Mariusz Blach - Fotolia
Swedish Cider company upgrades to cloud ERP to keep up with growth
Apple-based product manufacturer moves to an industry-specific ERP system in the cloud
Swedish manufacturer Kiviks Musteri is using a cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to help it manage its complex business and take advantage of growth.
The company is implementing Infor’s CloudSuite Food & Beverage application, a system designed specifically for the market it operates in.
The manufacturer opted for Infor because it had an existing relationship with the ERP specialist, and selected a cloud-based system to reduce its IT footprint.
Mattias Wistrand, chief financial officer at Kiviks Musteri, said the company is small but is growing fast, and offers a complex range of products and services.
“With more than 70 different varieties of apple grown in our orchards, and a product range that spans apple juices, cider, sauces, jams and marmalades, as well as dessert sauces, maximising yield and ensuring availability is a challenge,” he said.
Although nature determines the quality of its apples, Wistrand said the right IT platform could ensure rigour in its processes, helping to maximise yield and boost revenue opportunities.
Moving to a packaged ERP system can help companies reduce the number of systems they use, as well as the size of the IT team. The cloud-based nature also reduces the need for internal infrastructure.
“[The system’s] cloud-based out-of-the-box functionality and standardisation means we can focus all our energies on developing our business, not our ERP system,” said Wistrand.
ERP specialist Infor’s cloud strategy, has been two-pronged: gain new customers by enticing them with easier-to-use, web-friendly and mobile-friendly cloud-based ERP; and move users of the supplier’s older, on-premise systems to the cloud, so it can serve them more profitability and avoid defections to competitors.
In July 2016, Lisa Pope, senior vice-president for global CloudSuite strategy and sales at Infor, said the company anticipated that up to half of its installed base would consider the cloud in the next year or so, predominantly because many of them were at that upgrade decision stage.
