Altura Coffee
Altura is a coffee roasting company that established in 1991. They were one of the few early adopters of coffee culture in NZ. From a one man start-up Altura now imports beans, undertakes contract roasting and supplies coffee and associated equipment to cafes all over New Zealand – as well as running its own café on Auckland’s North Shore. The company continues to innovate and extend its range of services.
The Challenge:
Altura had experienced significant growth and faced several challenges in their daily operations. One major hurdle was their manual order fulfillment process, which involved a rolling phone call cycle and physical cards to record customer information. This paper-based system was time-consuming and prone to errors. Additionally, stock allocation issues and poor tracking of free servicing and parts created further complications. With a projected 20% year-on-year growth, Altura recognized the need for a more efficient and accurate solution to support their expanding business.
“Accredo’s robust accounting, job costing and automation features give us everything we need to run the business.” Theresa Mumford, Financial Controller, Altura
The Solution:
To address their operational challenges, Altura had already upgraded their system from Profax to Accredo. However, it was their collaboration with Top Flight that propelled them forward. Together, they implemented various business process automations and fully utilized the capabilities of Accredo. Manual intervention was significantly reduced by streamlining customer direct debit uploads and implementing intelligent sales and order management. Customizations were made, including a user-friendly form for recording sales order details directly on the screen. All the information that was previously on physical cards was now transferred into Accredo, allowing for better visibility and communication tracking.
Once an order is placed, Accredo automatically adds the next call-back date to the customer record and sends the order to the warehouse. Accredo generates a packing slip, which is then printed and scanned into a third-party product for postage and transport label production. This seamless process improved efficiency and eliminated the need for manual data entry, ultimately saving time and reducing errors.
The Outcome:
“Working with Top Flight is great, because they understand the big picture. Every innovation we make has to make a positive impact on our bottom line. They don’t get too caught up in the technology, instead thinking about how this particular improvement will serve the company as a whole.”
The implementation of Accredo and collaboration with Top Flight yielded significant results for Altura. The streamlined process, facilitated by Accredo, saved the equivalent of one full-time staff member's workload each week. Accurate tracking of equipment and services had a positive impact on the quality of Altura's products, particularly grinder blades. The system's ability to alert the team when an important customer hadn't placed an order during the week allowed for proactive follow-up, strengthening customer relationships.
As an ongoing partnership, Altura aims to undertake one project per year to further enhance their business operations. With Accredo's Job Costing module, they now have better visibility into stock sent out on each service job, technician charges at customer sites, and the financial impact of each job. Custom reports provide detailed monthly performance insights, enabling Altura to identify purchasing patterns and pursue cross-selling opportunities.
Through their collaboration with Top Flight and the effective utilization of Accredo, Altura has achieved operational improvements, increased efficiency, and enhanced customer service, setting a strong foundation for continued growth and success.
www.alturacoffee.co.nz
