Atlas Message eXchange –
an essential ingredient for SAP
For more than 120 years, the Roberts family has
been producing some of the UK’s finest bakery
products from the heart of rural Cheshire.
Established in the market town of Northwich in 1887,
Frank Roberts and Sons is now a thriving international
business, with two million of the finest loaves, rolls and
morning goods baked each week for retail and catering
customers throughout the UK, Europe and beyond.
While Roberts’ richly-deserved reputation for quality
remains firmly in tact, the bread business has come a
long way since the heady days of 1941 when, after
decades of steady growth, there were 26 employees with
six vans supplying over 60 shops in mid-Cheshire!
Still run by the Roberts family, today’s 24/7 operation is a
masterpiece of production planning and logistics in order
to supply the major supermarket groups such as Tesco
and Sainsbury, bulk sandwich makers and a wide range of
other smaller groups and independents too.
Each stage of the production process has to be planned
with military precision to ensure that products are delivered in prime condition.
In common with many businesses producing perishable
food, electronic data interchange (EDI) is a vital
management tool for Roberts, driving round-the-clock
operations, reducing costs and securing efficiencies.
Following a review of its EDI supplier in 2008, Roberts
appointed Atlas Products International, selecting the SAP
version of its Atlas Message eXchange set of products to
integrate with its existing SAP back office accounting
system, replacing outdated and unreliable dial up
technology.
Fast, secure, efficient
Atlas products provide fast, secure, efficient and cost
effective EDI systems that makes great business sense for
buyers and suppliers alike.
Roberts selected additional features to automate the
flow of orders, invoices and a variety of other file types,
allowing them to react instantly to the constantly
evolving needs of their customers and consumers.
Said Ian Dando, IT Manager at Roberts:
“We have been very pleased with Atlas so far. With
many business critical files being transferred each
day, we need total reliability from our EDI software
and that’s just what we have had.“And for additional peace of mind we added Atlas’s
24/7 Gold Support package, ensuring an instant
response to any technical problems that may occur
in the electronic communications with our 24 trading
partners.
“Although the quality of the software itself and the
associated support systems are of primary
importance, relationships with the people behind the
software are also significant as we need to have
confidence that our suppliers are with us all the way.
Atlas Products International was launched in 1992
and swiftly established an international reputation as
innovative and forward-thinking developers of EDI.
Said Managing Director Allan Gray:
“Major retailers and their suppliers, especially those in
the food industry, understand that electronic trading
provides their organisations with tremendous
business benefits.
“The Atlas Message eXchange set of products has
proved to be a hugely successful, scaleable electronic
trading platform that can grow with any business.
“Roberts has taken full advantage of the wide range
of additional features to automate the flow of data
between themselves and their trading partners and
we look forward to supporting them and their
customers in the years to come.”
For more details about Atlas and its range of
electronic trading products and services call 01942
252000 or visit www.atlasproducts.com
So whatever sector you operate in, we’ve got something for
you.
Just give us a call on 01942 252000. |
