Following a strategy of growth by acquisition, Associated Wholesale Grocers of Kansas City (AWG) rapidly became the second-largest cooperative grocery wholesaler in the U.S.  This dramatic expansion presented a significant challenge to AWG, whose business relied largely on manual processes built around isolated and disjoint technology solutions. Not only did AWG need to quickly upgrade their technology infrastructure to support this rapid growth, it also wanted turn their IT infrastructure and associated business processes into a competitive advantage while providing consistency and standardization across all their divisions.

One of AWG’s immediate goals was to standardize and automate their procurement and billing processes by implementing an enterprise-wise supply chain management (SCM) solution.  These processes are so central to AWG’s business operations that AWG made the strategic decision to find and partner with a world-class SCM software and services provider. Risetime brings over 45 years of combined supply chain management software and consulting experience - together with its broad range of technical and project management expertise, Risetime was the perfect fit to address AWG’s needs.

Solution Overview

Risetime evaluated all of AWG’s needs and decided to form a strategic partnership with AquiTec, Inc., a leading international provider of supply chain management software and services.  AWG selected AquiTec’s Web-based eProcurement and eBilling platforms to meet their immediate needs as well as provide them a technology platform to carry them into the future.  Under the partnership with AquiTec, Risetime provides all software development services to AWG, including application updates, new system features, and 2^nd and 3^rd tier production support.  Risetime adds to this partnership its own procurement, billing, and project management expertise, knowledge of supply chain management best practices, and broad industry consulting experience.  This partnership with AquiTec proved so successful that AquiTec chose to outsource all ongoing and future eProcurement and eBilling base product software development to Risetime.

Risetime’s procurement solution allows both buyers and managers to better control the purchasing function and thereby increase productivity.  It allows AWG to efficiently and effectively manage their inventory levels while maintaining corporate-mandated service level goals.  Further, the procurement solution helps the buyers by determine when to place an order and how much to order.  Risetime’s billing solution provides AWG the ability to receive, process, and adjust customer orders and then release them to the appropriate warehouse when ready.  It can apply taxes, invoice the orders, debit or credit customer’s invoices, review and refine the daily picking and transportation plans, and handle any costing or pricing issues.

Value Measurement

The implementation of an enterprise-wide supply chain management system and the associated business processes have shown some significant benefits to AWG:

• Better and tighter control of inventory while improving customer service levels
• Ability to define and manage strategic service levels
• Ability to set and apply consistent management buying policies
• Improve buyer productivity across the enterprise
• Create flexible, user-defined costing and pricing models
• Allow for the optimal use of labor and resources, including better pick planning
• Improved invoice accuracy
• Better transportation planning
• Improved overall ROI
• Increased visibility to enterprise data

AWG now efficiently manages and controls the flow of inventory throughout their supply chain: from procurement operations through invoicing the customer.  This reduces their associated supply chain costs, and through better inventory management increases their customer satisfaction and loyalty.  Overall, AWG anticipates that Risetime’s supply chain management solution will generating new revenue and growth opportunities and provide AWG with a signficant advantage over its competitors.

To find out how Risetime can bring exceptional results like these to your business, contact us.