With over a century of experience in the Toronto, Canada, market, Bamford Produce is not new to the produce industry. Now with its fourth generation at the reins, the company continues to thrive, servicing wholesalers, retailers and foodservice distributors. So, when it came time to look for a new software system to accommodate its growing and multi-faceted business, it turned to Produce Pro Software, Woodridge, Ill.
“We heard about Produce Pro from several of our partners both in Canada and the United States, and everyone using the system was happy,” says Ben Lecavalier, president of Bamford Produce.
Bamford Produce and Freshline Foods, Oak Lawn, Ill., evaluated a handful of software providers.
“What sets Produce Pro apart from other software systems is they develop an all-in-one solution that is tailored to the produce industry. It is designed by individuals who have worked in the industry, and the software is built with operations in mind,” says Noel Brigido, vice president of Freshline Foods. “Their system contained all the necessary modules [including processing], so we could operate other aspects of our business without the need of using multiple third parties.”
The team describes the system as being “fast” and “accurate” while maintaining ease of use.
“We now have better visibility into our true operating costs because of this,” says Brigido.
“The information is quite accurate, and we see a huge value in this. Adoption throughout our companies has been strong, as more of our staff is now actively using the system. When the information is more accurate and results can be seen, people tend to trust it more,” adds Lecavalier.
The success can also be attributed to the quality of Produce Pro’s implementation team.
“They were impressive; being proactive, informative and even taught us best practices,” says Brigido.
“Throughout the implementation process, our team assisted in enhancing inventory tracking processes to allow for full visibility and tracking amongst their different companies. We tailored our efforts based on their needs to ensure successful transition and adoption,” says Len Moskowitz, implementation manager at Produce Pro Software.
Bamford Produce and Freshline Foods also have plans to implement Produce Pro’s warehouse management system, food safety app, QC app and driver solution in the upcoming months.
“Switching to Produce Pro Software has been a breath of fresh air,” says Lecavalier. “We look forward to continuing the optimization of our operation with these future enhancements.”
