Industry: Dairy Products
After acquiring H.J. Heinz’s infant formula milk business in Kendal, entrepreneur Ross McMahon had just six months to select, install, and go live with a new ERP system. Given CSB-System’s proven expertise with other baby milk and dairy clients and their capacity to rapidly implement software and interfaced hardware devices, their selection was a clear decision.
Ready to go live in six months
Heinz granted ongoing use of their legacy system for a six-month period of grace – after which Kendal Nutricare was required to have another system operational. The operational team at Kendal was inspired by the success story of CSB’s installation at the German baby food company Töpfer. Consequently, they requested a meeting and a demonstration of the system
Kendal had three key requirements: the software supplier should have experience in milk processing, offer a fully integrated system to encompass all processes, and last but not least, be ready to go live within six months!
CSB ERP from start to finish
CSB installed a comprehensive end-to-end ERP system to manage and control the entire business operation. From the procurement and delivery of raw materials through production processing and warehousing to sales and financial accounting. The implementation commenced in October 2015, and remarkably, the system went live in December 2015! The swift deployment was facilitated by a dedicated team of in-house consultants with experience from similar contracts within the food industry.
The entire business process is now integrated within one seamless system, simplifying maintenance, updates, and data integrity. Previously, the legacy system’s complexity often necessitated the involvement of third-party consultants for updates, modifications, and system administration. Currently, the CSB system is managed by one key user, supported by the CSB Hotline and CSB consultants.
“What was particularly beneficial about the CSB approach was that there were specialists for every part of the system, including the handheld devices, production, finance, and sales. Not even the smallest of details were missed,” reports XXX, IT Manager at Kendal.
Provenance and traceability
Provenance, reputation, and trust are of paramount importance in the infant formula industry. The lingering impact of the 2008 melamine contamination in China continues to boost UK formula milk exports to China, as mothers seek the most reliable products for their infants.
Commercial customers also demand the most reputable sources and require accreditations such as BRC grading and ISO standards. Building a trustworthy reputation requires robust systems that provide transparent evidence of product safety and the origins of ingredients. With CSB Industry ERP, traceability is both a means and an end. Materials are labelled with barcodes, scanned, and tracked in real time at each process stage or stock movement.
Instantly retrievable traceability is only one outcome. In addition, Kendal benefits from tighter stock control, enhanced supply chain transparency, and better financial oversight. Critical management information is readily accessible, ensuring provenance and reliability.
Quality Control
In top-tier quality management systems, product safety and quality are secured through well-structured processes adhering to HACCP principles, where risks are identified, mitigated, or controlled.
As the CSB Quality Management module is integrated into the system, checks can be triggered in the process, at the defined critical process steps, and further process steps can be restricted in the system, until corrective action is taken or an authorised manager releases the product. All test results are systematically recorded, enabling ongoing monitoring, trending, and easy retrieval when necessary. Quality is assured.