IsoPos POS helps Freddy Hirsch group 'bring home the bacon`

Southern Africa`s largest supplier of food ingredients, sausage casings, meat processing and other specialised equipment to the red meat and poultry sectors of the food industry, the Freddy Hirsch Group, has invested in a locally developed IsoPos point of sale (POS) software solution to streamline stock orders and receipts, branch sales processing and provide daily comparative reports for management.

Headquartered in Cape Town, but with 13 branches located in SA, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia, Freddy Hirsch Group runs an ERP system in SA that is online 24 hours a day and a Sage Accpac ERP 500 back office accounting program. The IsoPos point of sale software has been installed at the group`s export region offices in Bulawayo and Harare, Windhoek and Gaborone.

Tammy Fuller, systems administrator for Freddy Hirsch Group at the Cape Town head office said the IsoPos software sits directly on top of Accpac and integrates seamlessly into it. Data on sales, stock levels, orders and goods received is conveyed daily from IsoPos to a file transfer platform (FTP) which is accessed by the head office and downloaded into Accpac.

"We have found the IsoPos program, simple, easy to administer, extremely well-supported and highly efficient," said Fuller. "It is handling all of the stock-take requirements for the regions and the seamless integration into Accpac allows the quick countrywide generation of management reports using Cognos report writing software. The IsoPos software is a key factor in our capability to track and control stock."

The multi-currency capability of IsoPos allows the export branches to receive stock in rand which is then automatically converted by the program to reflect the local currency. Goods received vouchers (GRVs) are automatically generated in rand and in the applicable regional currency, Botswana pula, Zimbabwe dollars or Namibian dollars.

"A major bonus for us with the IsoPos software is its capability to very efficiently handle freight and clearing requirements from beginning to end. It accommodates border crossing charges, pallet costs, insurance, duty and other cost parameters and is able to calculate automatically the transport cost allocation for each product type within the overall consignment.

"So the software can automatically generate for us the landed cost per kilogram for every product, in the currency of the destination. The pre-determined sales mark-up is also automatically applied, giving branches the sale price. It will automatically give the cost for a 325kg bulk pack containing 100 packets as well as the price per individual packet. All of these parameters can also be applied when stocktaking, so keeping track of stock has become a far more accurate, easier and simpler process for us."

Freddy Hirsch Group runs its debtors out of the Cape Town headquarters and Fuller said IsoPos had made the process much easier to monitor on a daily basis. "The ability to produce through IsoPos and Accpac comparative reports on sales and stock is of great value to the overall business. A bonus is the fact that IsoPos is simple to use and easy to maintain from cashier level right up to top management.

"The program is well suited to our branch environments, where it has also simplified the stock ordering and goods received voucher process for management, saving time and costs through improved efficiency. Overall, IsoPos has proved to be an inexpensive but most effective solution to our particular needs."

Karl Wagner, IsoPos MD, said the design and structure of IsoPos software at the outset had focused on achieving a point of sale solution that could be quickly and simply fine-tuned to meet the specific needs of different businesses.

"In the case of Freddy Hirsch Group, the regional users were not equipped to cope with the demands of a full-blown ERP system. IsoPos has the scalability to cater for widespread branches yet is simple and easy for branch personnel at all levels to use.

"At the same time it provides head office management with key information upon which sound decisions can be made for the betterment of the business, so the need for senior management to travel to the branches becomes less imperative and the savings on travel costs can be significant."