Published on the 26/08/2013 | Written by MYOB
AT A GLANCE
INDUSTRY
- Food & beverage wholesale & distribution
LOCATION
- Australia
BUSINESS OBJECTIVE
- Reduce the many manual processes and confusion about vital figures.
- Update from a basic accountancy solution to a fully integrated ERP.
SOLUTION
- MYOB Greentree workflow
BUSINESS BENEFITS
- A single source of data truth.
- Live view of transactions.
- Order handling errors now negligible.
- Eliminated document handling duplication.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
MYOB//
E: biggerbusiness@myob.com
NZ: 0800 696 239
AU: 1300 555 110
https://www.myob.com/
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Interaust is one of Australia’s largest importers of raw foodstuffs. When you’re importing on average 10-15,000 tonnes of raw materials per year, and on-selling them to a customer base of several hundred manufacturers, mistakes can cost a packet.
“Our business systems were antiquated, with staff compiling screeds of figures on Excel spreadsheets,” explains Tony Fraser, financial controller of Interaust Foods Pty Ltd. “We were never quite sure whether or not we had the stock to fill the orders.
“It was also extremely difficult and time-consuming trying to work out whether we were pricing correctly, and we were issuing a large number of credit notes to customers because we were getting it wrong. I can’t be sure how much we were losing due to errors that weren’t picked up, but it would have been significant.”
30 shades of lemon
As one of Australia’s largest importers of raw foodstuff, Interaust is relied upon by major makers of packaged foods and beverages to source and supply a vast range of fruit and vegetable products from dozens of growers and exporters around the world. It’s a highly seasonal market with numerous influencing factors including weather and crop yields, which means that availability and price are in a constant state of flux. There are also loads of subtle variances in products.
“We might have 20-30 different types of lemon product, for example, and they’re all just slightly different with their ratios and specifications,” Fraser says. “We have a huge inventory because we need to cover the range of products that our customers require.”
“Headless chooks”
Interaust’s Arrow system couldn’t do much beyond basic accounting and did not have the procurement functions required.
“There was a lot of double and triple handling of information, and once you start to transpose information, mistakes will happen,” says Fraser. “I was looking at one set of numbers from the external warehouses’ stock report, another set sitting in Arrow, and then a third set that had been entered into Excel by somebody else. Invariably we were running around like headless chooks trying to work out which was the correct figure and then why the others were different.”
One-stop information shop
The search began for a new system that could storeall the stock and pricing information in one place.
A consultant shortlisted Exact, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, JIWA and MYOB Greentree, with MYOB Greentree getting the nod for its integration and flexibility. Interaust’s MYOB Greentree system has since made life much easier for everyone.
“The ability to simply attach documents in MYOB Greentree has made a huge difference,” Fraser enthuses. “It’s now our one-stop shop for whatever we want to know.”
The guesswork has been taken out of both product and sale contracts, because at a glance Interaust’s staff can see which customers have received how much of a particular product line, and how much is remaining in stock. The multitude of spreadsheets for different products and customers is a thing of the past, and Fraser estimates that pricing errors have dropped by more than 90 percent.
The live visibility delivered by MYOB Greentree’s Workflow desktops ensures a trouble-free trail from sale to release, dispatch and invoicing. MYOB Greentree also enables accurate monitoring of incoming shipments, and has removed the hassle of exchange rate fluctuations.
Analysis in minutes
“The amount of time that MYOB Greentree has saved everybody has been enormous. I’m especially pleased with MYOB Greentree. I used to have to spend a day and a half every quarter manually keying in sales figures for reports to our directors. Now I just get the figures from MYOB Greentree and the job is done in minutes,” says Fraser.
The staff using MYOB Greentree appreciate having a system that works for them, rather than forcing unwanted change.
“We feel that the system is there to help us, rather than us being told what to do by the system,” Fraser explains.
Light years ahead
Like most Australian businesses, Interaust has had to battle through tough economic times and stiff competition and the MYOB Greentree system provides an important business edge by bringing a new level of efficiency.
“I’d say we’re light years ahead of where we were,” Fraser concludes. “We’re now doing things that make for a better customer experience, and we’re happy that we’ve been able to simplify our processes.
“There was no way we could continue living in the past. We had to modernise, and MYOB Greentree has helped us to do that.”
Source: This article was originally sourced from MYOB
