Hotels and restaurants, company canteens, schools and retirement homes: Transgourmet Germany delivers food to many places where food is served in many different ways. Every day, up to 800 trucks from 13 distribution centers in Germany alone swarm out to deliver fresh fruit, vegetables, frozen food and other products just-in-time for the professional pick-up and delivery wholesaler. As a full-range supplier, Transgourmet trades in a total of 35,000 different items, 15,000 of which are permanently in stock. Clients from the food service and communal catering sectors are concerned with 100% delivery reliability. In 2016, the company therefore launched an extensive project to modernize its own IT structure in order to improve its range of services using new technological options.

The new IT structure consists of three interlocking programs: the SAP merchandise management system, the Wanko program with the Pra-Car (route planning) and Pra-Bord (telematics) modules and the Wamas warehouse management system from SSI Schäfer. All systems had to be replaced step by step. In addition, the IT landscape had to be converted from the decentralized stand-alone terminals at the individual locations to a central client-server solution. When it came to selecting the route planning and telematics software, the decision was made in favor of the Bavarian software provider Wanko. Coop, the parent company of Transgourmet from Switzerland, has been using the programs for years and was impressed by the functionality, quality and benefits. Good experience with comprehensive process explanations and easy implementation in existing systems tipped the scales in favor of the Wanko system. The contract was awarded in 2019.

Carefully prepared changeover was successful

Two weeks before the software changeover, the training teams were already on site to provide support. The dispatchers planned demo tours, the truck drivers practised using the new handhelds, customer advisors placed test orders in the SAP system and the pickers familiarized themselves with the new warehouse management system. The customers were informed of the changeover. Everything worked well. "We flipped the switch on a Friday evening," summarizes Janik Lüders, Team Leader IT Fleet Logistics at Transgourmet. All new orders could be entered using the newly implemented solutions, and the master data and standard orders, such as recurring deliveries on a weekly basis, were also stored in the new system. In the first week of practice, the focus was on close support and any errors that occurred in the process and system. "One or two project team members were also on hand at each workstation to help with questions and problems," recalls Lüders. The intensive support continued in the following weeks and the support was adapted to the growing level of knowledge of the employees. After the successful changeover at the first site in Kempten, Transgourmet followed through with the tight rollout plan; at the end of 2020, the Hamburg site was the last German Transgourmet distribution center to be converted.

The Wanko solution has been well received in fleet management. In many areas, the vehicles are more punctual, routes have been optimized and the ability to provide information has increased significantly. Before the changeover, information was still stored in folders. The manual entry of empties and return slips has also been eliminated.

The article appeared in materialfluss 8-9/22.