TROPOS will help reduce Bells of Lazonby's stock holding by 50 per cent

Bells of Lazonby implements TROPOS ERP solution to integrate three product lines into a single business system:

• Implementation aims to reduce stock holding levels by up to 50 per cent
• System will enhance visibility across leading bakery producer's whole company to improve efficiencies and boost profitability
• Operates across Bells of Lazonby, Village Bakery and OK Foods brands - the company's expanding organic and gluten-free ranges

SSI, a Chelford Group company and provider of ERP and supply chain management solutions for specialist industries, has announced a major new order from Bells of Lazonby, a leading UK independent bread and cake maker. Bells of Lazonby will now, for the first time, have full visibility and control of each of its three lines of business through a single integrated solution, and aims to reduce its levels of held stock by up to 50 per cent. It will use the wide range of management information from TROPOS to enhance forecasting, production variances, order processing and cost efficiency of the entire business.

TROPOS will give Bells of Lazonby management information in real-time, so it can make instant decisions, which otherwise could cost the business. Empowering managers with this information will help support the dramatic expansion of its two new brands: the Village Bakery - organic recipes - and OK Foods - gluten, wheat and dairy free goods - as well as the sustained growth of the traditional Bells of Lazonby bakery. The TROPOS solution will also make it easier for Bells of Lazonby to continue its business with supermarkets, as real-time traceability and regulatory audit compliance will be made quicker and easier across its entire range of products.

"We previously used a specialist bakery system for our order processing, but it could not give us the visibility or adequately support management control across our rapidly expanding business," commented Dave Simmons, Business Systems Manager, Bells of Lazonby. "TROPOS gives us real-time insight into stock levels, order flows and fulfilment. This information on processes, as they're happening, makes it easier to eliminate any waste throughout the business and make our future business development easier and more profound. We are able to streamline not only production and stock levels, but also many administrative processes - which helps us reduce the burden of multiple and often duplicated forms of paperwork.

"We have a strong reputation for quality and excellence in our field - in fact we recently won an award from Sainsbury's for Bakery Supplier of the Year and won the Bakery category at the Food Manufacturer Awards as well. We will now be able to deliver that excellence of quality through enhanced processes. In the past we have held excess stock levels to ensure every job will be fulfilled. We can now be sure of that without over-crowded stockrooms because our forecasting and production variances are so accurate and up to date," continued Dave Simmons.

"There are many businesses that are expanding in the rapidly growing organic and specialist foods industries - and to make those operations as successful as possible, it is important that businesses optimise their stock holding and production processes," commented Neville Merritt, Group Marketing Director, Chelford Group. "Implementing the TROPOS system helps a wide range of organisations create the business framework for a stable and successful future."

About Bells of Lazonby

Bells of Lazonby is a family business that has been producing and supplying bread and cakes for over 60 years. The company bakes organic recipes through its Village Bakery brand; its OK Foods brand produces gluten, wheat and dairy free recipes and the Bells of Lazonby bakery continues with its traditional baking. The organisation also produces goods for private label companies. The company was recognised with the Queen's Award for Innovation in Enterprise in 2006.

About SSI

SSI specialises in the implementation and lifecycle support of web-optimised manufacturing and supply chain solutions for highly regulated process industries and 'lean' discrete manufacturers.

SSI is the developer of the class-leading TROPOS(tm) ERP solution, selected by many companies in the food & drink, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and mill based manufacturing sectors. 'Lean' discrete manufacturers also benefit from significantly reduced lead times by using the TROPOS demand-pull model.

To complement its application solutions, SSI provides all the services required for lifecycle support with a single point of responsibility: project management, application implementation support, hosted application services, hosted web collaboration, remote managed services, bespoke systems development, systems integration, web development and technical consultancy.

Since 1982, SSI has been providing competitive advantage to a client base operating in the mid market, including small companies and subsidiaries of multinationals and large independent companies: Morrison Bowmore, Burn Stewart Distillers, Ian MacLeod, G & J Greenall, Uniq, George Adams, Giles Foods and Gala Coffee. Recent wins include Isle of Man Creameries and Eurodix.

SSI is part of the AIM-quoted Chelford Group (CHR).

About The Chelford Group

Chelford provides solutions in supply chain, ERP, manufacturing, warehousing & distribution, automated data capture and Microsoft technology based applications. Chelford solutions are supported with services in systems strategy, project management, business process change management, systems integration, managed services and facilities management.