Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. (Southern), the country's leading wine and spirits distributor, today announced the appointment of a 20-year industry veteran, Sami Salman, to the role of Senior Director of Procurement.

Mr. Salman's addition to Southern's Sr. Supply Chain Management Team will further enhance Southern's ability to deliver excellence in service to our divisional and retail customers, as well as to continue to enhance and expand our partnerships with our suppliers across the Southern enterprise.

For the past 10 years, Mr. Salman worked for Bacardi -- the largest privately held, family owned spirits company in the world. As Vice President, Operations USA and Supply Chain Director, America, Mr. Salman led their Supply Chain for the Americas where his track record of delivered improvements in forecast accuracy and return on assets was considered stellar. In addition, his proven leadership skills enabled the successful implementation of Bacardi's S&OP Process.

Commenting on the appointment, Phil Morsing, Vice President, Supply Chain Operations commented, "We are confident that Sami's industry experience and organizational performance will bolster our Supply Chain's innovative and groundbreaking concepts for Southern's future processes and development."

Mel Velez, Southern's Vice President of Demand Planning and Logistics commented, "I'm very excited that Sami will be joining us here at Southern, augmenting our senior team and bringing visionary plans to Southern's Supply Chain for the Company."

Prior to working at Bacardi, Sami held various roles in the Supply Chain arena, from Sr. Analyst to Logistics Manager at Baxter World Trade. While employed at Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL), his team drove freight expense down by $850K through changes in inventory strategy.

Mr. Salman has earned a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from University of Miami and a dual Master's Graduate School Degree in both Business Administration and Industrial Engineering. He will report to Mel Velez, effective Jan. 27, 2014.

Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc.
Bobby Burg, 954-680-4607
Chief Supply Chain Officer