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HOS has replaced eight core operating systems and is developed and supported inhouse, reducing costs and allowing greater flexibility. Chief Executive Officer Thomas Hunt expects the group to become“ the first wholesaler in the UK to be fully end-toend scanning”, a milestone he tells us will benefit customers. According to Thomas, the motivation behind this upgrade was independence.“ We wanted to build our own systems so that we weren’ t reliant on third parties,” he explains.“ Many of our previous platforms had been in place for more than two decades, and we had the opportunity to develop something bespoke for Hunt’ s Food Group, embrace modern technology, and offer a better platform to our customers.”
The new system offers stronger imagery, richer back-of-house data and analytics, and the flexibility to introduce loyalty points, multi-buy offers, and targeted promotions.
Customers who order through EDI via tills can now connect directly with Hunt’ s systems, while others can place orders via WhatsApp.
Remarkably, online and app ordering has increased from 50 percent to 85 percent since the changeover.“ That’ s evidence the systems have improved significantly,” states Thomas.“ We’ re convincing people to move across and they’ re happy using the app because it works so well. We soon expect the figure to reach 90 percent.”
The shift is also changing how colleagues spend their time. Rather than keying in orders, sales and customer service teams can concentrate on relationships and range development.“ It’ s far more exciting for our colleagues and it’ s better for us as a business, if the team build relationships with customers, look to upsell more products, and talk about our new ranges,” reflects Thomas. The group is also incorporating AI to absorb routine
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