031213 Wal-Mart Seeks Faster Turn-Around On Meat Orders

Washington - The largest U.S. grocer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., would like to cut in half, to 48 hours, the turn-around time on its meat orders from suppliers, an executive said on Thursday.

The turn-around time now is 96 hours between placing and receiving its meat orders, Ken Stettmeier, Wal-Mart's merchandise manager for fresh meats, told an annual conference sponsored by the Farm Journal.

"That's not good enough," he said, giving 48 hours as a target. "We're working on systems that will shorten that lead time."

To achieve a 48-hour turnaround, Wal-Mart could use its centralized system of tracking sales to predict demand for items at individual stores, Stettmeier said in response to a question. Those projections could be revised when meats arrive at Wal-Mart distribution centers to reflect additional sales data.

Consumer interest in the Atkins diet and other high-protein diets may be here to stay, Stettmeier said. Wal-Mart sales of bacon and red meat were up sharply. Sales of related items like eggs and protein bars also were rising.

"I don't believe it's just a fad. It's a lifestyle," he said.

Wal-Mart has pioneered the approach of buying case-ready or pre-packaged meats from its suppliers, which eliminates the need for in-store butchers to process and prepare meat cuts. The meat is typically packaged in foam or plastic containers at the packing plant or processor.

Based in Bentonville, Arkansas, Wal-Mart Stores Inc has 1,386 Supercenter stores that sell groceries. It plans to open about 250 more of the stores in 2004. It also sells food at its Neighborhood Market stores and SAM's CLUB warehouse stores.

Wal-Mart, which joined the grocery industry only a decade ago, is now the largest player in the $680 billion U.S. sector.

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