Aptean

ASK Chemicals, a leading global supplier of phenolic resins, faced significant challenges due to its outdated and fragmented data management system. The company, with over 2,000 employees worldwide and 18 production facilities, was struggling to merge data from different facilities located in various countries. Each facility had a mix of on-premise installations and best-of-breed software, which made it difficult to create a unified global operational base. The leadership team identified several issues, including poor performance, lack of scalability leading to higher costs, suboptimal cybersecurity, delayed response times, and other platform limitations that hindered innovation efforts. The company needed a solution that would not only address these challenges but also lay the foundation for a new digital business model.

Bongards Creameries, a leading provider of cheeses and powdered whey, was looking to improve its operations and increase efficiency. Despite being a well-established business with over a century of experience, the company was not content with the status quo. It sought to leverage technology to streamline processes and boost profitability. The company had already begun its digital transformation journey 25 years ago with the implementation of Aptean’s process manufacturing enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. However, it was looking for further improvements and enhancements to its operations. The challenge was to find a solution that could provide a unified database, prevent duplication of data, automate data collection, and provide better visibility of financial data. Additionally, the company wanted to automate warehouse processes for better inventory control and efficiency.

Dun Yong Food Services, a catering and wholesale supplier specializing in Asian foods, was faced with the challenge of an outdated ERP solution that no longer met the requirements of their growing business. The existing system offered limited opportunities for improvement and was not able to fully support the company's future plans. Recognizing the importance of change management in implementing a new system, Dun Yong began the search for a modern, scalable ERP platform about a year and a half ago. The company involved key users from their teams from the beginning and created a list of minimum requirements that a potential software partner had to meet. However, the project had to be put on hold due to the uncertainties brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Colorado Boxed Beef Company (CBBC), a major distributor of refrigerated and frozen food products, was facing challenges in managing its delivery operations. The company was dealing with over 6,000 deliveries per week, using approximately 180 tractors and 220 drivers. The primary challenge was handling one-off requests from the sales department or customers for uniquely timed deliveries for the following day. These requests often required changes to the existing route plan to meet a very small time window. The company was also dealing with the evolving customer demands in the food industry, where customers expected products to be delivered in the shortest time after ordering, with better rates. They also demanded more frequent, proactive communication about delivery times. The company was struggling to meet these demands with its manual approach to delivery operations.

Tesco, a leading international retailer, was facing a significant challenge in its quest for sustainable growth. The company was dealing with the pressure of processing over 4,000 daily deliveries to more than 700 stores throughout the UK and Ireland, using a fleet of 1,400 trucks from 26 distribution centers. This delivery fleet accounted for nearly a sixth of Tesco's total carbon footprint. The company had set an ambitious sustainability target to reduce the CO2 created per case of goods delivered by 50% over the next five years. However, the increasing CO2 targets driven by corporate strategy and the growing number of deliveries were creating mounting pressures.

CoreFX Ingredients, a manufacturer of dry lipid-based nutritional oils, was seeking to modernize its operations to keep up with its innovative and specialized production methods. The company, which serves the health, wellness, sports nutrition, and pet nutrition markets, was using outdated spreadsheet-based service plans for its maintenance professionals. This approach was not only inefficient but also failed to provide a comprehensive view of the total cost of equipment ownership. Furthermore, CoreFX needed a unified platform that could act as a single source of truth across all stages of manufacturing. The challenge was to find a solution that could streamline their operations, improve visibility of critical information, and enhance decision-making processes.

Le Duc Fine Food, a family-owned Dutch business specializing in vegetarian snacks, was looking to modernize its operations to keep up with the growing demand and competition in the vegetarian market. The company identified the need for a modern ERP platform to streamline its operations and improve efficiency. However, a few years ago, the organization lacked the internal capacity to undertake such a large implementation project. The challenge was to find a suitable partner with the right software system that could cater to their specific needs in the food and beverage industry.

Wiley Companies, a leading manufacturer in the fine chemicals space, was seeking ways to improve its technological solutions to facilitate future expansion and business growth. The company was particularly interested in harnessing the benefits of cloud technology, including greater agility and scalability. The Director of IT, Thomas Dean Watson, identified the need to convert the company's Aptean ERP system to a Software as a Service (SaaS) model. This transition was not without its challenges, as it coincided with the company's rebranding and name change, requiring an accelerated project timeline. Additionally, the company saw this as an opportunity to clean up its ERP database, a major undertaking in itself. The situation was further complicated when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, necessitating new ways of working.

AAA WCNY's transactional systems and manual processes did not capture member information or feedback effectively, which led to data inconsistencies and inadequate visibility into member needs. The organization was struggling to provide consistent and efficient member service due to these limitations. The lack of a comprehensive system to manage member relationships was hindering their ability to effectively serve their members and convert interactions into transactions.

Ahlsell, a leading wholesaler in the Nordic region, was seeking to implement a new CRM system. The company's primary focus is on electrical, plumbing, and HVAC supplies, tools, and equipment. The challenge was to find a system that would help its sales agents and sales managers achieve better alignment with senior management objectives. The company needed a solution that was flexible, easy to integrate with other supporting systems, and user-friendly.

Bay Valley Foods, a leading provider of shelf-stable foods, was facing spiraling material costs and increasing competition in its private-label food business. The company needed to gain enough efficiency to increase capacity, streamline costs, and avoid unnecessary capital expenditures. The challenge was to find a solution that could help them achieve these goals without incurring additional costs.

Bergendahls Food, one of the larger retail trading companies in Sweden, was facing a challenge in their supply chain operation. The company, which operates in the Food, Fashion, and Home Deco sectors, needed a new real-time based supply chain operation to increase efficiency and delivery precision. The existing system was not able to keep up with the rapid growth of the company, which has 4,000 employees in six countries and generates a revenue of 1 billion Euro. The challenge was to find a solution that could modernize and automate their central warehouse, improving their overall supply chain operation.

Berner Food & Beverage was looking for smart ways to transform and grow its business. The company needed technology solutions to manage inventory and costing, and improve plant utilization. Approaching full capacity and with an ambitious 5yr growth plan, the company wanted to improve throughput efficiencies and reduce performance variances.

Hammond Group, a global chemical company with plants in the US and abroad, was facing a challenge. The company wanted to grow and maintain its reputation for customer care. However, it needed to cut costs from its operations while still focusing on its customers. The company was in need of systems that would help them achieve these goals.

Kramp Group, a distributor of spare parts for agriculture businesses across Europe, was facing challenges in improving customer service. The company was looking for a solution that could free up their staff's time to provide technical support and advice to customers. The existing system was not efficient enough to handle the distribution of 600,000 parts across Europe, which was affecting the company's customer service quality.

Lakeside Foods, a privately held private label food processor, was facing challenges in maintaining its industry-leading status due to escalating raw material costs and increased competitive pressures. The company identified high mechanical downtime levels and manual quality assurance processes as barriers to improved performance. Furthermore, Lakeside lacked actionable intelligence, which prevented plant personnel from identifying line problems in real time and taking appropriate action. This situation was detrimental to the company's efficiency and productivity, and it was clear that a solution was needed to overcome these challenges.

Litehouse Foods, the second largest manufacturer of refrigerated salad dressings, marinades, and dips in North America, was facing a significant challenge. The company was experiencing growth but was struggling to accommodate this expansion without incurring the prohibitive costs of infrastructure investments. They needed a solution that would allow them to scale their operations efficiently and cost-effectively.

Nanso, one of Finland's leading fashion companies, was facing challenges in meeting new delivery requirements from leading fashion retailers. The company was dealing with many manual routines that resulted in low productivity and quality issues. Additionally, Nanso was operating several different ERP systems, which further complicated their operations. The need for a more efficient and streamlined system was evident to improve their supply chain operations.

Tuko Logistics was facing increased competition in the Finnish market and needed a solution for voice-directed picking. Their old system had reached the end of its life, necessitating the implementation of a new, modern system.

Windsor Foods, a leading provider of frozen pasta products, was under great pressure from escalating commodity costs, particularly corn and wheat. In response, the company embarked on a number of cost-cutting efforts, including giveaway reduction programs, best-practice initiatives, and capital cost-saving efforts. However, these measures were not enough to offset the rising costs, and the company needed a more effective solution.

Prior to choosing Aptean Respond, MyJar used several Excel spreadsheets to track and manage complaints. This process, although arduous, was bearable. Fast-forward to the present day and MyJar, having experienced rapid growth, have made the customer focused decision to enact a purpose built solution that supports their flourishing business. Storing data in numerous locations proved to be an inefficient logging system. Case handlers lost time searching for critical pieces of information and managers struggled to pull MI. There was no easy way of overseeing the team’s performance; recording information on many different platforms meant that human error and inconsistency were difficult to identify. MyJar needed a system that would match the quality of service they provided and began to look for solutions that would not only increase their efficiency, but also target training and prevent the reoccurrence of mistakes.

Dreams, the UK’s leading specialist bed retailer, faced a significant challenge in managing its home delivery operations. The company sells over 10,000 mattresses, bases, and headboards per week through its network of over 200 sites and online, manufacturing around 8,000 mattresses a week at its UK-based factory. These products are then distributed to customers nationwide via nine dedicated distribution centers and a fleet of over 100 Dreams delivery vans. The challenge was to enhance operational efficiencies and provide a more flexible home delivery system for its customers. With customers able to book a delivery at their convenience, Dreams needed a more advanced home delivery system that would offer flexibility and choice to customers while maintaining service levels and boosting efficiencies. The company was processing over 12,000 deliveries per week, operating nine home delivery depots, and managing a fleet of 100 x 3.5-ton Mercedes Sprinter vans.

Southeastern Foods Merchandisers, a food-service product distributor, faced a significant challenge during the first week of March when icy rain and snow covered much of their network. This adverse weather condition forced the company to postpone deliveries to some customers. Despite the weather, restaurant customers in Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, and northern Florida continued to place new orders, creating a backlog. The company, which typically schedules multiple pickups and deliveries per truck each day, needed a solution to manage this unexpected situation and ensure the continued supply of products to its customers.