Easyfood: The change to a solid ERP platform provides value and stability besides rapid growth

Danish Bakery easyfood logo

The Danish convenience- producer Easyfood was looking for a new ERP-solution which was standardized in its structure and specialized in embracing the foodware business. They chose Foodware 365 and replaced a ”burning platform” with a solid ERP-platform, which can be used and developed in a rapid pace corresponding to the one that the company is currently undergoing.

Danish Easyfood is a growing company within the “the out-of-home” foodware business. The company has specialized within the B2B foodware sales of pastries and bakery products to both wholesale- and retail.

In order to continue growth and development Easyfood needed a new and adaptable ERP-system which could meet their needs – particularly within HR, logistics, traceability and production. Because the company is specialized within food and particularly pastries it was important with a supplier and an ERP- solution which could operate within the specific challenges facing the industry. Additionally the company requested a system that was easy to maintain and support easy to access intuitive in its use and which had the necessary industry specific applications.

This is why Easyfood today uses Foodware 365 from Schouw Informatisering. The ERP-system is a leading Business Central solution targeted the foodware business. In this way Easyfood is today supported by an ERP-system, which is both standardized and yet specialized their industry and challenges.

From an ultra specific system solution to intuitive modules

A challenge facing several companies is that their older legacy systems are difficult to manage – and operate. Yet they are still functional and for the most part customized the company.

Easyfood faced an identical challenge. So when their ERP-system could no longer be supported it was time to leave the ”burning platform” as Chief Analytics Officer, Anders Dahlmann-Hansen, describes it.

”Our old system had put us on a ”burning platform”, as it no longer corresponded to our needs. We wanted to minimize the vulnerability in having an ultra-adaptable system, which could no longer be supported and that only few employees could manage.

Anders Dahlmann-Hansen here points to another common challenge, which make companies incredibly vulnerable that is if the knowledge of their employees cannot be passed on and stored sufficiently. That certain employees are made too indispensable, so that the administration of vacation, work-fluctuations and disease create stress amongst the employees.

Because of this Easyfood needed to increase the anchor of their data so that work was made more accessible and that data can be actively used in relation to both past present and future. A solution today made possible through amongst others Foodware 365´s intuitive modules.

”We chose a solution within the Microsoft-family, which was recognizable to us. Today we have a business flow where a great deal of the knowledge of our employees is stored in data. It makes it easier to hire employees and create growth and security.”

  • Anders Dahlmann-Hansen, CAO, Easyfood.

A solid ERP platform provided stability during a period of rapid growth

That Easyfood is a company experiencing growth was demonstrated towards the end of 2018. Here in a press release of December 21, it was announced that that the foodware group Orkla had bought 90% of the shares at Easyfood. The sale of the companies and the merger are providing both partners with a strengthened position at the Northern- and international foodware market.

It was decisive that Easyfood´s new ERP-platform was solid and functional from day one so that the new co-operation could be developed undisturbedly and focus on the future.

The same goes for the co-operation concerning the implementation with the IT-supplier. Because as Anders Dahlmann-Hansen says:

”How do you deal with the fact that you cannot predict everything. It was a great help for us that Notora had a pragmatic approach to our problems and helped solving them step by step. Besides we had a good chemistry all the way through with Notora. They understood the mindset of our employees and as a starting point had in mind the users of the ERP-system.”

It has been of great value for Easy food to have a solid ERP-platform particularly in the midst of a company undergoing a significant development.

“With no reservations we turned off our old system on October 1, 2018 and turned on the new one. The new system worked the same day. Today in phase 1 we do the necessary. It is just easier to use and implement amongst others our HR module and the securing of GDPR. It also means that we can begin to look ahead regarding the content of our next phase”.

A partner with a knowledge of the challenges facing the market

As a foodware company Easyfood is naturally facing many complex challenges. Besides national- and international sales the company deals with “living products” have 120 different debtors 350 sales items 400 different commodities and roughly 1000 suppliers. As a foodware producer the company is also liable to a number of regulations and charges like the price of certain commodities e.g. like pork and dairyfood products which can experience great price fluctuations.

Dealing with these industry- like unpredictabilities in an ERP system requires good sparring and specific knowledge from the supplier. Hence Easyfood chose Notora as an ERP supplier at Foodware 365. Anders Dahlmann-Hansen explains:

”Notora had an understanding of which foodware applications could best serve our business. We saw that Foodware 365 with no reservations could embrace a pastry producer and provide a solid foundation when it comes down to managing foodware transactions- and productions.”

Additionally it made sense to choose a supplier that believes that the standard systems can be used as long as it is a business specific ERP-system. Anders Dahlmann-Hansen points here to the fact, that it is of great value that the employees are be able to survey and use the ERP-system rather than one that is complicated and all embracive from the beginning.

An approach which is also essential to Notora´s consultants and solution experts.

What can your company use Foodware 365 for?

Does your company recognize some of the above challenges? Or are you operating in a complex Foodware- business then Foodware 365 might also provide value to your company? The international Foodware solution Foodware 365 from Schouw is the leading Microsoft Dynamics NAV add-on for the foodware industry. The system is particularly developed for distributors and producers.

Combined with Business Central it contains Foodware 365 applications which can handle:

Financial management, purchasing, quality assurance, delivery planning, production, warehouse management and sales. All together integrated and combined in the same agile platform.

Would you like to hear more about how Foodware 365 can boost your company´s  digital workflows?

Vil I høre mere om, hvordan Foodware fra Schouw kan booste jeres virksomheds digitale arbejdsgange?

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