’Fresh food wholesaler chooses major market player with great knowledge and experience’
Schouw Informatisering implements Microsoft Dynamics? NAV and SI Foodware? at versAlert
Etten-Leur, 21 July 2008 - Fresh food wholesaler versAlert has signed contracts with Schouw Informatisering for a single integrated company-wide solution. VersAlert is going to use Microsoft Dynamics® NAV combined with SI Foodware®, the sector-specific solution for companies in the food and beverage sector. Cees Schnitker, ICT Manager at versAlert, explains, ‘This makes us the first FOOD/400 customer to choose a solution from Schouw Informatisering.’ FOOD/400 is the software package of the former Building IT Solutions, a company that was taken over by Schouw Informatisering in 2005. ‘An end came in developments to FOOD/400, so we had to look for a new solution,’ Schnitker adds ‘We chose a Schouw Informatisering solution because they have a great deal of knowledge and expertise, plus the fact that their consultants were already familiar with our company.’
Fresh food wholesaler versAlert
VersAlert was set up in 2002 and is a combination of three companies that were merged in January 2007. All current activities now take place from two distribution centres: DC Hoevelaken and DC Woerden. VersAlert specialises in supplying fresh food products, non-food products, herbs and spices to the hotel, restaurant and catering sector, to butchers’ shops, the retail sector and the non-household market. VersAlert has its own service-driven distribution network, from which it not only supplies products but also offers service, supervision and sales ideas. VersAlert currently employs 65 people and the company is growing rapidly, with a focus on the future.
Selection process
‘We were already familiar with Schouw Informatisering’s people and processes because they had been supporting FOOD/400 for some time,’ Schnitker explains. ‘However, we knew that the support would end so we went looking for an alternative. After comparing various solutions our choice fell on Schouw Informatisering. There were two reasons for our decision: the solution is based on Microsoft technology and Schouw Informatisering is a major player with a great deal of knowledge and expertise.’
User-friendly solution
‘The big advantage of Microsoft solutions is they integrate easily with other products and they are very user-friendly,’ Schnitker says. ‘For instance, Dynamics NAV software integrates well with SI Foodware software, creating one integrated solution for the food and beverage sector.’ Dynamics NAV is highly user-friendly, particularly because the user is familiar with the interface and functions from other Microsoft products such as Outlook.
Knowledge and expertise
‘Schouw Informatisering has knowledge and expertise not only on the technological side but also the food and beverage industry,’ Schnitker adds. ‘Schouw is even going to add specific functions for the "fresh food world" in the near future, which will become part of standard SI Foodware software.’ These will ensure that customisation is reduced to a minimum for versAlert, which in turn means that new releases will subsequently require few customised modifications. Consequently, the total costs of maintaining the solution in the long term are kept manageable.
Phased implementation
The aim of the project is for versAlert to roll out the software live on 15 September at its branch in Hoevelaken and for Woerden to follow soon after. ‘At a later stage of the project we’ll start using scanning, which will increase efficiency in the warehouse,’ says Schnitker ‘Next year, together with Schouw, we intend to implement EDI so as to enable digital business directly with the retailer.’ You can find more information about versAlert at www.versalert.nl.