New IT for commercial laundry paves way for 24/7 customer service

 

A commercial laundry which cleans workwear for companies throughout the East Midlands, serving the food and drink industry, is taking a major leap forward in customer service with the introduction of an innovative IT project.

Derbyshire-based Giltbrook Cleaners is able to bring in the new technology thanks to a support package from the Food and Drink iNet, worth nearly £5,500. The company will match this with its own funding, valuing the project at nearly £11,000.

The new IT will create a customer portal on the Giltbook company website, at http://www.giltbrookworkwear.co.uk/. This discreet area of the site will enable clients to log in and track their garments in real time.

Chris Jackson, CEO at the Ilkeston-based laundry, said the new customer relationship management system represented a huge leap in customer service.

“Many of our clients are in the food and drink sector, often accredited with the likes of BRC (British Retail Consortium) regulations, so they have to show due diligence in all areas, including that of cleaning their workforce’s garments,” he said. “Our new system means that at a moment’s notice they can check what stage any garment is at and gather all the necessary information.”

Mr Jackson said the customer portal would also be of use to those working out of hours. “For example, there may be a hygiene manager running a number of sites who is on a nightshift, who wants to track down and check up on the cleaning process. We are not here 24 hours a day but, thanks to the customer portal, the information will be.”

He added that the system would enable clients to set targets and, crucially, would show up any discrepancies. “As with many systems, it will be particularly good at showing anomalies. For example, if work garments haven’t been sent to us for cleaning and should have been, this information and evidence will be on hand.”

The new customer portal is currently being developed and is due to go live in February. Mr Jackson said the Food and Drink iNet award had made the project possible. “Without the financial award it would have been a far lesser project. Moreover, the support and advice we have had from the iNet has been absolutely crucial.”

Giltbrook Cleaners is a family-run business, which has been operating for more than 60 years and employs 45 people. Its clients include a number of companies from the East Midland Food and Drink Forum, who in turn supply big name food retailers, such as Tesco.

“We know this new customer portal is something our clients will welcome. All this information has always been available to them, but this way it will be there 24/7 in the format they require,” he added.

Andrew Butterwick, Food and Drink iNet director, said: “This IT project represents a big move forward in customer relations which I hope will make Giltbrook Cleaners an even more attractive proposition for potential new clients. As a company that has been running for more than 60 years, the firm recognises the importance of innovation which is what the Food and Drink iNet is all about.”

The iNet helps food and drink firms engage expertise from academia, research institutions and specialist business advice for innovation projects to develop new ideas, new products, new processes and to help companies grow.  50% of the equivalent cash value of the support must be contributed by the company.

Funded by East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Food and Drink iNet co-ordinates innovation support for businesses, universities and individuals working in the food and drink sector in the East Midlands. One of four regional iNets, it has developed an effective network to link academic and private sector expertise and knowledge with local food and drink business innovation needs.

The Food and Drink iNet also aims to build on the tradition of innovation in the food and drink industry in the region by helping to create opportunities to develop knowledge and skills, and to help research, develop and implement new products, markets, services and processes. It is managed by a consortium, led by the Food & Drink Forum and including Food Processing Faraday, Nottingham Trent University, the University of Lincoln, and the University of Nottingham. It is based at Southglade Food Park, Nottingham, with advisors covering the East Midlands region.

For more information visit www.eminnovation.org.uk/food

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Nottingham bread manufacturer Butt Foods launches new sub roll range after support from the Food and Drink iNet

A Nottingham bread manufacturer celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2010 has launched a new range of products after receiving support from the Food and Drink iNet.


Butt Foods Ltd received support worth £3,800 from the iNet to develop five flavours in its new Big Softy sub roll range. This also enabled the firm to develop interactive marketing materials to support the sale of the Big Softy sub rolls into the food service, sandwich manufacturer, and retail markets.

The range has been such a success that the firm is poised to launch Big Softy sub rolls in sliced versions at London contemporary food trade exhibition Lunch! 2010 at the end of September.

“The Big Softy sub rolls have been a great success from day one of their launch – our sales have shown 50% quarter on quarter growth,” said Butt Foods sales and marketing director David Williams.

“As bakery innovators, we are always looking to lead the way and be up there with any trend, and there is currently a huge demand from universities, colleges, hospitals, leisure centres, cafés and other similar outlets for sub rolls.

“The Food and Drink iNet support helped us to develop five flavours of the Big Softy and also gave us assistance with interactive marketing, which means we can add downloadable recipes and information to our website that will give our customers ideas about how they can use the sub rolls. The Food and Drink iNet has been a big help to us as we open the latest chapter in the life of Butt Foods, which is this year marking its 20th anniversary.”

Butt Foods, which is based in Nottingham, received £3,800 worth of Innovation, Advice and Guidance support from the iNet. The company matched this support with its own investment.

The iNet helps food and drink firms engage expertise from academia, research institutions and specialist business advice for innovation projects to develop new ideas, new products, new processes and to help companies grow. 50% of the equivalent cash value of the support must be contributed by the company.

Funded by East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Food and Drink iNet co-ordinates innovation support for businesses, universities and individuals working in the food and drink sector in the East Midlands. One of four iNets, it strives to develop an effective network to encourage the collaboration of academic expertise and knowledge, and local food and drink business innovation needs.

It aims to build on the tradition of innovation in the food and drink industry in the region by helping to create opportunities to develop knowledge and skills, and to help research, develop and implement new products, markets, services and processes.

The Food and Drink iNet is managed by a consortium, led by the Food & Drink Forum and including Food Processing Faraday, Nottingham Trent University, the University of Lincoln, and the University of Nottingham. It is based at Southglade Food Park, Nottingham, with advisors covering the East Midlands region.

For more information visit www.eminnovation.org.uk/food

Founded in 1990 by Mazhar Butt, Butt Foods Ltd produces a wide range of speciality bakery products for food service, retail and catering. It bakes up to 60 million products every year at its purpose-built manufacturing unit.

The business has brought a number of firsts to the table, including flat breads and bread bowls. Its latest innovation, the Big Softy, is available in plain white, plain brown, semolina topped white, honey and oats topped brown, and cheese and herb topped white. Baked in foot-long moulds or as 8 inch sub rolls, the range is available nationally through distributors.

New director joins Food and Drink iNet

Andrew Butterwick has been appointed the new director of the Food and Drink iNet as the East Midlands-wide project launches phase two of its support for the food and drink sector in the region.


Andrew has wide experience of both the food and drink industry, and business support.

He joins the Food and Drink iNet team from Business Link Yorkshire, where he was a business advisor. Before that he was managing director of ATB Associates Ltd, providing consultancy, advice and resource management, operational management, process mapping and technical training to the food sector.

“I am very pleased to be joining the Food and Drink iNet at such an exciting time when we are moving into phase two of the project, and I am relishing the opportunity to have such a key role in encouraging innovation in the food and drink sector in the East Midlands,” said Andrew.

“Along with the rest of the Food and Drink iNet team, I am looking forward to building on the success of the first two years of the project.”

Funded by the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Food and Drink iNet co-ordinates innovation support for businesses, universities and individuals working in the food and drink sector in the East Midlands. The iNet strives to develop an effective network to encourage the collaboration of academic expertise and knowledge, and local food and drink business innovation needs.

It aims to build on the tradition of innovation in the food and drink industry in the region by helping to create opportunities to develop knowledge and skills, and to help research, develop and implement new products, markets, services and processes.

During the initial two-year phase of the Food and Drink iNet, more than 300 businesses in the region were supported, Innovation Support Grants were given to 57 firms, and funding was provided for nine university collaboration projects. It also ran a successful series of events that attracted more than 650 delegates from 150 businesses to look at some of the key industry issues, as well as staging three best practice factory visits.

Now the second phase of the Food and Drink iNet has begun and there are plans to build on the work that’s already been achieved in supporting food and drink manufacturers in the East Midlands, as well as increase the number of advisors at the iNet.

“Phase one of the Food and Drink iNet was welcomed by food and drink manufacturers in the region as an original way of supporting and encouraging innovation in the sector in the East Midlands,” said Food and Drink iNet director Andrew Butterwick.

“We are very pleased to have started a second phase of the Food and Drink iNet, and intend to continue supporting food and drink firms in the region via a number of different channels. This will include a ‘collaborate to innovate’ programme that brings together academia with groups of individual businesses looking to resolve common problems through innovation.

“We also plan to run a project to bring the engineering and food and drink sectors together, by helping engineering firms to diversify into the food and drink sector and by helping the food and drink sector to find innovative solutions to improve their process and efficiency.”

Andrew, who is based in the Business Centre at Southglade Food Park, Gala Way, Nottingham, has gained his experience through a number of roles during his career, including factory manager and then operations director at ethnic foods company Westmill Foods and operations manager at Bowmans Milling.

The Food and Drink iNet is managed by a consortium, led by the Food & Drink Forum and including Food Processing Faraday, Nottingham Trent University, the University of Lincoln, and the University of Nottingham. It is based at Southglade Food Park, Nottingham, with advisors covering the East Midlands region.

For more information visit www.eminnovation.org.uk