American manufacturer of Italian specialty meats improving operational efficiencies with Ross system
Atlanta — July 1, 2005 — Italian specialty meats company Fiorucci Foods has deployed an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution from Ross Systems as part of an initiative to improve inventory awareness, forecasting, planning and quality control, consolidating the global company onto one integrated technology platform.
Founded in 1850 as a small grocery market in Norcia, Italy, Fiorucci today is a leading worldwide brand for Italian specialty meats and other foods. The third-generation, family-owned company has offices in Rome, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the United States and distribution channels throughout the world.
Previously experiencing some difficulties with its legacy system's lack of visibility and limited flexibility, Fiorucci went looking for a solution to meet its needs across its global operations. The company ultimately selected the iRenaissance enterprise software solution from Ross.
Gaining a Competitive Edge
"Ross provided a solution that was designed to fit our business, giving us an agile architecture to make adjustments and changes as we work," said Chris Maze, vice president of finance and administration at Fiorucci.
Maze said that since implementing iRenaissance, the company has gained the ability to track loss at the end of the manufacturing process with precision and accurately calculate its profit margins more efficiently. "This type of information has given us a competitive edge, enabling process changes within Fiorucci to ensure we are running our business at maximum efficiency without sacrificing quality," Maze said.
With data collection capabilities from iRenaissance, Fiorucci has improved inventory awareness throughout the organization, according to Ross. The company now weighs, tags and tracks all materials accurately, reducing waste of raw materials. By-products are tagged for use in other products, increasing overall operational efficiencies and improving the bottom line.
"iRenaissance makes it easy for Fiorucci to correctly track its product though the 11-month meat-curing process, virtually eliminating errors related to manual processes," Ross said in announcing the implementation.
Checks and Balances
Fiorucci also has use the system to put in a place a system of checks and balances. Previously a heavy user of Excel spreadsheets for forecasting and planning, the company now is using iRenaissance to decrease the number of spreadsheets it employs, leading to more accurate processing of orders and the virtual elimination of manual errors.
Now orders cannot be processed without iRenaissance's automated check of inventory in the system. This increased order accuracy and ability to pull customer information in real time has improved customer service levels and satisfaction and reduced the company's cost for conducting inventory checks by 80 percent, according to Ross.
In addition, the iRenaissance lot-tracing capabilities enable Fiorucci to produce its products with brand-protection assurance. Where it previously took up to three hours for successful audits, with bi-directional lot traceability Fiorucci now completes audits in less than 45 minutes. iRenaissance also helps Fiorucci maintain its requirements for authenticity, including required curing lengths and standard procedures for producing the meats, Ross said.
Ross Systems is an enterprise software subsidiary of CDC Corporation.
Additional Articles of Interest
— Bad packaging, poor handling and substandard shipping and receiving practices account for more than half the returns in the supermarket industry, and the use of folding cartonboard could significantly reduce unsaleables in the industry, one research project has found. Read about the GENCO study of frozen food manufacturers in the SDCExec.com article "Bad Packaging, Poor Handling Seen Driving High Unsaleables."
— For more information on solutions for mid-market enterprises, see "Stuck in the Middle" in the April/May 2004 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
— The focus in the retail sector has shifted from managing the movement of goods to managing information about goods. Read more in "Ramping Up the Retail Supply Chain," in the February/March 2005 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
Atlanta — July 1, 2005 — Italian specialty meats company Fiorucci Foods has deployed an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution from Ross Systems as part of an initiative to improve inventory awareness, forecasting, planning and quality control, consolidating the global company onto one integrated technology platform.
Founded in 1850 as a small grocery market in Norcia, Italy, Fiorucci today is a leading worldwide brand for Italian specialty meats and other foods. The third-generation, family-owned company has offices in Rome, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the United States and distribution channels throughout the world.
Previously experiencing some difficulties with its legacy system's lack of visibility and limited flexibility, Fiorucci went looking for a solution to meet its needs across its global operations. The company ultimately selected the iRenaissance enterprise software solution from Ross.
Gaining a Competitive Edge
"Ross provided a solution that was designed to fit our business, giving us an agile architecture to make adjustments and changes as we work," said Chris Maze, vice president of finance and administration at Fiorucci.
Maze said that since implementing iRenaissance, the company has gained the ability to track loss at the end of the manufacturing process with precision and accurately calculate its profit margins more efficiently. "This type of information has given us a competitive edge, enabling process changes within Fiorucci to ensure we are running our business at maximum efficiency without sacrificing quality," Maze said.
With data collection capabilities from iRenaissance, Fiorucci has improved inventory awareness throughout the organization, according to Ross. The company now weighs, tags and tracks all materials accurately, reducing waste of raw materials. By-products are tagged for use in other products, increasing overall operational efficiencies and improving the bottom line.
"iRenaissance makes it easy for Fiorucci to correctly track its product though the 11-month meat-curing process, virtually eliminating errors related to manual processes," Ross said in announcing the implementation.
Checks and Balances
Fiorucci also has use the system to put in a place a system of checks and balances. Previously a heavy user of Excel spreadsheets for forecasting and planning, the company now is using iRenaissance to decrease the number of spreadsheets it employs, leading to more accurate processing of orders and the virtual elimination of manual errors.
Now orders cannot be processed without iRenaissance's automated check of inventory in the system. This increased order accuracy and ability to pull customer information in real time has improved customer service levels and satisfaction and reduced the company's cost for conducting inventory checks by 80 percent, according to Ross.
In addition, the iRenaissance lot-tracing capabilities enable Fiorucci to produce its products with brand-protection assurance. Where it previously took up to three hours for successful audits, with bi-directional lot traceability Fiorucci now completes audits in less than 45 minutes. iRenaissance also helps Fiorucci maintain its requirements for authenticity, including required curing lengths and standard procedures for producing the meats, Ross said.
Ross Systems is an enterprise software subsidiary of CDC Corporation.
Additional Articles of Interest
— Bad packaging, poor handling and substandard shipping and receiving practices account for more than half the returns in the supermarket industry, and the use of folding cartonboard could significantly reduce unsaleables in the industry, one research project has found. Read about the GENCO study of frozen food manufacturers in the SDCExec.com article "Bad Packaging, Poor Handling Seen Driving High Unsaleables."
— For more information on solutions for mid-market enterprises, see "Stuck in the Middle" in the April/May 2004 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
— The focus in the retail sector has shifted from managing the movement of goods to managing information about goods. Read more in "Ramping Up the Retail Supply Chain," in the February/March 2005 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
- More articles about Ross Systems.
