Premier Foods transforms supply chain IT at Hovis

New platform aims to reduce waste and improve customer service

Premier Foods is automating manual processes across the supply chain at Hovis

Premier Foods is rolling out a new platform as part of an IT transformation in the supply chain area of its bakery business Hovis.

The new system, based on SAP technology and barcode scanning functionality provided by Zetes, is being implemented across all 23 Hovis sites to provide traceability for bread batches across the entire manufacturing and distribution supply chain.

Following full implementation by the end of 2010, Premier Foods expects better customer service, improved accuracy of order fulfilment and better visibility of supply chain performance.

Many manual processes will be automated by the system, which covers inventory and warehouse management, in addition to new functions around sales and distribution.

The implementation follows a previous trial carried out in three bakery sites.

Rolling out the new system at Hovis is a current business priority for Premier Foods. The group-wide implementation of SAP software is core to the firm’s business transformation programme, intended to build central, resilient services with increased capacity and flexibility at a lower cost.

Capgemini is working with the manufacturer on the supply chain project, which started last year.