K & A Foods
Integrating their mobile sales, online store, inventory and accounting lets food wholesaler K & A Foods focus on their customer service.
- Customer service expectations drive the adoption of new technologies
- Flexibility to manage seasonal ordering trends, complex pricing and date-based promotions is crucial in food wholesale industry
- Mobile sales tool automatically adapts to varying internet availability in their regional area
The backbone of a modern integrated system
When your business philosophy is rooted in customer service, responding to changing customer expectations is essential for long-term success. By keeping up with advances in technology and the industry, K & A Foods continues to be a leading food wholesaler in New South Wales’ Riverina region.
Kevin and Anna Tengstrom founded K & A Foods in 1989. Shortly after Attaché was installed for their accounting and inventory. Through upgrades and add-ons over more than 25 years, Attaché has grown with K & A Foods and forms the backbone of their sophisticated business system. Managing Director Anna Tengstrom continues to sing its praises.
“Attaché as a general package, you can’t fault it.”
Attaché’s ability to handle high-volume complex inventory and easy integration with advanced merchandising technologies has allowed K & A Foods to concentrate on improving the business and maintaining excellent customer service.
Reliable inventory management
In an industry with high volumes and small margins, Attaché’s inventory management has made tracking large inventory a breeze.
“The inventory control is amazing, wonderful,” says Anna.
Along with high-volume products, Attaché also handles other complexities that are common in the food wholesale industry including seasonal trends, complex pricing and date-based supplier promotions. For example, the seasonal nature of many products requires purchase orders to be well judged, particularly when managing high volumes, and Attaché’s flexible and accurate costing means K & A Foods can make better-informed decisions.
With their inventory requirements taken care of, K & A Foods have focused on improving their business, achieving awards and industry certifications. The business was recognised for its service and innovation, winning Small Business of the Year at the Berrigan Shire Business and Environment Awards in 2014. K & A Foods is also fully accredited with HACCP – the highest standard in food certification.
Flexibility to adapt to changing needs
For Anna, ensuring the business keeps up with changes in food culture is essential.
“The way we do business has transformed over the years. We’re always adapting to changes in food culture,” she explains, “and people now expect more from you in regard to service.”
Attaché’s easy integration with advanced merchandising technologies, mobile tablets for field sales staff and an online store have helped the business transform to meet these changes.
Anna also praises the expertise of their Attaché consultant, Shepparton-based Notebook Accounts, who have helped guide these improvements.
“Philip Thomas at Notebook is a real asset.”
When K & A Foods first adopted field-based order processing, sales reps were required to stay within the 3G network. Since adopting Opmetrix, staff no longer need to be within the network all the time because the tablets sync with Attaché when staff re-enter the network range. This flexibility is essential when conducting business in regional areas that have unreliable network coverage.
The strong integration between Attaché and Opmetrix means that important information such as stock levels, special pricing and order history are available both in the field and in the office.
The Attaché Web Store (powered by WebNinja) provides a 24-hour online store allowing customers to place orders and browse products at their convenience. Data flows quickly between the web store and the Attaché system, improving internal processes which results in efficient customer service.
Today Kevin and Anna manage a business with sophisticated field-based sales that integrate with their advanced inventory and accounting system and is ideally suited to keep them at the forefront of the food distribution industry.
About K & A Foods
- K & A Foods is a leading regional food wholesaler founded in 1989
- Distribute products throughout northern Victoria and New South Wales’ Riverina region
- Attaché handles their complex inventory needs and provides easy integration with mobile sales tools and an online store
