Industry: Bread and Bakery I Software: CSB Industry ERP
The first page of the story of the “Zorbas Group“ was written in 1975, when under adverse circumstances, Andreas Zorbas decided to start a small bakery in the backyard of his house in Athienou – a small town in the province of Larnaca with around 5000 inhabitants at that time. Forty-five years later the little bakery had grown and expanded and today is a significant business organization.
Zorbas can be proud of its dynamic and successful journey in the Cypriot and international market, while always maintaining the same principles and values of a small family business. Having today three production units, equipped with the latest of technology, as well as 69 stores all over Cyprus, the Zorbas Group has expanded overseas to the United States of America where it has opened two stores and is currently preparing to open a third one. The main activity of the Zorbas Group has to do with the “Zorbas Bakeries”, where bakery and confectionery products as well as cooked meals, salads and sandwiches are on sale – everything always being prepared with fresh and high-quality ingredients. Plus, at every Zorbas bakery store, you will find a “Coffee Berry” coffee shop selling and serving finest coffee and other beverages.
Passion is what makes Zorbas special
Additionally, the love for international cuisine and confectionery led to the creation of the “Pralina Confectioneries” and the restaurants “Pralina Experience” in Nicosia and Limassol.
The most decisive growth factor of the Zorbas Group has always been its people. “Our human resources are a determining factor when it comes to our future growth”, explains the Operations Manager of the Zorbas Group, Panikos Siouftas. He adds: “The Company has more than 2500 employees and all have been adequately trained with the main focus being put on their close cooperation.“ In its effort to constantly evolve and upgrade its technology, the Zorbas Group is working hand in hand with the company CSB-System that also has 45 years of history in the market.
A software that integrates all areas
CSB-System is a point of reference for the IT of the Zorbas Group. “It was during the Anuga trade fair in Germany, where both of our companies participated, when we met the team of CSB-System for the first time”, explains Marinos Magafas, Software Administrator of the Zorbas Group. “We were curious and wanted to find out more about the dynamics of CSB´s software and for that reason we took part in some of the company’s Food Business Days. There, we were able to listen to presentations from experts and to visit production sites of companies where the industry-specific CSB ERP was already in use”, he says while adding that they were pleasantly surprised by everything they saw so that they decided to implement the software in all company areas.
The importance of CSB Webshop
This is how the software works: All stores and units of the Zorbas Group directly enter their orders in the Webshop order systems. The available stock is checked in real time. Based on these orders and the inventory levels, the Production Planning and Scheduling program (PPS) of the CSB-System calculates the production plan. The real-time analysis of data from other divisions of the company, such as sales or warehouses, allows the CSB-System to supply raw materials “at the right time”. “This makes it possible for us to have always fresh ingredients available while at the same time reducing waste”, explains Magafas.
CSB manages quality and traceability
It is also worth mentioning that quality control and traceability in goods receiving and in production is part of the normal work routines. The managers, including those at the different production sites, can access the latest statistics at any time, which provides flexibility and complete control of all company units
M-ERP in logistics and production
The use of mobile devices makes the qualitative and quantitative control processes of incoming goods faster and more flexible. From the storage of incoming raw materials to their movement, from the order-based handling and picking with automatic document management to route optimization, everything is executed with flexible and intuitive M-ERP procedures. Orders are loaded onto the trucks in accordance with the scheduled routes, observing the maximum load volumes and weights.
