Optimizing production planning in food production: How Deldiche uses advanced demand forecasting in combination with a unified production dashboard
How can you enhance your production planning with AI and data-driven insights?Â
Discover how Deldiche, a Belgian delicacy producer, transformed its operations by predicting sales more accurately and optimizing raw material planning.
Client Introduction
Wouter, CFO at Deldiche
- Industry: Food Production and Distribution
- Role: Chief Financial Officer
- Company Size: €30M in revenue; 18 employees
Wouter leads the financial operations at Deldiche, a premier Belgian company celebrated for its diverse range of delicacies including hummus, pesto, tapenades, and spreads. As CFO, working with C-level, his pivotal role in optimizing operational efficiencies is vital for sustaining the company’s growth and profitability.
The Issue of Forecasting Demand & Managing Supply
Deldiche faced operational challenges with its existing disjointed systems for client orders and supply management. The reliance on its own Foodmaster system for client orders and accountancy, coupled with CynopCis for supply chain operations, created a cumbersome sequential workflow for raw material planning—leading to delays and escalated operational costs.
Combining Business & Technology Acumen
With its experience working in customer goods, our team got the opportunity to help streamline Deldiche’s production planning processes. The main challenge was to improve operational efficiency, increasing the output of the production system using the current setup of machines. A key aspect of this was potentially big changeover times between specific products, related mainly to allergens and the color of inputs being processed.
Solution Outline
To provide a solution, data needed to be fetched from several old IT systems, which were not originally designed for data analytics purposes. Data extracted from these systems was summarized into a data warehouse, and a Power BI dashboard formed the front end that shows both combined data and the input from algorithms.Â
This dashboard enables several key applications:
- Real-Time Ingredient Tracking: Instant calculations of required ingredients to ensure timely purchasing.
- Demand Forecasting: Predictive analytics to accurately forecast order volumes, thereby improving production planning.
- Optimized Production Scheduling: Strategic suggestions to minimize downtime and maximize efficiency.
The Impact of Data-Driven Decision-Making
For Deldiche, the primary motivation behind this integration was to cut costs and enhance overall operational efficiency, aiming to bolster the company's financial health and competitive standing. The dashboard enables better inventory management and resource allocation, which are expected to lead to improved profitability. The case, therefore, demonstrates the impact data-driven decision-making can have in reaching an optimal level of planning.
Results
Initial adoption of the unified dashboard has been positive, enhancing operational transparency and decision-making at Deldiche. Although specific quantitative results are pending, the early qualitative feedback suggests improved workflow and reduced production stress.
Conclusion
This case study showcases how Crunch was able to navigate complex challenges at Deldiche using cutting-edge technological solutions without ever losing sight of the envisaged business value. The introduction of advanced demand forecasting with a unified production dashboard has not only optimized Deldiche’s production planning processes but also set the stage for continued operational enhancements.
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