When a small group of fresh produce industry professionals came together to launch Packaged Produce Solutions in 2019, they all agreed that in order for the business to succeed in both the short and long term, they needed to invest in a solid tech stack to serve as an operational foundation.
As a food processor specializing in the packaging of fresh vegetables, the San Antonio, Texas-based company needed a solution that was not only designed with the unique challenges of the sector in mind, but also cloud-based and optimized to deliver consistent results through highly structured workflows.
After a period of research and due diligence to vet various options, the leadership team selected Aptean Food & Beverage ERP as the platform to implement. Currently, the organization is getting great use out of many of the software’s features, including the warehouse management, shop floor execution and scheduling functionalities.
Terrie Molina, director of technology and improvement at Packaged Produce Solutions, spoke with Aptean team members to discuss the digital transformation journey from beginning to present, covering each of the phases in the process and discussing the major benefits that the business has been able to attain thus far.
Conducting Research To Find the Ideal ERP
Given that the initial leadership team recognized the value of purpose-built food and beverage software, they began their discovery process to assess the various alternatives on the market soon after the company was established. They found no shortage of options available, but Aptean’s solution stood apart thanks to its industry-specific features.
“Those of us that started the company, we all came from a produce background and we had an idea of what we wanted going in,” Molina said. “We looked at several different companies with various ERPs and the one that really sat well with us was Aptean Food & Beverage ERP.”
“It gave us a lot of the capabilities and functionality that we needed,” she concluded.
That same group of decision-makers also had ambitious goals for Packaged Produce Solutions and its future as a business, so scalability was another factor that weighed into their evaluations. Again, Aptean’s system offered what they needed on that front, with the option to first enable a basic set of tools and later add more functionalities—and users—to the platform.
“That was another driving factor—wanting to have something that was robust enough to get us off the ground and carry us through the first couple years,” said Molina. “And now that we’ve grown so rapidly, we’re really seeing how good of a choice it was.”
“As a business, we have confidence that we have the pieces that we need in place and the system touches just about everything we do.”
Implementing the Solution in a Short Timeframe
Packaged Produce Solutions chose an aggressive, condensed timeline for implementation of Aptean Food & Beverage ERP, leveraging the agility of a relatively small company and the expertise of a trusted business software provider. With support from Aptean’s dedicated professionals, the process progressed on-track and reached go-live with minimal issues.
“From start to finish, it took about three months—that was the timetable we set,” Molina said. “Aptean’s implementation specialists were very helpful. Everyone was very willing to answer any questions we had, and if we needed some sort of solution, they’d come back the next day with a recommendation.”
She also pointed out how the open line of contact between the two parties helped keep the project moving in the right direction. Aptean and Packaged Produce Solutions very much worked together as partners, which helped make deployment a manageable and organized undertaking.
“So for me, it was a very positive experience,” said Molina. “There was a lot of feedback, and I like that. Everyone was sure to follow up and make sure that we were comfortable with the progress.”
Working Together With Aptean’s Customer Success Teams
The foundational pillars of the relationship between provider and customer—collaboration and communication—have remained the same and grown even stronger since the system was put in place. Packaged Produce Solutions’ staff know that the highly qualified specialists at Aptean are just a call or email away and they get fast responses and informed answers in return.
“Everyone at Aptean has been very helpful. We’re three years post-implementation now, so we’re really comfortable contacting the support team if we need to,” Molina said. “Any time we have a question, we just submit a ticket and within a couple days, we have a resolution.”
And for those inquiries that require thinking outside of the box and exploring a few different avenues, Aptean’s experts are willing to go the extra mile and track down the best information and recommendations. This reliable level of service for a mission-critical solution has helped keep Packaged Produce Solutions in full gear.
“Anything the support team doesn’t know, they come back and keep us updated on the timeframe and whether or not we’ll need a customization or additional training,” said Molina. “The communication is clear and it’s been a good experience.”
