Cross-site collaboration provides more efficiency

Agristo’s Technical Service department opts for methodical maintenance

An annual yield of about 700,000 tons of deep-frozen potato products, divided over four sites, demands an intensive maintenance of machinery. In this case, a standardised work environment is no superfluous luxury. The biggest challenge for the transition from reactive to methodical? Getting the whole organisation to go along. “You know that there will be a moment of chaos.” Agristo got help from itsme with this.
You will not easily see the name Agristo on a pack of frozen chips or potato croquettes; the company, that was launched in Harelbeke, Belgium, in 1986, is mainly active in the private label sector, with a range of customers all around the world. Meanwhile, they also have a branch in Nazareth, Wielsbeke and in Tilburg, the Netherlands. “We have evolved from a large independent company into a small multinational”, says Steven Volckaert, who, as group maintenance manager, is responsible for the technical services in all the branches. He continues: “This requires a different mindset and mentality. Previously, there was no centralised working method. Until 2017 we also had no central stock management.”

Ultimo brings standardisation​​​​​​​

The introduction of the EAM (Enterprise Asset Management) system Ultimo meant a first step in the direction of standardisation. It simplifies the reporting of malfunctions and the making of maintenance requests to the Technical Service department and ensures a uniform working method. Next, it was time to implement a central stock management system for all four branches. Steven explains that a form of collaboration with itsme Breemes already existed. “It is difficult to hire technical personnel. And our core business really, is producing chips and croquettes. We don’t have time to find out which new sensors are the best or to sit at the table with a new supplier every week. itsme introduces that electrotechnical knowhow into our organisation, saving us time.” Because the partnership with itsme Breemes as preferred supplier went smoothly, they were also involved in the implementation of a product management system.

“itsme introduces that electrotechnical knowhow into our organisation, saving us time”

For this purpose, itsme supplied the data for all electrotechnical products. Alexander Brinkman, international key account manager at itsme, explains that this exchange of information was based on mutual trust: “As a supplier you partly adopt a vulnerable attitude. But as companies we both strive for efficiency. If the final outcome is sharing product data, then we are happy to collaborate in that, being confidant that it contributes to our long-term relationship.” Kurt Colin, country manager Belgium at itsme adds: “We are both family-run businesses with horizontal organisational structures. Therefore, we can switch quickly and promptly. Our visions, especially that continuous search for more efficiency, fit perfectly together and that makes talking easy.”

The Ultimo project, however, is in the first place a project that requires support from within the whole organisation. For, Steven says: “Within the chaos of the old situation, our technicians had their own system to find parts. If you move everything to a more structured environment, these same technicians lose their footing for a while. For itsme it was therefore a big challenge to convince everyone. With everything we do at Agristo, our first thoughts are with the technician on the work floor or the operator working with the machines. We want to make it as easy as possible for them by ensuring that they have the right components. They are our backbone.” 

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Rolling up your sleeves together

But how do you get commitment from within the whole organisation if every branch is used to doing their own thing? According to Steven, communication and visibility are the key words. His team is present in every branch on a weekly basis to listen to what is going on in the workplace. itsme played an important role in this as well, by assisting in the inventory of materials and in arranging the racks. “Our people saw that itsme themselves rolled up their sleeves and didn’t just make phone calls and deliver data. This, too, was important in order to bring about change in our company culture”, says Steven.
Peter Nelemans, account manager at itsme and responsible for Agristo Tilburg: “We are the extension of our customer. I can’t count the hours we spent in the warehouse. It is incredibly cool that we took it up together.” 

“There are fewer rush orders now”

Meanwhile, 22,000 out of 25,000 products have been entered into Ultimo. “There are already fewer rush orders. Now, we first turn to the system to see if a component is in stock in one of the other branches. That could save us 250 euros in extra costs just like that. And we can now plan our maintenance better and can relate the costs to the machines. We really went from a reactive situation to methodical maintenance. If everything goes well, then perhaps the next step is predictive maintenance”, says Steven.

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