IT provider Anglia Business Solutions has announced it has successfully completed the initial phases of an implementation of its LinkFresh Business Management Solution with potato supplier Branston.
The company, which is responsible for the supply of 66 per cent of Tesco’s fresh potatoes, will use the Microsoft Navision based LinkFresh solution across its three sites in Lincolnshire, Somerset and Scotland.
The project, which began in November 2004, uses the LinkFresh solution to provide an integrated software platform for all the business functions, from order splitting, production control and product track-and-trace, to finance, logistics and HR.
Dr Nick Turnbull, technical director for Branston said: “The company as a whole is stream lined in the process of packing potatoes but we struggled to exchange meaningful information across our processes and sites.
“There was a very heavy reliance on spreadsheets at department level and different sites were using different systems. This further complicated the overall view of the business and transparency of data within Branston.
“A key requirement of implementing LinkFresh from Anglia was to keep the system job specific and easy to use. We now have one central business management solution that when fully deployed will integrate all departments and all production sites,” he added.
Bob Rose, business development manager for Anglia’s fresh produce division, said: “The commitment, enthusiasm and dedication given to this project by everyone at Branston has played a key role in the successful planning and deployment of this solution.
“The initial phases have been successfully completed to schedule and the company is already reaping the rewards. Branston is an excellent example of a growing organisation that has identified Information Technology as a critical business enabler and competitive differentiator.”
