Start-up Q Catering plans for growth with Affinitus Freshware

There is a business consultancy adage that while many start-ups contemplate failure, few put the necessary plans in place to manage success.

That is a criticism that cannot be levelled at Sittingbourne-based Q Catering. Established in March 2003 and already boasting a pro-rata turnover of around £1 million, the company's managing director Roger Snelling is thinking big and has put effective, cost-efficient IT at the heart of a business delivering wholesale catering supplies to clients across Kent.

As a former md of Cavendish Foods with more than 20 years experience in the business, he's a man who knows a thing or two about keeping it lean to the satisfaction of the board, shareholders and ñ above all ñ the customer.

He established Q Catering after two decades with Cavendish, during which the sector of the business for which he was responsible increased turnover from £500,000 to £24 million, and a spell at EFG Food Service.

Leading a small team of six ñ all from an industry background ñ Q Catering has impressive plans. But importantly, they are founded on solid, considered objectives rather than ambitious naivety.

“One of the most important challenges facing any business in the current climate ñ never mind one that's been established during a well documented economic downturn ñ is the efficiency of procedures and the effective flow of information,” says Snelling.

It's a business objective that has led him to the Affinitus Freshware system, he says. No stranger to the software, he introduced it at Cavendish Foods after three years looking critically at the competition and reinforced his confidence by operating it again at EFG.

“In launching Q Catering one of our prime considerations was ensuring we put procedures in place for the future. We have ambitious plans and had to invest in software able to cope with that intended growth. As a start-up we also have to keep staff costs to a minimum and productivity high,” Snelling adds.

“Affinitus Freshware enables us to access comprehensive stock, sales order and distribution information instantly but our decision to go with the software went far beyond basic data retrieval.

“We wanted a system that could be tailored to our specific needs and demands, we needed software that was Windows-based rather than Unix-based and, most importantly, a flexible package that would adapt and grow as Q Catering adapts and grows.”

From the Affinitus stable of software packages, Freshware comprises a number of modules designed specifically for the fresh food and produce industry.

It has quickly established a niche market serving importers, wholesalers, growers, multiple suppliers and the transport and distribution sectors among them.

Each installation is configured to suit a customer's specific needs as Paul Hardy, Affinitus managing director, explains: “Flexibility is vital and that is why Freshware has been adopted so widely throughout the industry. It's a software package featuring many options that can be built into the system to produce an impressive level of customising and, as the industry moves towards supplying the multiples, it is a package offering up to the minute management and operational information with detailed financial and statistical analysis.”

For a man who oversees a business serving restaurants, nursing homes, hospitals, hotels, pubs and work place canteens, Snelling's decision to go with Affinitus Freshware is definitive. He says: “Everything we've done in establishing the business has been based on rapid growth and I see this software as integral to that. What has surprised us is the way that Freshware has enabled us to cope so impressively with everything we've thrown at it.”

ROC LAUNCHES COST-EFFECTIVE SAP SOLUTION

Pages 16 & 17 of this week's Journal feature the beginning of a concerted campaign to introduce ROC Group's IT system for the fresh produce industry. Tommy Leighton talked to ROC's sales director Guy Barbor about a globally dominant system that is now suitable for small and medium sized companies.

“This week sees the start of our advertising campaign to let people know that ROC's solution for the fresh produce industry is now available and to give them an idea of what it is all about,” says Barbor. “The key message we want to get across to fresh produce companies of all sizes is that they can now buy and implement the number one business software in the world at a cost- effective price.

“We did let some companies see the solution earlier in the year when we finished building and testing it. But we couldn't launch the product properly until we finished working on the implementation methodology.”

Barbor adds: “In building an ëout-of-the-box' solution we knew we had to deliver a different methodology because traditional SAP implementations assume that the solution will be completely different every time rather than at most, minor variations around a core industry specific best practice solution.

“We completed work on the new methodology last month and the great news is that it cuts the cost (and the duration) of the implementation dramatically, which was, of course, our objective.

“Compared with a traditional SAP implementation we can get our ëout-of-the-box' solution live in less than half the time and at less than half of the cost. This means we can compete on price terms with even the smallest competitors.

“Our adverts (and SAP's) are the start of our formal launch programme which culminates in a series of seminars at the beginning of December. We will be giving these seminars in three locations in England, one in Scotland and one in Ireland. We will be sending invitations out in the next 2-3 weeks or people can visit our web site (www.roc-group.com) for more details.

This is a very exciting time for ROC. We believe we can make a real difference to companies in this market ñ and not just the larger ones who face different problems with the need to diversify in business or geographic terms for whom SAP is the ideal solution.

“And we are already looking at ways to extend the solution further to deliver more unique benefits and even better value which we hope to announce shortly.”