Case
Studies
The HANOR Company
Solution Overview
World-class pork producer manages ingredient costs and formulas across mills with Brill Formulation Multi-Blend™
The HANOR Family of Companies is an integrated company with pork operations in six states. In the last 5 years, their business has expanded from 4 feed mills, to its current level of 3 HANOR owned mills and 13 toll mills for feed production. They wanted more control and confidence across all the mills they were using and needed to ensure they were making profitable decisions in the fluctuating feed market. They are leveraging the Feed Mill Manager and Brill Formulation solutions, and Brill Formulation Multi-Blend™. Read the case study to learn more about how these solutions allow HANOR to save more than ten cents per ton to streamline their operations, make smart decisions on ingredient purchasing, optimize feed formulas, and gain predictability across their business.
Hytek Ltd.
Solution Overview
Manitoba pork producer implements the Brill Formulation™ solution to support multiple feed mills and respond quickly to ingredient price changes.
Hytek's existing ration system was not meeting their growth, so they needed to find a way to manage a large number of rations simultaneously. In addition, Hytek's expansion included the need to formulate rations and allocate ingredients across multiple mills and extend pricing capability to other locations. They needed to integrate data across their business to reduce errors and get visibility to information across the business to make decisions. Hytek, Ltd. implemented the Brill Formulation™ and Brill Formulation Multi-blend™ solutions and saved $55,000 in costs; it paid for itself in 90 days. For seamless integration across their business, they use Feed Mill Manager™ and Microsoft Dynamics GP™ for their accounting.
Mercer Milling
Solution Overview
New York state premix feed mill uses the Feed Mill Manager™ solution to keep up with continuous annual growth without increasing staff, better inventory control, and compliance reporting.
Mercer Milling moved to their new location in Liverpool, NY and have been experiencing continuous growth each year since. With that growth, they needed to increase their efficiency with the existing staff. Their batching, formulation systems and current accounting did not provide strong enough data integration, they needed to minimize errors between those systems. Mercer Milling also needed to automate their pricing, get a handle on inventory management and ensure lot traceability. Mercer Milling implemented Feed Mill Manager to integrate their data and processes, manage inventory and traceability, along with the Advanced Costing and Advanced Pricing modules for complete control. They also implemented Microsoft Dynamics GP for their accounting, providing better management tools and ease of use for their staff.
JR Distributing, Inc.
Solution Overview
South Dakota livestock feed manufacturer sees better inventory control, fewer errors, and seamless integration with Feed Management Systems.
JR Distributing, Inc., also known as JR Feeds, is a locally owned regional livestock feed manufacturer located in Lake Norden, SD. JR Distributing, Inc. specializes in high quality, top-of-the-line nutrition products and rations. JR Distributing, Inc. sells complete feeds, concentrates, base mixes, micro base mixes, and premix. They also handle a complete line of feed ingredients. To meet the challenges in the livestock industry today, producers look to use a wide range of ingredients for their livestock operation. JR Distributing was dealing with unique inventory issues in feed manufacturing and sales; and as they grew, it became obvious they needed a better system that could also integrate with their accounting program. JR Distributing, Inc. implemented the entire suite of FMS solutions for seamless integration between feed formulation, accounting and the mill. Today, JR Distributing, Inc. uses Feed Mill Manager™, Microsoft Dynamics GP™; Brill Formulation™; Feed Ration Balancer™; and Feed Tags™; Microsoft Office and SQL 2000. The seamless integration between their feed rationing, accounting and feed mill provides JR Distributing with the following benefits: greater inventory control; accurate time-sensitive pricing; improved contract management for higher customer satisfaction; integration across the business increased efficiency; ensuring quality and safe feed.
NEW Feeds, LLC.
Solution Overview
Custom feed provider turns to Feed Management Systems to provide better integration, better tracking, and better service.
NEW Feeds, a subsidiary of NEW Cooperative, Inc. in Fort Dodge, Iowa operates three feed mills in central Iowa. They ran computerized ISO 9001-2000 certified mills that provide round the clock production of customized bulk rations, grind and mix and bagged feeds for swine, beef, poultry, and horses, producing 375,000 tons annually. With the old system no longer working for NEW Feeds, they searched for an integrated system to reduce errors, save time and provide traceability. NEW Feeds implemented Feed Mill Manager™ and Microsoft Dynamics™ GP to run multiple feed mill locations. Some of the benefits this winning solution now provides NEW Feeds with include: integration - mills and financial; fewer errors; faster orders; centralized invoicing; inventory traceability; better customer service and accurate recordkeeping to meet compliance regulations.
Land O Lakes' Feed
Solution Overview
Land O'Lakes links customers with suppliers, completing project in only seven months.
Known for its dairy products, Land O'Lakes, a food and agricultural cooperative listed in the Fortune 500, also sells feed to the pork industry. To increase its business with large pork producers, Land O'Lakes sought to create an integrated feed management system for these customers, linking them to suppliers affiliated with Land O'Lakes. With the help of Feed Management Systems, Land O'Lakes set up a solution based on Microsoft Business Solutions-Great Plains software in only seven months. Now, Land O'Lakes customers can get a consistent nutritional feed mix-which is critical to food safety-and track exactly what each pig eats throughout its life. The solution simplifies ordering and billing for producers, thereby lowering their costs, while helping Land O'Lakes increase its business.
Product Solution:
Brill Formulation, Brill Formulation Multi-Blend
Quote:
This Manitoba pork producer implemented the Brill Formulation solution to support multiple feed mills and respond quickly to ingredient price changes. Hytek has realized direct savings in both time and money from Brill Formulation software because of two factors: the magnitude and frequency of ingredient price changes and the amount of time it takes to implement ration changes.
"This process took a long time with our old system," explains Lynne Penner, Nutritionist at Hytek Ltd., "which meant we were less likely to do it unless the savings were large." The Brill Formulation Multi-Blend modules enable them to quickly test new pricing across each mill, regardless of ingredient amounts, and determine if and where to implement new ingredient pricing and reformulation. They save up to $20,000 a month depending on the impact of the pricing changes.
Overall, Hytek has found the Brill Formu
- Henry Van de Velde
Hytek LTD,
La Broquerie, MB 
Copyright 2008 Feed Management Systems, Inc.