Automation Hero October 2021: TerraSana

Wouter van der Zwaan is this October’s Automation Hero! Wouter recently implemented EazyStock at TerraSana Natuurvoeding BV, integrating it with their ERP system. He is already seeing the benefits of EazyStock’s automated inventory management calculations. That’s why he gets the accolade this month!

Name: Wouter van der Zwaan
Title: Finance and IT Manager
Company: TerraSana Natuurvoeding BV

Congratulations on winning the award, Wouter! Can you please tell us a little about yourself, where you work and what your role is?

I am Wouter van der Zwaan, Finance and IT Manager at TerraSana Natuurvoeding BV. TerraSana is a producer and trader of organic food. We purchase our raw materials from all over the world and we sell our products mainly within the EU.

What “red flags” made you realise that you needed to invest in an automation solution?

We purchase our raw materials from all over the world, so lead times are very variable and sometimes very long. TerraSana is growing fast and it was getting harder to manage our inventory. At the same time our customers were becoming more professional and their expectations in terms of our delivery performance were growing. We had to find a tool to manage our inventory to make sure we could achieve our delivery targets.

How has your work changed since you implemented EazyStock and how has automation with EazyStock helped TerraSana?

Previously we used Excel spreadsheets and static reports to manually plan our purchasing. This was very repetitive work. Since implementing EazyStock this has changed immensely. Everyday EazyStock provides recommended orders based on our (sales) forecast and current inventory levels. With EazyStock we can manage by exception using a variety of automated reports, such as the demand outliers report. The system also generates a ‘risk of run out’ report, so we are able to plan in advance and make decisions before we go out of stock.

What other tools do you use for automation?

We have an advanced WMS system which helps us to store our stock in a logical way. This system also helps us handle batch codes and best before dates (BBD). We also have a Product Information Management System which allows us to maintain, transform and share all our product information with clients and customers. We also use a BI system which is connected to multiple databases to centralise information and make it easily accessible so we can make data-driven decisions.

What do you think about the future of automation?

In every supply chain the requirements regarding your product or service are getting harder. Organisations collect more and more data. Software and hardware solutions to analyse this data are becoming more affordable and more focused for every type of organisation and type of process. It is important to keep investing in new systems to meet the demands of our customers.

Thank you Wouter and congratulations again!

If you would like to nominate a colleague, customer or partner for next month’s Automation Hero, please fill out the contact form here.