Optimising cold chain logistics for fresh food distribution

Symphony is used by more than 1 million users everyday.

Optimising cold chain logistics for fresh food distribution

Fresh food company Benelux Flowers & Food is a major supplier of fresh produce in Singapore since 1986. Over the years, the company has become the trusted name for choice fruits and vegetables. For Benelux, their goal is to allow their customers to enjoy quality food at competitive prices with excellent customer service. As such, the operation demands precision, flexibility, and fast deliveries across Benelux’s entire value chain, with distribution networks spanning Singapore and Malaysia. Since the partnership with Boon Software in 2010, Benelux has relied upon Symphony Warehouse Management System™ to keep their operations and deliveries a clock-work, distributing fresh foods to clients.

Symphony WMS™ provided the tools for Benelux to manage cold chain inventories, track orders and country of origin and adhere to all governmental regulations for health and safety standards for food production. Through Symphony packing and sorting terminals, Symphony empowered Benelux to provide processing and value-added services to serve new consumer markets, retain their key clients, and increase market share. The terminal comprises touch screen tablets with custom value-added processes to handle some transit goods, packing, and re-packaging requests. For example, fruits received in bulk are repackaged into smaller packages through the terminals in the warehouse and distributed to supermarkets.

The company’s fresh produce is distributed to both retail stores and wholesalers throughout Singapore and Malaysia

Efficient use of packing materials

Symphony WMS™ includes packing material calculation, which means that the system calculates and tracks the number of packing materials required for the packing operation. Tracks and reassigns a new SKU and update the quantity of the finished goods accurately.

Symphony RF Module™ improves picking quality

Benelux implemented Symphony RF Module™ picking at its fresh food terminals and this has resulted in significant improvements, both in terms of quality and safety, and some improvement in productivity. Picking faults add many extra kilometers on the roads, where vans have to correct all errors. The accuracy has reduced the number of picking faults, resulting in much fewer kilometers on the roads. New technology providing better quality means fewer possibilities for error, as warehouse staff needs to concentrate on fewer factors, and as the new system has check digits that warehouse staff input into the computer and this greatly improves correct picking.

Reduce Wastage with Symphony WMS™

Wastage has been minimising significantly since the implementation of Symphony RF Module™, resulting in very few picking errors. This has enabled Benelux to help their clients save costs and reduce supply chain wastage significantly.

Improve Quality and Increased Shelf Life

Symphony WMS™ improves the quality of the picking and shipment of the products. Shelf Life is tracked and managed for each client for shipment. Benelux reported cost savings and customer satisfaction since the implementation of Symphony.

Symphony is used by more than 1 million users everyday.