Cheese Cellar is a successful nationwide distributor of cheese, dairy and speciality foods. Founded in 1979, the London-based company now has an annual turnover of £70 million and employs 297 staff – a far cry from its days as a three-person, single-van operation.
Cheese Cellar’s customers across the UK foodservice and retail industries include hotels, restaurants, the travel industry, food manufacturers, sandwich producers, contract and event caterers, wholesalers and exporters. They are served via the company’s three main distribution centres in London, Worcester and Manchester. Cheese Cellar has achieved the higher level in CMI Wholesaling, Storage and Distribution standards.
The Challenge
Although the backbone of the existing distribution system was computerised, the front-end – pre-invoiced orders and van sales transactions – was largely manual and prone to errors which could cause significant payment delays.
The Software
The company chose edg’s Advantedg platform because of its flexibility. The system could easily be modified to suit Cheese Cellar’s business rules, document presentation needs and complex pricing and discount structures that are applied to specific customers or customer groups, based on date ranges.
Business Benefits
- No manual override, so business rules adhered to
- Front-end screens are intuitive and match the sequence of drivers’ delivery tasks, reducing time and cutting out complexity of manual processes
- Drivers don’t have to keep track of business rule changes because the screen does it all for them
- Greater accuracy and quality of documentation reduces customer queries
- Stock information is always up to date, allowing driver to know exactly what’s available in the van to sell
