Reference Resch & Frisch

How to digitize purchasing in food production

From a one-man bakery to a family business that is respected throughout Europe - Resch&Frisch delights customers with unique products and innovative ideas in the food service industry and at home. However, the hands-on mentality is not only demonstrated in the production of baked goods, but also in the purchase of raw materials and consumables. Despite the imminent (!) ERP system changeover, part of the purchasing volume is currently being converted to a digital procurement process, because even at this intermediate stage, the savings potential is impressive.

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Sector: Baking and pasta manufacturer

Web: resch-frisch.com

"Our complex structure, various locations and a large number of procurement processes and supply partners create a high level of complexity in purchasing. We wanted to reduce this quickly, i.e. before the planned changeover to a new ERP system next year," explains Bernhard Prechtl, the Resch&Frisch Managing Directorresponsible for the project . To this end, the procurement process for non-stock C-items, which do not require a warehouse receipt or other entry in the system, was switched to DIG's eProcurement system until the new system was introduced. "The associated invoices are checked and posted in the separate accounting system." The company is relaxed about the interfaces for SAP that will be required in future: "This is a rather small part of the project where we trust DIG's expertise."

Proven quality - digitally supported

"At the beginning of the project, we had smaller buns in mind," Kronberger recalls. "The aim was for our sales branches to order their internal B2B and B2C advertising materials and office supplies via the system." However, the advice from DIG project management whetted the appetite for more, supplier bundling and the strategic possibilities of eProcurement came into focus: "Today we have 26 catalogs available: Office, workwear, cleaning, hygiene and much more." Approvals were installed in the ordering process to make it easier for the requisitioner to comply with the signature guideline. "We always apply the dual control principle, every order is approved by the cost center manager, and after two value limits, the management of the respective location is involved. These release structures, which are quite variable because they depend on the location and product group, were very well mapped digitally."

Recipe for procurement: Guided Buying

One recipe for success at Resch&Frisch is simplicity, says buyer Daniela See: "Our bread ovens are easy to use, which was also the requirement for our procurement platform. That's why we discussed a lot about how to set up the upstream DIG Guided Buying." In regular consultation with the management, a user guide was created that takes the client as directly as possible to their destination: "We have six views for different users, who are always shown their relevant product areas." Colleagues are always well informed via the dedicated news area in Guided Buying: "This is where we communicate when a product is not available, for example. You can also find the link to the instruction manual there!"

Everyone bakes along: high usage rate immediately

The project was launched in July 2023 and the blueprint, i.e. the desired basic concept of the system, was approved in October. After an extensive test phase, the system went live in June 2024. "What makes us proud is the positive feedback from our colleagues," say Kronberger and See happily. "Since the launch at our headquarters in Wels, a lot of orders have been placed via the system. After two training sessions, we also rolled it out to the other locations. With instructional videos and a quick guide, we provide a quick introduction to the system, which is quite self-explanatory." As a result, the number of queries is kept to an absolute minimum. "These mainly concern settings in the system, e.g. changes to cost centers or substitution rules. This will not change in the final expansion stage with 140 users," the two are certain.

Customer journey by DIG

DIG's response times also provide security. Kronberger certainly appreciates the personal coordination: "Open points in the project were always clarified quickly, and project manager Johannes Gugler was easy for us to reach." The latter is very satisfied with the successful completion of the project: "Working with the team at Resch&Frisch was motivating and the more I get to know a company, the more I identify with its structures. This makes it all the more important to secure this know-how for further support. At DIG, the handover to Customer Success Management is therefore carried out jointly by Sales and Project Management." So that the developed recipe with the right ingredients and steps continuously leads to the desired result.