All in the family - Tannis Food Distributors

All in the familyA look inside Tannis Food DistributorsBY LES BROSZKOWSKIAs times change and economies shift, businesses areoften forced to make radical transitions that caneither make or break a company. Finding successmay come instantly or take time, but getting througha transitional period wouldn’t be possible withouthard work, smart planning and sometimes a littlehelp from the family.Left to right: Camilla Tannis Malouf, MIS manager; Souad Tannis, CEO;Eli Tannis, vice president (purchasing); Michael Tannis, general manager(cash carry); Mounir Nesrallah, vice president (distribution); Theo Tannis,president; and (front) Kammal Tannis, vice president (sales & marketing).52 YCM September | October 2009 www.conveniencecentral.ca

Left to right: Kammal Tannis, Ralph Zahalan(warehouse worker), and Kammal’s son, Chris Tannis.For Tannis Food Distributors, it’s all about the family.The Ottawa-based business was founded in1940 when brothers Toufic Michael Tannis andGeorge Tannis opened Tannis Trading Company,distributing tobacco to eastern Ontario.While the company grew, tragedy struckthe family in 1971 when Toufic Michaelpassed away, followed by George in 1972.Left widowed with six children aged sixto 16, Toufic’s wife Souad took over as president,turning the company around frombeing on the brink of bankruptcy andbuilding it into the success that it is today.“Our mother had so much responsibilitywith taking care of the family and business,”said Kammal Tannis. “We never sawany signs of her slowing down; she wasalways a pillar of strength ... a role modelto us all.”In 1976, her son, Theo, and son-in-lawMounir, husband of Karen, entered into thebusiness, followed by Eli, Kammal, Mikeand their sisters, Camie and Karen. Thefamily had to mature quickly and remainsupportive of each other. “When you’reyoung, you’re adventurous,” said Kammal,who is now the vice president of sales andmarketing. “We worked well together; wealways focused on the same company goalsand family values.”THE MOVE INTO FOODSERVICEOne of those responsibilities was to makethe company profitable. In 1978, Tannis transitionedinto the foodservice arena and neverlooked back.“Tobacco margins were starting to erode,”said Eli, vice president of purchasing. “Wewere just living hand to mouth so we madethe decision to move into foodservice.”Tannis eventually found success servicingindependents and chain accounts in bothfoodservice and retail.They also put focus on national brandedproducts to provide consistency and qualityproducts to their customers.“Customers say private label brands arealways changing,” said Eli. “One day you canbuy Joe’s Muffins and then they change toanother company. (With branded products)you know what you’re getting.”Offering many branded products underone roof enabled Tannis to launch a bannerprogram called Pronto Food Marts.“We created a banner program for ourindependent convenience stores,” said Kammal,“where we managed the supplier rebateprogram and marketing, which provided acompetitive advantage for our banner stores.”With new retail and foodservice growth, Tannisexpanded its operation and eventually movedtheir distribution centre. What began as a 1,200sq. ft. operation in 1940 is now a 130,000 sq. ft.facility. A more recent foodservice expansionincluded the acquisition of a coffee company anda food distributor in Pembroke, Ontario.“We started hiring more sales reps forfoodservice,” Kammal said. “We always triedto hire a person with experience and a goodreputation in the industry.”Tom Lawson, a foodservice purchaser atTannis, believes manufacturers are challengedthese days because they have to do alot more with a lot less, but Tannis is stillgood at moving the product.“We’re good and efficient at bringing it in“The trend is in frozen preparedfood and the product offeringsARE CONTINUALLY IMPROVING.”one door, putting it on the shelf, and hopefullymoving it out the other door within afew days time,” he said.Since Tannis carries more than 8,000products, Lawson has to make sure the warehouseisn’t overstocked with too much of thesame product.EVA HADHAZYADDED VALUE FROM SALES REPSEli Nesrallah was another sales rep Tannishired because of his foodservice experience.He previously owned a restaurant, and nowhas 25 years of experience with Tannis.Now a business development manager, hesays the most important thing sales reps needto achieve is trust from their clients.www.conveniencecentral.ca September | October 2009 YCM 53

October 14 & 15Vancouver ConventionCentre - EastBeyond visiting clients, taking orders,and troubleshooting, reps have to learnabout and introduce a plethora of newproducts which clients need to differentiatethemselves from the competition.“It’s the evolution of the industry,” Nesrallahsaid. “We started out with one onionring and now there are many brands.”Nesrallah also said one of the hardestchallenges for reps because of rampantcompetition is keeping their clients.Tannis purchased its current warehouse, itonly had 4,000 sq. ft. of freezer space, sayssales manager Kevin Kuntz, but it now hasover 30,000 sq. ft. of space.“The trend is in frozen prepared food andthe product offerings are continually improving,”he said. “There are so many new frozenproducts we’ve had to list and as a result,we’ve had three freezer expansions.”Apart from technology and trend-watching,Tannis starts by investing in employees.“TOBACCO MARGINS WERE STARTING TO ERODE. We werejust living hand to mouth so we made THE DECISION TOMOVE INTO FOODSERVICE.” – Eli Tannis Money-makingseminars New products,equipment &services NetworkingRegister Today!www.coffeeteashow.ca1.866.688.0504 ext.128“Hold on to your clients because intoday’s market, they’re comparing pricesand services. Keep the competition as faraway as possible,” he said.One way to keep clients is by knowingthe market.“As a sales rep in this industry, don’t beafraid to suggest to your customers the pros andcons of price versus quality,” Nesrallah said.George Saikaley, who operates a Prontostore in Ottawa, is a Tannis client who sayshe doesn’t take the knowledge and valuereps provide for granted.“They’re the other eye, they’re the otheropinion,” Saikaley said. “They bring productsand issues to you that you don’t normally seebecause you’re stuck in the store.”STAYING AHEAD OF THE CURVEApart from carrying branded products, Tannisstays ahead of the competition byinvesting in the latest technology.Fadi Swayty joined Tannis in 2003 as a projectmanager to modernize their infrastructure.“The future was an open space,” Swaytysaid. “We had to prepare for the upcomingunknown in the market.”Technology enhancement not only keptTannis ahead of the competition, it improvedemployee efficiency, lowered bottom endcosts and enhanced customer satisfaction.To remain unique, Tannis invested invoice-driven software that assists the productivityof a warehouse operation. Once ordersare released for fulfillment, an interactive voiceprompter guides pickers to the exact locationof the needed product while giving supervisorsfull visibility into the ongoing operation. As aresult, any issues are caught and rectifiedimmediately. The technology enhancementhelped reduce errors from six per 1,000 itemspicked to .25 errors per 1,000.TRENDSETTERSOne of the biggest categories Tannis seesgrowing in the future is frozen food. When“We always strive to hire the right personfor the right position,” Kammal said. “Ihave a picture in my office of two peopleshaking hands. Underneath it says ‘Rule # 1:if we don’t take care of our customer, somebodyelse will.’”In 2010, Tannis will be celebrating its70th anniversary, a feat made possiblethrough strong family values, a dedicatedworkforce, partnerships with suppliers andcustomers, understanding innovation andthe ability to change with the times.“We’re always thinking of new ideas.How can we differentiate ourselves fromthe competition? How can we move forwardas a company and provide exceptional serviceto our customers?”CRYSTAL BALLAs Tannis’ success continues, where will thecompany be down the road and what typesof issues will they face? Staying competitivein a growing marketplace with national distributorsand supplier consolidation will bechallenging, said Kammal, along with theaging workforce and finding employees withthe necessary skills for the industry.“Rising distribution costs and thedeclining market share of independents willalso create problems,” he said, but he seesthe company thriving into the future. Hepredicts they will stay current with technology,maximize distribution through theirexisting facilities and make new acquisitionswhere they can.Most importantly, Tannis will continueto do what they’ve done for years. “We willbe a strong supporter in our community,reliable, and carry on the tradition of aunited family-run business.” YCMYour feedback is important to us!feedback@ConvenienceCentral.ca54 YCM September | October 2009 www.conveniencecentral.ca