Mick Whitlock Tells Why SYSPRO ERP Solution Best for Food Manufacturers
SYSPRO, the leading global supplier of on-premise, cloud and mobile business ERP Software for manufacturers and distributors, announced today that the company’s User Conference, which carries the theme, “Simply Smarter,” was treated to an address by Mick Whitlock, President of Vann’s Spices, a user of SYSPRO ERP software since 2009.
In his speech entitled, “Finding Sanity in the ERP Customer Experience,” Whitlock first disclosed a bit of family “ingenuity” — the fact that his daughter’s blog documenting business waste and seemingly crazy requests made of business assistants, has turned into a book, “To My Assistant,” and is being published by Random House. Additionally, he stated proudly, Fox TV has purchased the rights to the book and will commence shooting a TV pilot.
Whitlock noted that Vann’s Spices, based in Baltimore, Maryland, is exemplary of the “American Dream.” The company, he said, started in the kitchen of an enthusiastic cook and school teacher and today sells a full line of spices, spice blends, beans, grains, rice and extracts. During the past 32 years, says Whitlock, Vann’s has grown into a major player in the spice trade with about 800 customers – many of them quite large – and mostly located in the US and Canada. The company, he noted, sells through a variety of sales channels – from direct sales to restaurants and food chains to selling a variety of private labels spice lines with customized formulas. He added that recently Vann’s was taken on by a major national grocery chain and between 2011 and 2012 grew revenues by 15% and gross profits by 39%.
SYSPRO ERP has aided Vann’s success, emphasized Whitlock – or, as he noted, “brought sanity to a company that has to track inventories, scheduling , billing with lot traceability high on the list.” Though Vann’s might be considered a “small company,” he noted it has some very large customers. “In fact,” he said, “Vann’s has to have a Safe Quality Food (SQF) certification, assuring buyers and customers that the company’s products have been produced, processed and handled according to the highest safety standards.”
Whitlock noted that when he joined Vann’s, the company’s inventory control and management was a “real nightmare.” Though the stresses were high,” he said, “and the ERP requirements list was comprehensive and daunting, SYSPRO ERP more than met the company’s needs when the software was acquired in 2009.
“After implementing SYSPRO,” he said, “We were able to study our data easily and could make some great business decisions. We improved our inventory processes substantially – we knew when to order, when to manufacture and when to ship. In fact,” he emphasized, “the whole manufacturing process end – to – end improved.”
Whitlock closed his speech by listing the pluses SYSPRO has brought to Vann’s: “Spectacular reports; an easy-to-use user interface; tailorabilty; and an exceptional customer experience. SYSPRO’s ERP solution is second to none,” he beamed, adding: “It’s not just the lot traceability, reporting, UI and food safety certification controls – I always know that the SYSPRO team has my best interests at heart and will do whatever necessary to keep my business running efficiently, no matter what happens.”
SYSPRO is the leading supplier of ERP software to mid-market manufacturers and distributors. SYSPRO has more than 14,500 licensed customers in over 60 countries around the globe. For more information on SYSPRO, or to schedule a consultation on how we can better serve you, please visit here.