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BENJAMIN SCHMIDT, 38
Strategic Account Manager
C.H. Robinson/Robinson Fresh
HQ: Eden Prairie, MN
Hometown: Bloomington, MN
Hobbies: Golf, traveling, spending time with family Personal/Community: Married, three daughters, serves on various church committees, supports nonprofit organizations across the world to help bring community, food, water and shelter to those in need.
Motto in life: It is not your environment, it is you — the quality of your mind, the integrity of your soul, and the deter-
mination of your will — that will decide your future and shape your life. — Benjamin E. Mays
Work history: After graduating with a marketing degree from Iowa State University in 2003, Schmidt joined C.H. Robinson/Robinson Fresh in an entry-level position in the produce division. He started his produce career as an inven- tory analyst focused on helping retail partners forecast demand and plan inbound supply and inventory. While working in this role, he began to learn all of the moving parts of produce supply and the supply chain. Over the course of the next few years, his career advanced at C.H. Robinson/Robinson Fresh, and he held numerous different roles across the supply, sales and account management teams. The expansion of his career and experiences allowed him roles of farm sales manager, category manager, retail/ wholesale account manager, and most recently strategic account manager with oversight for some of the compa- ny’s most strategic customer relationships. Earlier in his career, he led an initiative to help increase the locally grown movement in retail. In this project, he worked with small, local, under-resourced, and minority-owned farms to bring their products to market and build sustainable and safe businesses for the future years and generations to come. He helped the farms better understand food safety educa- tion and training, crop diversification, planning strategies, best practices and growing techniques to improve yield and quality, and ultimately, to set up sustainable business models. He continues to play a role in the company’s talent development process by acting as a mentor and coach for the next generation of leaders at C.H. Robinson/Robinson Fresh.
Q: What do you think the industry can do to promote more produce consumption?
Innovations such as online shopping, grocery home delivery and mealkits are proving successful in meeting the needs and desires of today’s consumer. To increase consumption, we need to continue to meet the shoppers where they want to buy and how they want to buy. The industry has to continue to evolve around consumer education, flavor profiles, health benefits, meal ideas and social responsibility issues (fair trade, labor practices, etc.).
Q: What do you see as the most critical “hot button” issue facing the industry in the next decade? Transportation and supply chain is the most critical hot button facing the industry today and in the years to come. New regulations, driver utilization at high percentages and a strong economy are driving a new logistics norm. Looking toward the future, excellence in fresh supply chain manage- ment, strategy and planning will be required.
Q: Do you see the produce industry as a united front, or is it more about the particular items or silos?
I think the industry is made up of numerous silos that feed into the greater good of a unified front to the rest of the world. Whether you’re a grower/shipper, marketer, supply chain expert or retailer, everyone has a part to play in making the industry grow. Whether it’s apples or zucchini, we all want consumers to eat more produce.
38 / JUNE 2019 / PRODUCE BUSINESS