Green Team Group is the world's largest Christmas tree producer and sells Christmas trees to customers in 20 different European countries every year. In 2019, they went live with IFS Applications, helping to ensure that Danes, and many other Europeans, can dance around the Christmas tree. IFS Applications keeps track of the entire process: From tablets in the field, to labelling pallets, loading trucks and the classic ERP system with sales, invoicing etc. across several countries. The integration between tablets and IFS Applications allows salespeople sitting in the office to see which trees are being harvested, without requiring tablets in the field to have an uninterrupted connection to the network. This helps create a better decision-making basis for the company, because the amount of data that exists is transparent and up-to-date.
The biggest challenge for Green Team Group is the highly seasonal logistics task, as Christmas trees are sold at the end of the year, when almost all revenue must be earned in a few weeks, making the season short and very hectic. This means that everything has to be planned down to the smallest detail beforehand, which requires a solid planning tool as there are few people to handle the large logistical task. This has meant that automation of processes has been very important for the company, so IFS Applications should not only support the financial part, but rather help in all Green Team Group's processes.
Most of the time, however, it's about being farmers and looking after the trees for Green Team Group so that everything is ready for the start of the season. When the season starts, the number of employees increases from just over 20 people to more than 500, transporting up to 200 loads of Christmas trees a day from the main production sites in Denmark, Poland and Scotland. Precision is paramount as customers have high demands on service and delivery, which is effectively supported by IFS, which helps to create transparency in the green production company, where there is a strong focus on creating good and efficient logistics. Sune Graae Norsker, CEO says: ”It requires a high degree of organisation and precision.” He emphasises the importance of having all tools ready for use and being able to use them to create accuracy in all the company's processes.
Planning and scheduling
The many planning tools that IFS Applications contains have been especially important to Green Team Group, as they have helped ensure that the right trees are harvested, at the right time and in the right number, and no more or less. The use of IFS Applications has thus ensured high delivery reliability, on-time delivery and no surplus trees at Christmas, which is every Christmas tree seller's dream. Being able to deliver on time in particular has been a KPI that has been a major focus. Green Team Group has managed to achieve a 99 per cent on-time delivery rate for Christmas 2020, whereas previously the on-time delivery rate was just under 80. According to Sune Graae Norsker, CEO, the explanation can be found in the detailed planning Green Team Group now works with using IFS Applications.
In addition to getting the Christmas trees out on time, there is also a lot of invoicing work afterwards, which must be completed in a very short time, as the items must be closed before the end of the year. IFS Applications has also made it easier to keep up with invoicing and order confirmation due to the great transparency the system provides, which has created an overview for the company. Not least the possibility of automation has meant that Green Team Group last season was able to invoice everything before the end of the year without having to increase the number of employees, which has had a major impact on the company's performance.
Why IFS & Curit?
After a major reorganisation about three years ago at Green Team Group, it became clear that their existing ERP system could no longer optimally support their processes, which is why the need for an upgrade or a new system arose.
Sune Graae Norsker, CEO: ”We have gone through a total turn-around process where the company has been restructured and shaken up from top to bottom. We have changed the way we see our business, from production to logistics and sales to finance, while also changing our legal structure.”.
IFS Applications was chosen as the system was comprehensive enough for an ’out of the box’ solution that could solve most tasks and at the same time be continuously customised as the company evolved. In addition, Curit was seen as a very credible partner with whom they had previous experience and, not least, was competitive in terms of price.
Overall, the switch to IFS Applications and Curit has meant that Green Team Group has been able to improve their KPIs across the board, which has had a major impact on performance, customer satisfaction and future opportunities.