Sweet specialist sees growth spurt

Confectionary company IT infrastructure overhaul accommodates rapid growth

Confectionery supplier Bon Bon Buddies has overhauled its IT infrastructure to cope with rapid growth which has seen the company double its sales over the past three years.

The programme, project managed by supplier SAS, includes a wide area network linking the firm’s two UK sites with its two offices in France.

The expanding firm simply outgrew its old IT, according to Andrew Gorvett, head of IT at Bon Bon Buddies, which makes confectionery and biscuits featuring children’s characters.

‘We grew too big and if we had tried to carry on we would have caused problems for customers,’ he said.

The new infrastructure has also made it possible to install an NVision business system across the whole organisation, as well as a virtual private network.

‘The new system runs everything from inventory control to finance, purchasing, sales and order processing, linking all offices with France,’ said Gorvett.

The firm now has a single system linking all its sites, enabling greater accuracy and efficiency. Cost savings are also likely, although it is too early to quantify them, says Gorvett.