Diamond Foods, Inc. is the leading brand of culinary and in-the-shell nuts in the United States. Based in California, it is also the top exporter of walnuts to Europe and the Pacific Rim.
Because Diamond Foods’ products are seasonal, perishable, and time critical, the company had no time for setbacks. However, its paper-based processes made it difficult to meet seasonal demand, often causing delayed information and the likelihood of errors.
To improve accuracy and gain visibility into its operations, Diamond needed to automate a critical aspect of its supply chain—data collection on the production floor and in the warehouse.
Diamond turned to Cloud Inventory for a digital supply chain solution. One of the main reasons Diamond chose Cloud Inventory was its ability to integrate with Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne, Finished Goods Tracking, and Diamond’s legacy systems.
Cloud Inventory solutions allowed Diamond to capture real-time data during production and on its warehouse floors, enabling management to make timely decisions and lower costs.
Cloud Inventory guided Diamond’s employees through each transaction’s decision process by limiting the options available on the mobile devices. This streamlining of processes prevented mistakes and helped employees do their jobs more efficiently.
“Single transactions in Cloud Inventory affect multiple systems, which has helped us make decisions regarding manufacturing, sales, costs, and inventory,” said Ed Hickenbottom.
Immediate Visibility
Diamond’s production supervisors can now schedule requirements according to all open order-delivery dates. As employees move products on the floor, they scan barcodes that have information instantly available—what was produced, when it was produced, what line it came from, and where it is stored.
“The more information our supervisors have at their fingertips, the better we can plan production,” said David Baffoni, Director of Manufacturing at Diamond Foods.
Faster, More Accurate Product Movement
Picking, putaway, and other product movements are much faster with Cloud Inventory.
From early September until the end of October, a phenomenal amount of product moves through the company’s facility. Cloud Inventory helps Diamond keep products moving, track what has already been produced, plan for shift and packaging changeovers to fulfill orders, and meet tight shipping timelines.
Freedom to Adapt as Needs Change
Using Cloud Inventory’s rapid development environment, Diamond’s IT staff can easily adapt the Cloud Inventory mobile apps as operational needs change.
Empowered Employees
Diamond’s warehouse employees can now correct errors as soon as they occur.
“The power of Cloud Inventory is in letting people actually see feedback right away and take care of it themselves,” said EB VanOtterloo, Programming Manager at Diamond Foods.
Better Information Yields Better Decisions
Cloud Inventory gives Diamond the real-time data needed to track the actual costs of producing, moving, and selling products. This visibility helps the company make better decisions about what to sell and how to sell it.
“Our ability to see data as it happens has allowed us to make management decisions on the fly, which has lowered the cost of the Diamond facility,” said Hickenbottom.
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