FMI Aims to Help Retailers With Disaster Management

The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) has joined forces with SABER, the Single Automated Business Exchange for Reporting, to offer food retailers a streamlined system for identifying a store’s business status following a natural disaster or other crisis event.

“When a food retailer goes into response mode after a natural disaster, one of the first steps is to assess which stores are open and which stores are closed,” said Doug Baker, VP of industry relations at Arlington, Va.-based FMI. “This essential information helps federal and local government agencies direct assistance so that grocery stores can reopen their doors and serve the community in need.”

Baker recommended a partnership with SABER because its system saves FMI members time, improves timeliness and accuracy of information, and reduces gaps, overlaps and inconsistencies in the critical information that governments use to prioritize response decisions. Several retailers, including Wakefern Corp., Associated Grocers, Target, Costco, Walmart, Sears, Lowes, Macy’s and Walgreens, are already a part of the SABER network.

“The mission of SABER is to help businesses in an emergency stay open longer and to get businesses back in business faster,” said James W. Morentz, Ph.D., executive director of SABER. “We offer this complimentary service to retailers so there can be a more coordinated and efficient response after a natural disaster.”

SABER offers food retailers a free and convenient way to communicate store status for response teams through the SABER Status Map. Food retailers can also work with SABER to build an automated connection or subscribe to the new SABER mobile app.

On Sept. 19, FMI and SABER will host a webinar for food retailers to learn more. Register online here.

FMI member companies operate almost 33,000 retail food stores and 12,000 pharmacies. The association’s membership encompasses the entire spectrum of food retail venues: single-owner grocery stores, large multistore supermarket chains, pharmacies, online and mixed-retail stores.