint’s immediate operational challenges and provided the scalability it needs to thrive in the future. With tailored functionality, expert support, and a streamlined system, GlacierPoint now operates more efficiently, cuts costs, and maintains high standards for frozen food distribution.

IntegraSys offers customized DSD solutions that streamline routes, enhance customer satisfaction, and improve operational efficiency. IntegraSys has the expertise to help your business grow by providing advanced DSD features, seamless integrations, and 24/7 support. 

Are you ready to elevate your Direct Store Delivery operations? Contact us today to learn more and schedule a demo of our DSD software solutions.