Serpeska

IFS Applications Provides Efficient Solutions for the Food Distribution Industry

Thanks to the range of solutions provided by IFS Applications as a comprehensive management system, Serpeska has obtained functional improvements in areas such as orders, distribution, and finance, and has started a communication system for its sales network through PDA units. It is currently planning the implementation of the IFS/Vehicle Information Management component.

Fast and Effective Response

Serpeska required a management system that could connect all its activities and that was capable of quickly and effectively responding to business requirements. Because it works with perishable products (fish, seafood and frozen products), its customers raise their purchase orders with a very short interval, quite often on delivery. “The management system we had was satisfactory but we wanted to improve it and obtain more information about our own business. We have managed this with the IFS solution, which is based on components and can be fully integrated with any existing applications. The system matches our business perfectly, and provides a broad range of functionality and great communications potential,” highlighted Alfonso Mozos, financial manager of Serpeska.

Effective communication management and integration is vital for distributors. By using IFS Applications, Serpeska has designed a demand grouping system (orders) in distribution sheets for deliverymen with their corresponding delivery notes and a complete register of incidents for each one of them: arrival and departure times, amounts collected, etc. In addition, because it enables any kind of anomaly noted during distribution to be entered, the IFS system keeps the sales team constantly informed of the situation. 

According to Mozos, “All these improvements to the sales process have enabled us to also speed up invoicing, personalized in accordance with the parameters established for each customer, which has represented a considerable reduction in administrative invoicing work”.

Mobility for the Sales Network

For Serpeska, the sales force is its direct link to its customers. In order to provide more personalized and complete sales support, Serpeska needed to transfer the improvements obtained in the management area to its sales network. Thanks to the use of the IFS Mobile Client technology on PDA systems, Serpeska’s sales network now has a permanent connection to the group’s Intranet, which allows them to enter orders, reserve batches, check pricing, verify product availability, identify promotions and invoicing status, etc. This all results in time savings, greater work efficiency, and fewer errors.

IFS Applications Meets Serpeska’s Requirements

The component-based architecture of IFS Applications, which offers step-by-step implementation as and when the customer requires additional functionality, has facilitated the gradual updating of systems at Serpeska. In this way, after commissioning the mobile communication system for its sales team, Serpeska will start the implementation of the IFS/Vehicle Information Management component to handle operations and maintenance activities of its fleet of distribution trucks.

"Thanks to the perfect match between IFS Applications and our company’s requirements we have improved management and now have more information about our business, which has enabled us to continue growing and challenge the competition", says Alfonso Mozos, Financial Manager of Serpeska.

Benefits

Serpeska is using IFS Applications for financials and distribution as well as the IFS Mobile Client. Benefits from using IFS Applications are:

• Effective integration of the various business areas 
• Support for future implementations (Web, B2E, B2B)
• Reduction of administrative invoicing tasks
• Better sales support to customers
• Greater work efficiency
• Minimization of errors
• Time saving

About Serpeska

Serpeska is a Spanish group of companies dedicated to the distribution of fresh and frozen products, cold storage rental, and other activities related to this sector. It employs 150 people, and during 2003 its revenue reached €45 million.