LINKFresh - The Business Management Solution for the food supply chain industry

Introduction

 

In the highly demanding and competitive food supply chain industry, pressures on suppliers have never been greater. The drive to deliver high quality produce; on time against increasingly tightening deadlines and at reduced prices, is taxing the ingenuity of even the most efficient suppliers.

Further Information  LINKFresh Architecture  LINKFresh Modules Datasheet   LINKFresh Brochure  LINKFresh Family Overview  LINKFresh Foundation Module  LINKFresh Supply Chain Module  LINKFresh Logistics Module  LINKFresh LABELCheck Module  Dynamics NAV for Food & Beverage  Dynamics Food & Beverage Website Become a LINKFresh Reseller

The need to have access to and share real time information as an aid to efficiency is essential. In such an environment, the role that can be played by Information Technology can mean the difference between success and failure.

Anglia's team of supply chain specialists have used their knowledge of real customer requirements to create LINKFresh; a complete Business Management solution for the food supply chain industry. Fully integrated with Microsoft Dynamics NAV, LINKFresh harnesses the power of Microsoft's world class solution by adding a broad choice of modules and applications designed specifically for companies who work in the food supply chain.

Fig.1 The powerful  LINKFresh Suite, setting new IT standards within the food industry

Dynamics NAV is Microsoft's global leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) suite now used by over 1 million users in 60,000 companies worldwide. Microsoft Dynamics NAV has built a formidable reputation around its adaptability to vertical industry requirements and individual companies' processes. The system provides a powerful integrated business management system that covers Finance, Distribution, Manufacturing, Inventory, Contact Management, Mobility Solutions, e-Commerce, Human Resource Management and Dynamic Trend Reporting. It also manages critical documents and automates key business processes within a single, easy to use and robust database.

LINKFresh is an add-on product for Microsoft Dynamics NAV working seamlessly with Dynamics NAV modules such as general ledger, sales / receivables, purchase / payables and warehouse and manufacturing. LINKFresh is an International solution with support for multi-site, multi-currency, multi-country and multi-language operations. LINKFresh has the same look and feel as other Microsoft applications, aiding user acceptance and training. Anglia has a track record with Microsoft Dynamics NAV covering more than 100 implementations dating back to 1997. As a leading Microsoft Gold Certified partner the company has a wealth of project experience to call upon with many customer reference sites and case studies.

Investing in a new business management solution is an important decision for any business. Often strategic in nature, the decision must be backed with a solid business case and the confidence of success.

Anglia's LINKFresh team can help you build that business case by working with you to scope and plan your project with our unique Solution Model business review. The reported customer benefits of using the LINKFresh business management & mobility suite vary dependent on the business needs. They include:

• Improved efficiencies through reductions in data duplication

• Reduced administration costs- Reduction in paper based processes

• Full visibility & traceability of stock movements

• Reduced reliance on "head knowledge"

• Improved customer service

• Elimination of Emergency Product Withdrawal (EPW) fines

• Improved operational practices

• Rapid access to key performance indicators

• Increased profitability1

Package vs Domain

Many software authors of add-on applications rely on domain expertise when tackling a specific market sector. This is where a tailored customer solution is presented as credible evidence of their ability to meet the needs of a client with similar requirements. However, as people and processes are different for each  company, what at first appears to be an ideal fit with a bespoke domain system proves unsuitable when the detailed operational requirements emerge during deployment. This inevitably results in an expensive and time consuming software redevelopment. Apart from the delay and cost, the subsequently deployed solution is another unique bespoke application. This is subject to the usual challenges involved in supporting and upgrading a one off system, it can result in customers remaining on outdated platforms for longer than necessary. They therefore fail to realise the added business value of future functionality enhancements provided by the authors of the core application.

Anglia's approach has been to design the LINKFresh suite for the general food supply chain market. To do so it created a specialist Independent Software Vendor (ISV) operating unit within the business. The LINKFresh suite has been carefully designed to facilitate the requirements of all aspects of the food supply chain market. The suite is seamlessly integrated within the Microsoft Dynamics NAV platform. It uses standard Dynamics NAV functionality which has been skilfully tailored to meet the very specific needs of the industry. The result is a state of the art application that incorporates best practice for the sector.

There are many customer advantages leveraged by this approach. These include:

• Rapid and lower cost deployment

• Lower risk of project failure - Reduced cost of ownership

• Ease of learning for users

• Flexibility to adopt new business models

• Access to new functionality as the software evolves

• Ease of upgrade to the latest version

• International capability to facilitate overseas operations

• Seamless integration with other Microsoft technologies

As a result, customer investment in the technology is protected while benefiting from the latest technological advances and using IT as a competitive aid.

Mobility

Billions of Microsoft's research and development dollars have been invested in the .NET technology framework. .NET is the Microsoft solution for Web services, the next generation of software that connects the world of information, devices and people in a unified personalised way. Applications that were once complex, time consuming and expensive can be developed, tested and deployed rapidly, quickly and cost effectively. By its nature, the food supply chain has a large mobile workforce many of whom need access to up to date product and client data. Anglia has made a significant investment in the creation of our own range of powerful .NET based mobile tools and applications that seamlessly integrate with the LINKFresh solution. These solutions provide executives, account managers, field workers, packing staff, warehouse operatives and delivery personnel with real time access to relevant product and customer information.

LINKFresh LABELCheck

The most common reason for a failed delivery is mislabelled product. This is a relatively easy mistake to make, but one that can cost supermarket suppliers up to 50,000 pounds for each incident. In today's trading conditions and with profit margins already tight, the recurrence of heavy fines could significantly impact on the financial health of a business. Anglia's award winning LINKFresh LABELCheck solution is a mobile application designed for the pack house or field environment. It ensures that every aspect of labelling for each delivery is checked against information held in a central business management system before the product is released to leave the premises. The number and type of tests can be configured centrally depending upon which supermarket or customer is involved. The testing can be configured to check against any combination of label type and attribute including:

• Picked from Location

• Country of Origin- Destination Customer

• Description of Product

• Label Colour

• Best Before or Display Until Date

• Product Count

• Class

• Min. & Max. Weight

• Product Notes

• Packaging

• Red Tractor / UK Flag / Green Leaf Mark 

LINKFresh Mobile QC

RAG (Red, Amber, Green) testing can be carried out via handheld devices on samples of produce. The number and types of test are fully configurable and can be pre-defined depending upon the product and/or customer. These tests could include, for example:

• Chill Damage

• Pest Damage

• Disease - Soiling

• Dehydration - Uniformity

• Scuffing - Product Length

• Excessive Water

LINKFresh Mobile Stock Pick

This is a complete mobile solution for picking stock from within a warehouse or storage facility. The picking process  can be instigated via stock lists from LINKFresh or other application holding product information. In addition it provides the ability from the handheld to provide input when duplicate stock, missing stock, over stocking, or when invalid items arrive. Stock picks can be carried out by bar-coding items or also by a voice activated system.

LINKFresh Mobile Warehouse Management (Live Stock)

A solution for managing stock within a warehouse or storage facility, it provides the ability from a mobile device to record the physical movement of stock and monitor real-time stock levels. Mobile Warehouse Management is seamlessly integrated with LINKFresh to automatically update any changes recorded via the mobile system.

Mobile Sales Force Portal

A system intended for a busy non-office based sales-force to stay up-to-date with the base organisation. The mobile portal provides the following capabilities:

• Price list with variety of discounting options presented via the mobile device.

• Ability to generate quotes and sales-orders.

• Interrogate stock levels.

• Sales force reports and graphs via the mobile device.

• Sales-pipeline tracking.

• Appointment management. 

Mobile Delivery Driver Portal

This solution provides the ability for a delivery team to remain in touch with the base organisation. The portal includes a comprehensive set of tools for drivers on the road, including;

• Delivery schedule.

• Customer signature capture.

• Location maps for each drop.

• Integration with fleet management to track vehicle mileage. 

.NET Tool Box

Anglia has invested heavily in developing its own suite of Microsoft .NET tools to reduce the development costs and time to market for mobile and e-commerce solutions; these include Drizzle Technology and DataMaker.

Implementation Methodology

Anglia's implementation methodology uses a combination of best practice procedures for project control and change control, PRINCE II methodologies as well as incorporating Microsoft's Sure Step project management guidelines. Refined across 10 years of successful Dynamics NAV implementations, the LINKFresh Implementation methodology consists of seven key elements that are summarised as follows:

Solution Model - The solution model is a conceptual design which maps NAV and LINKFresh to your core business processes. It identifies where processes or the software needs to change, and it estimates the benefits of implementing LINKFresh for your business.

Project Planning - This is the stage at which we set out how LINKFresh will be deployed throughout your company as well as define the communication and reporting procedures and the training plan.

Design, Build and Test - This is a key step where we map at a detailed level the current business processes. Then, through a combination of education workshops and product training, the team design the "TO BE" model of how the system will work in the future.

Configuration - This phase of the project ensures that LINKFresh matches your exact requirements. This involves taking the conceptual design model and turning it into a fully functioning business solution.

Conference Room Pilot - Up until this point we have concentrated on getting the system ready for the business. The Conference Room Pilot ensures that the business is ready for the system. The project team runs a real-time simulation of your business in a managed and controlled environment.

Go Live - For the business this is the most critical phase of any implementation. This phase also includes user training and the formulation of a detailed cutover plan.

Post Go Live Review and Ongoing Support - Support is provided by a dedicated LINKFresh Service Desk manned by experienced personnel, using a combination of telephone assistance, dial-in facilities and site visits when required.

Our partnership with you does not stop here. The aim is to build and maintain an ongoing relationship built around a sound understanding of your business and future information technology needs. Through customer service visits, our Platinum Club User Group and Service Desk support we ensure that you are kept up-to-date with the latest news and views on your LINKFresh solution.

Our Customers

Anglia's LINKFresh customers include industry names such as 2 Sisters Food Group, A V Produce Ltd, Bakkavor Group, Branston Ltd , Capespan, G's Marketing, Lincolnshire Field Products, MMD Shipping (Services) Ltd, Premier Direct Marketing, Produce World Group of Companies, Samsara, and Valley Grown Salads. See below what some of our customers have to say about us!

William Burgess, Chief Executive, Produce World

"Our 6 month selection and due diligence process was extremely thorough as we needed a modern system that would meet both our short and long term business requirements. We selected the LINKFresh solution from Anglia for a number of reasons; firstly, the Dynamics NAV system is widely and successfully used throughout the global fresh produce industry. Anglia also demonstrated their extensive knowledge and commitment to the fresh produce sector with the sophisticated industry specific functionality included in the LINKFresh packaged application. We also had very positive feedback from a number of existing first-class reference sites.

Finally, Anglia could provide us with a single source for a system that included infrastructure, the core business applications and advanced mobility. When implemented, the totally integrated Produce World deployment will be a leading edge solution that will enable us to realise our commercial potential as the fragmented fresh produce industry continues to consolidate."

Robin Hancox, Managing Director, Lincolnshire Field Products

"The financial aspects of the system have helped enormously. Cash management is so much easier; reporting much quicker and getting information to our growers has been greatly improved. In addition, periodic reporting is simpler which has

provided us with access to information that was not available with the legacy system. In an industry littered with failed system implementations, it is gratifying to report that the solution was successfully delivered within budget and against a very challenging deadline."

Julius Joel, Supply Chain Director, G's Marketing

"Product withdrawals would have been costing us around 250,000 pounds a year. We are now looking at a situation where we have not had any product withdrawal costs for a year so thankfully the system has paid for itself. If we hadn't installed this LINKFresh LABELCheck solution, I can categorically say that we would have continued to have label accuracy problems; we would have lost business to the order of 20% on some product lines that would have cost us something in the region of 10m pounds of sales. Instead we are in a position where confidence in us is high and we can continue competing for more share of the business."