We rewind to 2010: A new food vendor sees the light of day. Socrates Kalenderidis didn't just want to throw himself into the wholesale trade, he wanted to be the best. After years in the restaurant and food business, the FoodPartner entrepreneur understood one thing: He had to streamline every little finance and logistics process.
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The key is to have a good system at the bottom.
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The search for a good rig proved to be a challenge. In the early years, Socrates tested several solutions, but constantly relied on problems such as manual handling of papers and errors at the goods receipt.
The common denominator for the challenges was cumbersome logistics processes that ate up working hours. Socrates wanted a different rhythm in the work. He wanted a better overview of the flow of goods, procurement and everything connected to the logistics process.
“I loved the fact that Visma goes all the way when it comes to automation. After all, all the steps in the logistics process can be automated and linked with bookkeeping. I thought I'd have to jump on this train right away!
When he learned that the logistics system in Visma Net has an open API for integrations, it was absolutely crucial.
I want the system works for me, not that I'm the one working for the system.
When you're going to integrate something with an older solution, you need an extreme amount of customization. Even if the system is updated, you still have to build the functionality you need,” he explains.
Read more about Visma Net for wholesale and retail
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In the old system, the margin of error was often between 15—20 percent a week. This was also the case when they used hand terminals. A lot of the time was spent trying to figure out where the flaws were.
We are now down to one percent mis-picking. We see the same huge difference in merchandise reception. It's a huge relief for everyone. Now the balance is right, and there is accuracy in both receiving and picking. That is a tremendous reassurance!
With control over the logistics and the receipt of goods, Foodpartner has supplemented with a separate customer app, and the orders are now automatically rolled into the system as sales orders.
— Open API made it easy to connect the app with Visma Net Logistics. We do nothing manually, we only look over the orders. Now we can rather spend our time on our customers.
Foodpartner's customers also find the app intuitive and use it diligently.
“The app is so simple and user-friendly that customers can order with a couple of keystrokes. Thanks to AI and algorithms, it also figures out how much each individual needs. When a product is added, the app remembers this and calculates for the customer. The only manual orders we get now are from older people who are still calling in by phone,” he says.
The FoodPartner entrepreneur estimates that other wholesalers their size need more people in administration to take care of manual tasks. They themselves now work so productively that his enterprise is content with 2-3 resources.
“It's only because I have a system that backs me up and allows me to expand. With Visma Net we can grow by 20 per cent a year.
Visma Net for wholesaling and merchandising
He is also pleased that the software receives updates every week without Foodpartner experiencing downtime and without Socrates having to take any action. And should something appear that he misses in Visma Net, it does not necessarily add a damper on the day.
“If everything can't be fixed and developed right away, I'm happy anyway. That's because I have the best people behind me and I know that Visma works from the idea: if it doesn't exist today, it will come tomorrow.
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Automation is the greatest joy of them all. Everything flows from purchasing and receiving goods to invoicing and bookkeeping. Everything runs automatically and the only thing we do is check that everything is as it should.
— The cloud allows me to log in from anywhere, whether on desktop or mobile and after a few keystrokes the pay run is done. We have both fixed and variable salaries, in addition to extra time, overtime and hired hours. Visma Net Logistics covers all this.
In the old system, even when they used handheld terminals, the margin of error was often between 15—20 percent a week. A lot of the time, of course, had to be spent figuring out where the flaws lay.
“Before, we had errors on the stock balance all the time. We always ended up having to take out an inventory correction and manually update accordingly. It worked badly!
Now, however, it looks different. With handheld terminals from BX Software, which speak directly to Visma Net, they are assured of always picking from the right lot.
“Now we are down to a 1 percent mis-pick. We see the same huge difference in merchandise reception. It's a huge relief for everyone. Now the balance is right, and there is accuracy in both receiving and picking. It's a great reassurance!
Software is constantly being developed. I'm gaining energy and just want to work more and learn more! No more stress with punching. Who wants to work like a robot every day? Now I go to work and am happy!
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Foodpartner is a wholesaler that aims to deliver high quality meat to its customers. The business was started by Socrates Kalenderidis in 2012, who first started fully with wholesale sales in the Norwegian market and supplied mostly smaller restaurants. In 2016, the company took another step further and started its own production facility.
Visma Net is an automated ERP system suitable for growing medium-sized businesses. The system is delivered as a standard product, with modules and integrations tailored to your needs in finance, logistics, project management, and HR and payroll.
Foodpartner has tailored the solution that works best for your needs. In addition to finance and accounting combined with the modules for respectively wages and logistics, they have also integrated handheld terminals from BX Software and developed a separate customer app for ordering from Cerve.
Columbi is one of the certified Visma partners providing seamless software solutions to our customers.
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