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New Clients and Laws Move 65 Year Old Company into High Tech
Customer
Renfro Foods, Inc.
www.renfrofoods.com
Corporate Profile
Headquarters and Manufacturing
Fort Worth, TX
Type of Business
Food Manufacturer - Salsa, Relish and Sauces
Number of Locations: 1
Number of Employees: 27
Annual Revenue: $12m
Computer System
Accountmate and Tamlin's Manufacturing software. Local Windows Terminal Server 2003 environment. Remote access via VPN/RDP.
Users on System: 10
AccountMate Modules in Operation
AR, AP, SO, PR, SO, BR, PR, GL
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A 65-year-old company moves into high tech phase to grow their business, increase
market share, and comply with new food production standards.
The Challenge
Over the years, Renfro Foods, Inc. conducted its 65 year-old company by operating on a
combination of separate paper ledgers, QuickBooks invoices and Peachtree inventory systems.
None of these systems were linked. Their initial requirement for integrated applications was
compounded by the heightened need for an automated accounting system with great reporting
and real-time lot tracking capabilities in order to comply with new federal bio-terrorism laws.
In recent years, Renfro Foods moved into more sophisticated markets where their private-label
clients require 3rd party audits. These audits, combined with the new bio-terrorism laws, led to a
greater need for tracking individual ingredients. When dealing with food products, tracing the path
of ingredients to the exact lot and case numbers for safety in the end product was a high priority
requirement.
The Solution
After analyzing their operation, it was clear to Renfro Foods that they needed both AccountMate's
accounting software and Tamlin Software's Manufacturing Conductor to enable them to
implement a process that would meet the requirements of their private-label clients. The longtime
principals of the company were hesitant to move to that level but were reassured by Tamlin's
experienced staff that the changes would be more beneficial than painful.
By integrating the Accountmate system with Tamlin's Manufacturing Conductor (MC) shop floor
control software, Tamlin was able to turn the private-label demand into a selling feature of their
system and products. Now ingredients can be traced within two minutes with only one step on the
computer. That far exceeds the FDA requirements, and even exceeds the common industry
requirement of two to four hours.
The Results
Renfro has more detailed information available within seconds and great custom report
capabilities within one integrated system.
Renfro is now set to meet (and often times exceed) recent stringent compliance standards
requiring food manufacturers to provide complete cradle-to-grave tracking information and
absolute traceability of all of the people who worked on specific orders.
For example, this lot-tracking functionality allows Renfro to trace which specific orders were filled
using the contents from a particular box of spice. In addition to the detailed information on the
ingredients within a specific order, there is other relevant information captured relating to specific
ship dates, shipping addresses, quantities, etc.
This succinct tracking and reporting has enabled Renfro Foods to better service their customers,
brokers and vendors with more detailed, accurate and timely information. It has also improved
their positioning within the private-label marketplace and gained them recognition as a quality
provider of food products that customers can continue to consume with pleasure and confidence.
About Renfro Foods, Inc.
The original George Renfro Food Company had its beginnings in 1940 in the family garage north
of Fort Worth, Texas. It was there that they first began distributing packaged spices and pepper
sauces.
In 1972, shortly after incorporation under its current name, Renfro Foods, Inc., the family
purchased the recipes of Olé Foods, a Mexican-style hot sauce maker, and reworked the basic
ingredients into a richer and tastier salsa recipe. Mrs. Renfro's salsas gained popularity fast,
earning a reputation for quality flavor at a reasonable price. This quick surge in demand led to a
major facilities expansion that more than doubled the company's production operations.
Over the years, their gourmet product line became a favorite for salsa lovers and connoisseurs.
Forced to keep up with increased demand, Renfro Foods expanded its manufacturing plant again
in 1997, also adding peach, chipotle corn and roasted salsas to its list of intriguing salsa palates.
Today, Renfro Foods and its Mrs. Renfro's label continue to grow its business at a fast pace. Mrs.
Renfro's products, which now include a variety of 26 salsas, sauces and relishes, are available at
supermarkets, gourmet and gift shops and fruit and vegetable stands in 50 U.S. states, Canada,
Denmark, Mexico and the United Kingdom. For more information, contact www.renfrofoods.com.
About Tamlin Software
Tamlin Software Developers, Inc. is a systems integrator providing ERP and Shop Floor Control
solutions to small to mid-range manufacturers and distributors.
Tamlin takes a consultative approach to projects -- helping their customers identify and achieve
their business goals through effective use of information and technology. Tamlin stands apart
from the competition and wins business because they Journey toward Best Possible and continue
to find a "better way" to provide solutions to their customers' business problems.
For more information, contact www.tamlinsoftware.com.
About AccountMate
Since 1984, AccountMate Software Corporation has provided customers with powerful and
flexible accounting and business management software. AccountMate provides the most stable
and technologically innovative modifiable accounting solutions for the mid-market. The accounting
systems are sold by the module which enables customers to acquire the software they initially
need and add modules as their business needs increase. The availability of source code makes
this software highly modifiable so that it can be adapted to any changing business environment.
AccountMate accounting modules are available for Microsoft SQL, Microsoft MSDE and LAN.
These different versions enable a business to evolve from a single user system to a powerful and
sophisticated multi-user SQL database network. AccountMate's software can help manage global
operations with multi-currency capabilities and a built-in translation engine for multi-lingual
businesses. A wide variety of independently developed programs are also available to further
tailor AccountMate software to specific industries. AccountMate products are sold worldwide
through our authorized resellers.
For more information, contact www.accountmate.com.
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