Wiadomości

Październik 2009
ReflexSystems grows with your company

Source: Food Industrie october 2009

Investing in an ERP software system is by no means an inexpensive undertaking. That is why it is extremely important to choose an application that grows with your company. ReflexSystems is one of the solutions that is capable of doing so. Not only can this package be implemented in modules, but it is also continually being extended with new standard functionalities. As a result, it can fully anticipate the new requirements within the food industry. The story of Lintor/Verbinnen perfectly illustrates to which advantages this can lead...
With a production capacity of around 200,000 chickens per day, a workforce of 422 and a turnover of 130 million Euros, Verbinnen/Lintor is the largest poultry processor in Belgium. The company has also become an important supplier to our neighbouring countries as more than 40% of its products are exported. The company, which originated from a chicken slaughterhouse that was established in 1958 by Frans Verbinnen in Olen, merged in 1990 with the poultry processing plant Lintor from Lint. The group now comprises four companies. Lintor concentrates on slaughtering poultry (approximately 800,000 per week) whereas Verbinnen specialises in processing the poultry into sausages, burgers, fillets and wok dishes (usually in retail packaging and either under their own label 'Delinor' or as a private label). Wafitra manages the fleet of 32 lorries and Verlirend
“Without ‘ReflexSystems’ we would never seen such fast growth, because it is exactly this software that enables us to keep control of our process.”
 processes the offal into new base materials such as animal fats, pet food, blood meal, poultry meal and category II meal. Up until last year, the Verbinnen/Lintor group was still a purely family-owned company. However, in the summer of 2008, a decision was made to find external capital in order to ensure further growth. Finally, the shareholders chose to join forces with GIMV, which took a majority stake of 80% (the rest remained with the family).

ReflexSystems aids growth

In 2000, the group really struck luck after Verbinnen/Lintor moved to the operating base on the trading estate in Olen. This new and considerably larger location enabled them to increase their capacity substantially. The introduction of the ERP system 'ReflexSystems' also played an essential part in the growth of the group. "Thanks to this automation, we could accomplish a lot more work but with the same amount of workforce," explains Office Manager Wendy Hermans. "In addition, numerous things run much more efficiently: operation scheduling, stock management, purchasing, administration and invoicing. This is not only saves a lot of time but also ensures a greater degree of 		customer satisfaction. In addition to this, we can map out the most efficient delivery routes using this package. Ultimately, we have succeeded in meeting the EDI requirements from Delhaize thanks to this ERP application. As a result, we are able to deliver to this department store to an increasing extent. In effect, ReflexSystems has become pivotal to our group. Without this package, we would never have experienced such a rapid growth. It is the ERP application that ensures we do not lose control of our operations."

A modest start

The ERP story of Verbinnen/Lintor began very modestly with the implementation of the picking module that was coupled to the existing invoicing system. Jan Ickx, Business Manager of Reflex Systems, explains "Up until then, all the orders and weights were noted on paper which was not only time-consuming but resulted in many mistakes. This problem has now been eradicated using ReflexSystems. Orders that were entered in the system were immediately available in the picking section. In addition, the application created the correct labels. A little later, we introduced the Stock Management module to provide a real-time insight into the stock." After a few years, the management decided to invest in the Order Warehouse module. Wendy Hermans explains: "Lintor provides Verbinnen with slaughtered chicken and pieces who then make fillets and other products from this. However, the processing plant also purchases from the cutting plant because certain customers place an order for both slaughtered chicken(pieces) as well as products. This used to be a complicated administrative procedure and the products had to be weighed and registered in both companies. However, thanks to the Order Warehouse module, Reflex Systems immediately transmits the orders for products and fillets to Verbinnen. The weights that are registered at Verbinnen are automatically included in the invoices of Lintor." ReflexSystems was then also implemented at Verbinnen. 		Initially, the Purchase module was introduced and then the functionality that ensures that a quality check takes place when receiving goods. A second large stage in this project was the automatic order processing at Lintor. The picking was dealt with first, but the cutting hall, filleting line and kitchen are also using ReflexSystems now.

And a few stages further

The following two stages at Verbinnen prove that the ERP package not only ensures an effective management of the activities on the work floor. Some time ago, this company was asked by Carrefour to pick for its Express branches at store level. Jan Ickx explains, "That was a problem given that the label on the product packaging only consisted of a barcode, which referred to the article number, and the consumer price. Nevertheless, Carrefour wanted an invoice with the total of the delivered net weight. Fortunately, we found a solution fairly quickly: by scanning the barcode of each product, ReflexSystems knows what the consumer price is and calculates the total weight and retail price based on this. The only real additional expense in order for Verbinnen to meet Carrefour's request was the investment of wrist scanners for the pickers." Perhaps an even better example of how ReflexSystems evolves over time and anticipates new requirements is the Delhaize story.		Wendy Hermans: "A few months ago, we decided to optimise the logistic flow of our crates. Up until then, these were being picked at two locations. However, because the label printers were located elsewhere, we had to shuttle the crates constantly back and forth. This is why we chose to house all the labelling lines in one hall just behind the packaging lines. However, when we had just started this project, Delhaize informed us that they were implementing a new automation system for its receipt of goods. This required us to provide the crate number and net weight per crate. And that was a problem given that the standard EDI layout did not cover this. However, ReflexSystems has implemented the complete EDI coupling from Delhaize into a standard module including registration of the crate numbers. That is the strength of this package: it continually anticipates the new requirements of its users without huge additional costs or that the programme's user-friendliness is lost." Jan Ickx: "This is chiefly because we immediately equip the ReflexSystems' standard version with nearly all the functionalities that we develop as a result of a requirement of one of our six hundred customers. In addition to this, we are aware that most of the people that have to work with the ERP application are not IT professionals. This is why we constantly strive to find the most logical way to use the programme." Wendy Hermans, "This is also an enormous advantage. Contrary to what I hear from companies that use other applications, ReflexSystems requires hardly any training of the operators on the work floor. Because of this, there is no resistance to the ERP package. You do not have to spend fortunes on training costs, which are often not included in the proposal, and you can limit the amount of non-productive working hours of the workforce to a minimum. This, in combination with the option of implementing the package in phases, ensures that the investment in ERP remains attainable and that anticipating customer's new delivery requirements does not mean a financial drain!"