UK-based food producer Whitworths has selected global enterprise applications company IFS Applications 8 to improve manufacturing efficiency, stock control and supply chain forecasting.
To be deployed across the whole business, supporting over 200 users in eight departments, the new IFS will help improve Whitworths' overall business performance by adding intelligence to its factory operations.
With this, the company will be in a postion to forecast months, even years, in advance.
Based in Northamptonshire, UK, Whitworths manufactures healthier snacking, breakfast, baking and cooking products, such as dried fruits and nuts, which are distributed to many major UK supermarkets and other retail outlets.
Whitworths head of IT Steve Griffiths said, "The legacy IT systems and processes we had in place relied on spreadsheets to manage our inventory, distribution and financials. This has served us well up until now, but as we enter our next growth stage and experience increasing demand from our larger customers, we need to further improve our supply chain efficiency and customer service levels.
"To do this, we are upgrading our 20-year-old IT infrastructure and implementing a unified IT strategy based on IFS Applications 8," Griffiths added.
IFS Europe West managing director Paul Massey said: "IFS Applications 8 will give Whitworths scenario-planning capabilities, so that customer demand or stock modifications can be simulated. This will allow the company to assess the potential impact of such changes so that action can be taken to ensure orders are fulfilled in the most efficient way.
"In addition, Whitworths will be able to use IFS Applications 8 to monitor employee performance against specific product lines, which will provide clear productivity and profitiability indicators. Furthermore, the use of the project-centric capabilities within IFS Applications 8 will give better control and visibility in the New Product Development (NPD) area, which will help to reduce the lead time on bringing fresh products to the market."
