CASE STUDY
How Village Gourmet Transformed Their ERP into a Cognitive Tool for Smarter Decision-Making
Village Gourmet brings together and invests in specialty producers of fine meat and snacking options to help America eat better. With a dedication to quality, Village Gourmet supports its specialty food brands with the resources they need to grow operations and bring their products to consumers across the country. When Village Gourmet found themselves struggling to manage a complex supply chain using a basic ERP system, hindering strategic decision-making and causing stockout risks, they turned to Kavida for help.
Industry
Food
Manufacturer size
201 - 500
Location
New York, NY
Website
The Challenges
Village Gourmet faced significant challenges due to their ERP’s limited and siloed capabilities. With a fragmented system and no cross-referencing of data streams, the team struggled to reduce their risk of stockouts.
- Inability to Consolidate Multiple Data Streams for Smarter Decisions
Their ERP system operated in isolation, preventing any cross-referencing between key data streams like demand forecasts, inventory levels, and supplier lead times. Extracting data was costly and time-consuming, often requiring vendor support. - Managing 1000s of SKUs with an Outdated ERP
Managing 1000s of raw material items—each with 5-10 SKUs and high variability in lead times and shelf lives—was challenging without advanced planning capabilities. Without a system to consolidate data from multiple sources, predicting run-outs and placing accurate orders was nearly impossible. - Unnecessarily Manual & Time-Consuming Workflows
Poor visibility on what materials were currently in stock, what was incoming, and the status of open purchase orders, often resulted in delayed decision-making. This increased the likelihood of stockouts, affected production schedules and the ability to meet consumer demand. - Managing Multiple Business Units Through a Single ERP System
Village Gourmet’s operations spanned multiple brands, including 3 Little Pigs, Longhini, Uncle Charley’s, Esposito’s and Fabrique Delices, each managed through a single ERP system, which increased operational complexity. The limitations of their ERP meant they struggled to manage inventory, forecasts, and procurement efficiently across all business units.
“More strategic projects like optimising stagnant inventory took a long time because we had to spend a lot of time extracting and analysing data from our ERP. With Kavida, we can query the ERP using natural language to get instant, analysed ERP data and recommendations.”
Mark Fawcett
Business Intelligence Manager
“More strategic projects like optimising stagnant inventory took a long time because we had to spend a lot of time extracting and analysing data from our ERP. With Kavida, we can query the ERP using natural language to get instant, analysed ERP data and recommendations.”
Mark Fawcett
Business Intelligence Manager
Solution
Village Gourmet added an intelligence layer on top of their ERP system, creating a cognitive tool that helped them overcome the limitations of a siloed ERP, enabling them to run powerful queries and automations, supporting smarter and faster decision-making.
- Adding an Intelligence Layer to Seamlessly Query ERP Data
With the intelligence layer added to their ERP, Village Gourmet now seamlessly queries data across their supply chain in real time. Team members no longer rely on manual data extraction or vendor assistance. Instead, they ask simple questions like, “When will we receive Product A?” or “Do we have enough stock to fulfill this work order?” and get instant answers. This ability to cross-reference data on inventory, purchase orders, and supplier lead times means that their team can now make informed decisions faster across all of their business units. - Reduction of $1.9M in Stagnant Inventory with Improved Visibility Across Multiple Business Units
With improved visibility across their entire supply chain, Village Gourmet was able to reduce $1.9M in stagnant inventory. They now have the ability to track unused stock, identify items sitting idle in the warehouse, and align them with current demand for finished goods. With detailed reports that show dollar values and aging details, the team can repurpose stagnant inventory and free up capital, improving cash flow and operational efficiency. - Strategic Automations for New Order Reports
With strategic automations running on top of their cognitive ERP, Village Gourmet now receives automated stockout alerts and intelligent order recommendations based on data from forecasts, supplier lead times, and inventory levels. These automations allow the team to take proactive steps, ensuring they place orders at the right time, with the right suppliers, and in the correct quantities.
High value cognitive ERP use cases
Sales Forecast Attainment
Village Gourmet can now easily identify finished goods with high usage but low forecasts, a key issue that often led to stockouts. By running risk analyses and projecting future demand, they receive critical alerts and order recommendations, reducing the risk of run-outs.
Reduction of Stagnant Inventory
Village Gourmet successfully reduced $1.9 million in stagnant inventory. With smarter new ordering policies and by identifying underutilized stock and aligning it with production needs, they repurposed idle materials, reducing waste, optimizing storage, and improving overall inventory turnover.
Spending Variance due to Vendor Price Changes
Village Gourmet now monitors spending variances more effectively by tracking vendor price changes. This allows their team to renegotiate terms and prevent unnecessary overspending. With detailed variance reports, they can quickly address over/under expenditures and make more informed financial decisions.
