General Mills, Pillsbury Collaborate On Logistics

General Mills, The Pillsbury Co., Land O' Lakes, Graphic Packaging Corp., and Fort James Corp. have formed an alliance to create a private, Internet-based freight and logistics exchange driven by Nistevo.com, a Web-based application service provider. Through its advance logistics exchange, Nistevo will match carriers that have extra cargo space with companies that need goods delivered along the same route. The exchange also will offer realtime tracking of shipments. "The alliance partners expect this new logistics exchange to dramatically improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our transportation needs," says Randy Darcy, senior vice president for supply chain at General Mills. The Nistevo-managed exchange is subscription-based, requiring only a Web browser to access the network. The exchange is expected to be online by early summer.