Freshmax Australia

The Client

 

Freshmax Australia is a fully-owned subsidiary of Freshmax Pty Ltd. It was rebranded from Holman Fresh in 2014.

Freshmax pride themselves in supplying high quality fruit and vegetables to the Australian domestic market (including supermarket chains) and export markets such as Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East and North America. Freshmax produce includes apples, pears, cherries, plums, citrus, grapes, lettuce, nectarines and melons as well as a variety of herbs.

Pick2Market

 

When Freshmax acquired OzTaste in 2007, they were exposed to GV Custom Software’s Pick2Market software package. OzTaste were the first company to introduce Pick 2 Market and Freshmax made the decision to integrate Pick2Market into their current operations.

Andrew Maughan, National Business Manager for Freshmax Australia, worked closely with GV Custom Software on the implementation of Pick2Market and the subsequent software modifications that have taken place.

Andrew says one of the most immediate benefits of using Pick2Market is the visibility of the full supply chain through one single system, linking the paddock right through to the end retail customer.

While Freshmax do not use the full capacity of Pick2Market (they do not utilise the Accounts module), the benefits of having the marketing arm of the business linked to the packhouses (such as OzPac and Pickworth Orchards) has been very beneficial.

For example, available stock across a number of growers can be linked to orders coming in from customers. Therefore one order can be sent out to several different packers, or alternatively, to internal packers. Growers who pack their own fruit can be linked to orders via Freshmax’s Pick2Market system while the physical fruit does not actually come through Freshmax’s operations.

Andrew highlighted some of the experiences when dealing with GV Custom Software. He mentioned the small business nature of GVCS meant that getting in touch with people was easy and the response time to queries was quick and issues that arose were dealt with efficiently. Andrew says one of the greatest positives of the Pick 2 Market system is the high level of flexibility. Enhancements and customisation can be done to suit the individual business. Of course, the cost of customisation is higher than an off-the-shelf product, but the advantages of having a tailor-made system outweigh this. It helps lessen the need to settle for solutions that almost fit your business needs.

Andrew feels confident in recommending Pick2Market to other companies who would like greater flexibility and visibility across the full supply-chain.