JMC Restaurant Distribution, Inc. Readies for First Time National Competition
April 12, 2007 (Coppell, Texas) – On April 17, JMC Restaurant Distribution Company will round up the truck “road-eo” winners from JMC’s three distribution centers to prepare them for the International Foodservice Distributors Association’s (IFDA) competition. The safety and skills of both man and machine will be tested further at the Penske Truck Lease 
located at 10801 Goodnight Lane and a winner will be determined. For the first time, the top JMC Distribution driver will be sent on to compete at the IFDA rodeo in Daytona Beach at the raceway on September 14 -16, 2007.
 
The JMC finals road-eo event recognizes the hard work and safe driving record that JMC drivers exhibit on a daily basis. JMC drivers will demonstrate their skills and knowledge through a pre-trip inspection and a field course entailing maneuvering an 18 wheeler through a series of obstacles similar to what they would encounter while making deliveries to their customer, CiCi’s Pizza.
 
“Truck driving road-eos help reduce loss, improve morale and demonstrate safety. Drivers who compete are safer drivers— they practice all year, every time they maneuver through congested traffic or back up to make a delivery in a tight alley,” says Robert Kulick, president of JMC Distribution. “Their skill and JMC’s safety record bodes well for our customers who trust us to make on time deliveries and the motoring public with whom we share the road.”

Over seventy drivers participated in October for the honor of being named JMC Distribution’s road-eo winner at their center. Four year veteran, David Posey took the title at the Dallas Distribution Center. Lyle Hunter, also with JMC for four years, won from Atlanta, Georgia’s Distribution Center. Newcomer John Stevens took home the title from the Richmond, Indiana Distribution Center; he has been with JMC for just under one year.
“We have hosted road-eos since 2000 and the annual event is not only challenging, but has proven to be a lot of fun for those participating. It’s very rewarding to know that your team is the crème de la crème of quality drivers,” said Kulick. “Having a waiting list of drivers wanting to join our team indicates drivers see JMC as the crème de la crème of distributors so well!”
 
The recent road-eo performance will showcase drivers who hope to one day duplicate, JMC driver Doug Clark’s achievement of driving over one million accident-free miles for CiCi’s Pizza’s distributor, a distance equivalent to driving to the moon and back over four times. Clark is the fourth of JMC’s drivers to reach that mileage level without incident, one of which is Doug’s brother, Dave, who reached the accident free million mile mark last year.
 
JMC Restaurant Distribution organization handles all distribution services for CiCi’s Pizza, and only hires drivers with two or more years of experience. Most of their drivers come from referrals, allowing JMC to choose from the best drivers in the business. Drivers have access to upper management to communicate their ideas. JMC drivers routinely comment on having a much better quality of life at JMC than with their former driving job.
 
JMC is a unique foodservice distributor that focuses its attention solely on the CiCi’s system. This allows the JMC team to thoroughly understand CiCi’s operations and focus on accuracy, high inventory turns— nearly 100 a year —and relatively few SKUs. JMC’s high fill rate means CiCi’s restaurants receive exactly what they order 99.998% of the time, a rarity in the restaurant business. Many of the JMC team members have worked shifts in CiCi’s restaurants to ensure a better understanding of their customer’s needs.

JMC was founded in 1990 to support CiCi’s restaurants in the Dallas-Fort Worth area after other
distributors were unable to keep pace with the vision of great service, low prices and a “whatever it takes” attitude. When it began, JMC had less than 2,000 square feet of warehouse space and one truck to make the 10 weekly deliveries. Currently, JMC services over 600 restaurants in 28 states out of its three distribution centers located in Dallas, Atlanta and Richmond, Indiana. And is actively pursuing a fourth distribution center in the western USA. With a well maintained fleet of nearly 60 trucks, JMC runs consistent routes each week to CiCi’s restaurants and returns to one of the distribution bases carrying freight for CiCi’s and “backhaul customers.” This “backhaul customer” approach helps defray operating costs and allows product costs to remain as low as possible. With annual sales to the CiCi’s system and a variety of backhaul customers over $130,000,000, JMC has created a benchmark against which other distributors compare themselves. 
 
Founded in 1985, CiCi’s Pizza is a family-oriented restaurant serving guests all the fresh salad, pasta, desserts and 16 kinds of pizza they want all for under $5.00. CiCi’s credits its continued success to the company’s philosophy. CiCi’s mission then and now is to exceed each guest’s expectation in food, service and cleanliness, all at their value-oriented price point. Since opening its first restaurant in Plano, Texas, CiCi’s has grown to over 600 restaurants in 28 states. Over the past three years, CiCi’s has opened nearly 220 new locations in new and existing markets.