Fast growing catering operator gains significant cost savings with e-commerce project
Woodward Foodservice Ltd, the fast growing food operator supplying to the catering industry, has selected Freeway Commerce's Spectrum Enterprise EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) software to electronically exchange purchase orders, sales orders, invoices, credit notes etc. with its trading partners. The company anticipates significant savings by utilising internet technology and AS/2 using Freeway's solution, providing a more cost-effective alternative to the traditional volume-based EDI process that the company previously used.
Freeway's solution was chosen by Woodward Foodservice over competitive offerings for its functionality and value for money. Spectrum Enterprise is hosted on hardware provided by Freeway, and will also enable smaller, non EDI-capable trading partners to use an online web portal option. It requires no additional translation or communications software, enabling them to sign onto a secure web site to download purchase orders and produce invoices.
Woodward Foodservice plans to extend the use of Internet-based communications via AS2 to exchange data with all of its trading partners, including messages exchanged with customers as well as suppliers. The data can then be integrated with back office systems, reducing both the time spent and errors in re-keying order and invoice information.
According to Mel Cragg, Project Manager at Woodward Foodservice: "We needed to get an EDI service that was appropriate for our business - one that provides flexibility is good value for money, outsourced and easily accessed over the internet. Freeway Commerce fitted our requirements exactly and the Freeway team's 'can do' attitude ensured that they met our tight timescales.
"The next stage is to get more of our trading partners to trade with us by EDI, which will reduce administrative burden and cost. In addition we want to migrate our larger volume trading partners over to the emerging AS/2 internet technology which will give us significant monthly savings in volume charges. Freeway Commerce's Spectrum product opens up far more e-commerce possibilities than we had before."
Godfrey Adams, Joint Managing Director of Freeway Commerce said: "EDI has traditionally been used by larger retail players and their suppliers in the market. Now Freeway Commerce provides operators like Woodward Foodservice with a more cost-effective, viable alternative to the traditional EDI systems that can provide all the benefits that the electronic exchange of data brings."
For more information please contact Freeway's sales desk on 01772-646060 or email |
