___________________________________________________________________________________________ Hunt’ s Food Group
administration with HOS running six AI capabilities to perform operational work rather than just answering questions. This allows colleagues to upskill into higher-value roles.
Thomas is forthcoming about the transition, revealing that it had its challenges.“ Being completely transparent, it was tough trying to maintain the same levels of service to our customers during the changeover itself,” he admits, recalling a difficult April and May.“ However, we’ re already seeing the benefit of what the new systems can offer.” Regarding the wider backdrop of the business, he notes that customers face the same pressures as the group, with labor and overhead costs rising alongside food inflation.“ It’ s a difficult time to be running a pub or a coffee shop,” he points out. A hot summer brought a feelgood factor and more UK day-tripping, but it also stretched supply: ice cream and certain varieties of soft drinks went on allocation, while issues at a third-party logistics depot complicated inbound deliveries.
▲ Forest Produce sales & marketing team
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