IT system “improves logistics and minimises errors” for fish firm

An IT solution from CSB-System has improved logistics and minimised errors for a Germany-based fish processor, the company has said.

Norfisk handles sales and logistics for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic with some 40,000 pallets annually. It is a brand of Suempol, a salmon smokery, based in Poland.

CSB-System’s solution is said to be providing full traceability, as well as ensuring compliance with EU food information regulations. It covers the entire operation from goods and stock receiving through packaging and labelling to final shipping, including invoice management and evaluation, the company claims.

As part of Suempol’s own IT system, all product details are recorded and linked to a lot number, which is subsequently visible on the packaging as a barcode.

At Norfisk’s cold storage warehouse in Wismar, the use of scanners for picking has meant that errors during customer-specific collection of items are now “virtually zero”, according to CSB-System. The company said that incidents of loading goods with an incorrect sell-by date were also reduced to virtually zero, while electronic delivery notes indicate if anything is missing.

The system also supports a differentiated purchasing strategy, with sales statistics provided for items, periods, customers, and optionally for a specific segment or product range. CSB claims this has enabled Norfisk to carry out more accurate planning and forecasting.

Günter Rees, Norfisk sales manager, explained, “In the past, we had a product buffer of 30 to 40%. These were the goods that we had to have on stock. Now, we have reduced the buffer to 5%. Thanks to CSB-System, 90% of the products are just-in-time goods that we produced no more than 24 hours ago.”

Norfisk’s IT system is also connected to the IT systems of its retail customers via interface convertors. This makes information such as incoming orders, outgoing invoices, delivery and goods received notifications easily accessible, simplifying workflow, CSB-System said. Delivery data is supplied to the logistics company the day before, and incoming goods inspections at the customer’s base is also carried out electronically by scanners.