Many companies got hit with a hammer during the COVID-19 crisis. This is also the case with organizations within our field of work: the food industry. Where food companies that supply the wholesale & retail sector often manage to control damage or even show growth, parties that supply the catering and foodservice industry are really struggling now.

Over the past few weeks, we have
all seen wonderful initiatives emerge that show how resilient we can be in
adversity. We saw foodservice focused wholesalers as well as other wholesalers
setting up webshops in no time to be able to also supply B2C, especially in the
fresh food segment. Although these initiatives are unlikely to save the
budgeted turnover, they do help companies achieve (often) long-delayed growth
plans.

“Your most important
employees are available now, so make use of them”

One of the projects that is often
postponed because daily business is too hectic, is an ERP implementation. It
has been on your agenda for so long. So why not do it NOW? Your key employees
(the core users) are available now. Utilize them in a useful way and get out of
this crisis stronger.

In addition, some ERP packages
are offered as a cloud-based solution. Most, of course, not as a real public
cloud solution. FoodQloud for Oracle NetSuite is, however, available as a true
multi-tenant cloud application. And for food wholesalers, we have very
extensive out-of-the-box, niche-specific editions available.

Your key users can fulfil their
part of the project from any location if an internet connection is available.
And as long as the kids have their snacks, their online schooling is organized,
Netflix is available to them and your neighbor is not blasting Metallica all
day, your key users should be able to work well on the project. By the way,
NetSuite courses are available to them online as well.

Remote projects? We’ve been doing
them since 2005

At Quistor we have been doing
large remote international projects since 2005. Our infrastructure and project
methodology are fully equipped for this and our people are veterans in
successfully managing remote projects. We have been working with
Skype-for-Business, SharePoint, Teams and similar tools for a long time. From
the office, from home or from any other location. It’s just a matter of
planning, making agreements and sticking to them.

I admit, personal contact is and
remains important at times. But it looks like that 1.5-meter society will
continue for a long time to come, so we all need to cope with that.

Our consultants are currently
working remotely on a number of FoodQloud implementations, from their homes in
the Netherlands, Spain and the Czech Republic. An additional advantage: no
extra travel costs and they work more effectively on the project because they
do not have to sit in a car or plane for two to four hours!

Phased project with a scalable
application

For years people are yelling that
we need to phase ERP implementations in order to reduce stress on the daily
business and mental health of the project leader. Yet we always opt for a
big-bang-like scenario. Why? Just start with the basics. Of course, what the
“basics” imply differs per company. Our advice: start with accounting
plus purchasing, sales and stock management. When this foundation is laid, you
then tackle CRM, Product Specifications, Webshop or Quality Management.
Depending on how the restrictions associated with the COVID-19 crisis evolve,
you can finally take the project to the work floor with Production or WMS.

NetSuite is the most complete,
scalable and modular cloud solution currently available. During phase 1 you do
not yet have to pay for functionality that is due in phase 4. You purchase
modules at the moment of need and not a day earlier. We also offer a defined
scope and price for the services in each phase.

How to finance the project?

Now I hear you think:
“Everything sounds great. Paying for the NetSuite Cloud licenses fees,
that’s feasible… but less money is coming in now and NetSuite needs to be
implemented. And the implementation of business management software is commonly
known as an expensive activity. Am I able to finance this?” Yes, even for
the implementation costs, there are several financing options available. This
way you can spread the costs of the implementation over a longer period.

So: if possible, do it now, it is
the perfect moment for an ERP-project. We are more than happy to help you,
including the financing of the project. This way your company will emerge out
of the crisis battle-ready, without directly affecting your cash flow.

Would you like to know more about
the possibilities? Please contact us via www.foodqloud.com or
agoosen@quistor.com.

Everyone: stay safe and think
about how you can make the best of a difficult situation.

Cheers,

Anton Goosen