New York-based Infor develops software solutions for all different types of businesses and has recently partnered with a Dutch specialty cheesemaker to help it manage growth and production following the ending of EU milk quotas in 2015.
The EU first imposed the quotas in 1984 to bring rising milk production under control. After being withdrawn, farmers experienced an uptick in milk demand. Rouveen Kaasspecialiteiten saw a sharp increase in milk production which resulted in 40% growth.
With more freedom, the company wanted to investigate commercial response opportunities. It ramped up innovation and doubled its number of milk products for a total of 20.
According to Rouveen Kaasspecialiteiten, this “created the need for a professional ERP system that could facilitate growth, provide insight into the entire supply chain, help to guarantee quality and support the company in preparing for the next phase of growth.”
This led them to the search for a reliable software system partner, and they decided on Infor in March 2017. On-premises implementation began in fall 2017 and the solution went into effect in February 2018.
Eliminating error
Rouveen Kaasspecialiteiten said the new system has a single source of information, which allows “costly, error-prone manual work” to be eliminated from the process.
The Infor M3 software is “an ERP cloud solution to handle complex processes of enterprise manufacturers & distributors,” according to its website and Rouveen Kaasspecialiteiten was drawn to it based on its food and beverage functionalities and its implementation partner Alfa-Beta Solutions.
Bert Gubler, financial director for Rouveen Kaasspecialiteiten, said, "We are very satisfied with the cooperation, and the choice we have made. Infor M3 is one of the best software solutions in the cheese market thanks to its industry-specific functionality. All the basic options that we need are therefore standard in the solution."
"Moreover, thanks to the knowledge and experience of Alfa-Beta Solutions and Infor with the cheese industry, we did not have to explain our processes. This has positively influenced the speed of implementation."
Kees van den Houten, regional director Benelux at Infor, said, "Infor M3 has a strong reputation in the Food & Beverage market, which has to contend with an increasing level of complexity, compliance and changing customer requirements."