Univer Product Zrt. is a 100% Hungarian-owned business that deals with the production and distribution of condiments and other food products, including tomato concentrate, baby food, jam and juice. It is market leader in several categories of the condiment sector in Hungary. Univer Product attained their current position in the Hungarian market by leading innovation and taking care of their brand. They are currently also introducing several new innovations - in almost all of the categories they are involved in - in the areas of product development, packaging and modernizing production. Using progressive solutions is indispensable in all areas of business life, including IT, in order to keep market leader position. Károly Molitórisz, CEO of Univer Product Zrt.: “Adapting to the rapidly changing environment and customer needs requires companies to rethink their resource management systems from time to time and introduce innovations that meet the challenges of the new age.”
This is what motivated Univer to define their needs and set out on a project to replace the resource management system supporting the operation of the company.
Based on the specific needs defined by Univer Product, the project posed a significant challenge as the processes were both complex and deep. The single, integrated management of the entire material process can be a new challenge for even an experienced and production-oriented resource management system (ERP). “At the same time, we couldn’t be stopped by the limitations of the classic resource management systems used in our daily routine; we had to endeavour to achieve the integration of control and tracking processes, which had until then been managed in such a depth by individual target software typical of the world of ERP. It was a great experience and a source of professional pride for our team to implement this with the experts of Univer Product Zrt.”, said Zsolt Ivánkovits, the implementation project leader.
The QAD Enterprise Applications food industry module provided a solid basis for the implementation of this project, which ISYS-ON Kft. complemented with customized workstations. This is why the idea of “from the land to the table” is not only realized on the level of material processes, but also in the integrated IT support system involved in every elemental step of the value-generating chain. The process starts with raw material cultivation, purchasing, where the entire invoicing process and the creation of official receipts is conducted through QAD. Only quality raw materials can be purchased and transported to the site, which is supported by a fully integral quality assurance module. Daily production is scheduled based on the forecast received from sales and the specific customer orders, taking into account the time required for specific technological steps and the capacity of the machinery. Each work station and machine is assigned specific controlling tasks the execution is which is strictly checked at control points. The online production report also uses data such as the actual measured values by the scales and the signals from the process controlling devices. Adjusting to different production environments, the bar code covering the entire process and the RFIDs at certain points facilitate tracking.
The final products are stored at the specific location assigned by the integrated high warehousing solution, then the module executes commissioning strictly based on the expiry dates. Delivery has to meet not only the individual customer’s needs but also the various expectations of large commercial chains and logistics centres. This is reflected in the multi-layered, complex pricing and the complicated system of refunds. Quality assurance covers the entire material process, taking into account requirements for food safety and product traceability, as well as the highest customer audit expectations.
Due to integration, another goal of the project was satisfying the high expectations of Univer Product Zrt. when it comes to the accounting and controlling processes behind the material processes. The financial year starts with careful planning based on pre-calculations for each product, which is regularly compared throughout the year with the itemized post calculations based on actual data.
In addition, QAD has various other features provides Univer Product with numerous types of data on the daily operation of the company and other information necessary for making strategic decisions. “We believe that in terms of functionality, we developed a unique ERP that both Univer Product Zrt. and ISYS-ON Kft. can be rightfully proud of.” – István Kucsera, owner and managing director of ISYS-ON Kft.
The introduction of the new resource management system has proved to be a good decision for Univer. The company can now enjoy an integrated, multi-site, task-control compatible, automated and optimized resource management system that covers the entire business operation.
“We believed that the era of continuous improvement has not ended with the completion of this project. In that spirit, the IT innovations planned for this year are electronic invoicing, which our clients seem to prefer more and more, and IT support for the investment into the new tomato processing method. These projects will be implemented in cooperation with ISYS-ON Kft.”, said Katalin Fehérné Gáspár, Head of the implementation project and deputy Chief financial and purchasing officer.
