Wyevale Nurseries has installed a new bespoke enterprise resource planning system.

Following a six-month trial, the system is now fully operational and will cover all aspects of the business, including production, sales, transport, accounting and HR.

The system is designed to be secure, stable and future proof, allowing the business to innovate and grow in line with its customers, suppliers and economic and ecological challenges.

“By having one central repository across the business, information is updated and displayed in real time meaning all operatives have access to the full picture and can work more effectively,” said MD Andy Johnson (pictured).

“Streamlining practical work processes to mirror the passage of information through the system means we are better able to plan and are seeing more accuracy in data output and performance.”

The Microsoft Dynamics NAV software allows the nursery to capture business-critical information centrally at the earliest opportunity and analyse it to make informed decisions, maximising efficiency. Sales forecasting will drive production planning to manage and control outputs, reducing wastage.

 “We underwent a long and extensive collaboration period with our system supplier to customise the programming to fit the nature of horticulture, as opposed to standard manufacturing,” Johnson added.

 “The new system now means that we’re able to react immediately to changes in legislation, for example the introduction of the new plant passporting requirements. We can also plan regular delivery routing and give clear guidelines to customers guaranteeing delivery requirements are met and longer-term order requirements are planned well ahead.

“We can store and analyse all plants requested on quotations and this information can then be used for sales forecasting and production planning to ensure we are constantly in touch with market demands.

“The software allows us the ability to react quickly to changes in the marketplace and we can see real-time stock availability information. Our new simple quotation and order input templates also mean information can be processed and returned to customers much faster.”