Produce Broker Solution
Customer
Produce Broker Company in the heart of Los Angeles’ Produce District with over 25 staff distributing over 4000 truckloads of fruits and vegetables per year.
Challenge
Very little automation, separate A/P, A/R and G/L. All purchase and sales orders recorded on paper and keyed into A/P and A/R. No integration between systems with a lot of redundant data entry.
Projects
The initial project started and completed in 1995. Since then there have been several major upgrades, the most recent in 2011.
Primary Objectives
The initial project started and completed in 1995. Since then there have been several major upgrades, the most recent in 2011.
- Get off of a paper system being used by the brokers to buy and sell.
- Integrated Accounting
- Warehouse Automation.
- System Computed Commissions.
- Document Management and Tracking
Struggling with paperwork and a myriad of small disconnected systems including a separate A/R, A/P, and G/L and with commissions compiled in Excel spreadsheets, this company was in need of help.
The produce commodities market is a volatile business with daily price swings and the need to be responsive in real-time.
We took their operations from very little automation to an integrated state of the art system that allows their business to thrive.
Brokers can compare commodity prices in real-time on screen with in-line GP calculations. Order status updated in real-time and proof of delivery documents areautomatically scanned and cataloged and accessed by any user.
The owner no longer spends 40 hours ever payroll period compiling spreadsheets with the sales and costs to calculate commissions. This task is delegated to an employee wherein they use the system to compute commissions for their bi-weekly payroll in less than 1 minute.
Result: Today their operations are centered on the automation we provided them. Their business continues to expand and grow. Their systems are all integrated. In 2004 they had 6 brokers. By 2008 they had 11 brokers without adding any additional administrative support staff. And more of their accounting functions are being done in-house saving them CPA fees.
Customer
Produce Broker Company in the heart of Los Angeles’ Produce District with over 25 staff distributing over 4000 truckloads of fruits and vegetables per year.
Challenge
Very little automation, separate A/P, A/R and G/L. All purchase and sales orders recorded on paper and keyed into A/P and A/R. No integration between systems with a lot of redundant data entry.
Projects
The initial project started and completed in 1995. Since then there have been several major upgrades, the most recent in 2011.
Primary Objectives
These objectives have grown and expanded since 1995 but here is a short list:
- Get off of a paper system being used by the brokers to buy and sell.
- Integrated Accounting
- Warehouse Automation.
- System Computed Commissions.
- Document Management and Tracking
Struggling with paperwork and a myriad of small disconnected systems including a separate A/R, A/P, and G/L and with commissions compiled in Excel spreadsheets, this company was in need of help.
The produce commodities market is a volatile business with daily price swings and the need to be responsive in real-time.
We took their operations from very little automation to an integrated state of the art system that allows their business to thrive.
Brokers can compare commodity prices in real-time on screen with in-line GP calculations. Order status updated in real-time and proof of delivery documents areautomatically scanned and cataloged and accessed by any user.
The owner no longer spends 40 hours ever payroll period compiling spreadsheets with the sales and costs to calculate commissions. This task is delegated to an employee wherein they use the system to compute commissions for their bi-weekly payroll in less than 1 minute.
Result: Today their operations are centered on the automation we provided them. Their business continues to expand and grow. Their systems are all integrated. In 2004 they had 6 brokers. By 2008 they had 11 brokers without adding any additional administrative support staff. And more of their accounting functions are being done in-house saving them CPA fees.
