News
Mar 2008
Salami Peeters discovers the possibilities of Reflex 3000
Source: Food Industry march 2008 
In the last six years, Peeters Salami has experienced a continuous increase in changes. It all began with the move to new premises which was then followed by the expansion of the market and the implementation of an efficient quality system. Today the company added the finishing touches to the latest innovation: the introduction of 'Reflex 3000', the ERP solution from ReflexSystems. The introduction of the ERP system leads to huge savings in time
| For four generations the Peeters family have been busy producing salami in all shapes, sizes and flavours. It all began in 1905 when the great-grandmother of Paul, the current manager, began a butcher's shop. The factory itself was established in 1953 by her son André and grandson Paul, Sr. Paul has now been in charge of this family-run company since 1 January 1999. "We were busy producing various meat products until 1993 but, given that we were receiving increasingly more orders for salami, we decided to concentrate our efforts on this speciality. Producing this delicacy is in a field of its own. Maturing, which occurs at a temperature higher than 20°C and a level of humidity between 90% to 96%, is no easy task and can't be compared to other methods of meat processing. As opposed to the majority of food products, it is | crucial that not all the bacteria are eliminated when producing salami. Good bacteria are actually needed for the ripening process." The decision to concentrate solely on producing salami proved to be the correct one. It was soon apparent that Peeters Salami could not keep up with demand. The die was cast after the dioxin crisis, when the company reorientated commercially and concentrated more on retail. They outgrew the new production centre, where they had moved to in 1993, which is why in 2001 the company decided to build brand new premises in the industrial estate in Aartselaar. With a surface area of almost 5,000 m2 and the ability to produce sixty tons of salami per week, the company was ready for rapid growth. Paul Peeters: "Since 2003 we also have a cutting department with an output | of fifty tons per week. Because of this, we have been successful in realising a steady yearly growth of twenty percent on average. At present we deliver to Belgian and Dutch supermarkets and wholesalers. We have thirty employees who achieved a turnover of 6.5 million euro's last year." Need for greater efficiencyOnce the move was complete, the market was sufficiently expanded to allow for growth over the following years and an efficient quality system had been implemented, it was time for the next phase: the implementation of an actual ERP programme. Paul Peeters explains: "Up until a few months ago we only had an accounting programme as regards administrative automation. Apart from that everything was manually maintained and put into spreadsheets: orders, production order layouts, stock control, tracing, picking etc. However, it was clear that we were not working efficiently this way. Not only was this way of working extremely time consuming but mistakes were sometimes made which resulted in unnecessary costs and losses. In addition, our tracing method had become inadequate in anticipating the customer's wishes and the regulation requirements. We immediately started looking for an ERP solution as soon as our investment budget permitted."Choice falls on ReflexSystemsThe search remained restricted to demonstrations at trade fairs as Paul had already made a decision years ago as to which company he would be involved with, namely Jan Ickx from ReflexSystems who he had known for years. "This didn't mean that my |
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choice was based purely on friendship. On the contrary, we really looked closely at the Reflex 3000 system and found it to be both very user-friendly as well as comprehensive as regards functionality. Furthermore, it appeared that many of our suppliers and customers were already working with this programme which was, of course, an advantage. What's more, Reflex3000 proved qualified to anticipate our needs. Sure enough, it was soon obvious that ReflexSystems was the best ERP partner for us." Phase one without problemsInitially the order entry, invoicing and analysis modules were implemented in the administrative part. The old files were cleaned up and subsequently imported to the new programme. From there the extra data needed for invoicing and accounting were entered in the central database: price setting, contract information. Paul Peeters: "Although admittedly our employees needed training, this was enough to start working with Reflex 3000 almost without a hitch on 1 January 2007. The advantages of the investment were obvious after only a few days: we gained an enormous amount of time due to the automatic order handling and invoicing, | mistakes as a result of incorrect encoding were eliminated and we could handle last minute orders much quicker. What we especially liked was the fact that an update, for example in price, was implemented where needed with just the push of a button. Furthermore, we were really surprised about the reduction in paper used which was, after all, not such an insignificant cost!" Second phase: the productionPeeters Salami already had an efficient automation of its administration just four months after signing the contract. However, an ERP programme has a lot more to offer. It was this company's intention to apply all the functionalities which is why the production was also dealt with in the second phase. Jan Ickx, manager from ReflexSystems: "On the whole, this stage comprised of inputting recipes, label and barcode information, delivery routes etc. into the database. In addition to this, we provided the installation of four Flex's which guarantee the connection between Reflex3000 and the weighing scales /barcode scanners. Although the production section within an ERP implementation is always a lengthier task we still succeeded in finishing this project in just one month." | Paul Peeters continues: "We discovered a huge advantage of ERP from the moment that we had encoded the production information in Reflex 3000. By linking the cost-price of ingredients to the recipes, we could refine our price setting. At the same time, we always received an up-to-date costing which was a huge benefit given that the price of base materials varies somewhat. However the biggest advantage of all was the direct tracing. As a result of the fact that the ERP programme creates a barcode with a lot number for all ingredients we know at the end of the line what each salami contains and at which customer it has ended up. Reflex3000 creates a production order with an ingredient list. When our people start production they begin to scan all the base materials. As soon as the salami's and semi-finished products (salami's which require coatings and additional drying for example) are ready this is indicated in the Flex on the production order. After a check is made on quantity and weight, Reflex3000 enters these products in the stock where they receive a unique code which means they can be traced at charge level. The packing department works from customer orders which the operators call up on the Flex. |
This is where the automatic link with the weighing scales is of importance since the ERP programme immediately registers all the weights according to order/article level. Due to the fact that the unique batch number is scanned during this phase, Reflex 3000 can automatically create a customer-oriented label with a barcode and the correct tracing information which is once again not only an important step in tracing but also a way of avoiding mistakes. Finally, another important matter is that the system ensures that the delivery routes are organised in the most efficient way possible." Yet more advantages…However, in addition to the direct traceability, ERP offers a great deal more advantages to the production department. Paul Peeters points out how easy it is to verify per supplier what has been delivered and at what price. This not only leads to a more precise invoicing but also offers a better insight into which base materials are in stock. "It is also very simple to implement changes to the production planning which means we can work in a more flexible way. Updates to recipes, labels, prices etc. take place centrally in the system's database. We gain a tremendous amount of time as a result of the fact that our people no longer have to write everything down and type everything out. As soon as we have been working with the system for some time we will have sufficient information available to calculate and guide our efficiency: how many ingredients provide how much of the finished product? | And then the last phaseTo his surprise Paul Peeters hardly encountered any opposition to the system from his employees. "Thanks to Reflex3000's user-friendliness and the effective training provided by ReflexSystems even those on the shop floor, who have little experience with computers, had almost no difficulty in getting the hang of the system and the new way of working. We have noticed that they even get in touch with ReflexSystems themselves when they have any questions. That means that the ERP supplier uses the right approach and instils confidence which is why we recently started on the project's third phase with full conviction." The third phase comprises of two parts. Firstly, the system will also be introduced to the slicing department. Secondly, the stock management module will be implemented, although Peeters Salami has decided not to fully automate this task. Paul Peeters explains why: "Salami should be matured over several weeks which is why we cannot work according to orders and always have a relatively large amount of product in stock. Reflex 3000 will provide an estimation of necessary ingredients and required stock items based on the sales information from previous months and years. However, due to the fact that it will take some time before these estimations can be made according to actual figures plus the fact that there are always fluctuations, we have opted to keep verifying them manually and adjust them where needed before they are used to guide production and the purchase of ingredients." | The verdict…When we ask Paul Peeters to make a balance sheet of this investment we receive the following answer. "It is a fairly expensive project of around 125,000 euro's with which the return on investment is very difficult to calculate. The advantages cannot be immediately translated into actual figures. In addition, as a company, you have to invest a lot of time and energy into the implementation and start-up. Although the Reflex3000 system is complete, it does require sufficient data input in order to work efficiently. I am, however, quite confident it was a wise decision to invest in an ERP programme. Not only is it the only way to satisfy the regulations and customer requirements in the field of tracing, it is also an ideal way to continue to grow without expanding our workforce. And that, of course, is our intention…" |
