Kuldiga traditions powered by Telema EDI

Kuldīga bakery, Telema customer since 2012 and RIMI and Maxima supplier, prefers traditional baking methods and local produce. Their supply chain processes, however, are supported by the state-of-the-art EDI technology. 

Kuldīgas maizes ceptuve has a long history – the bakery was founded in a picturesque Latvian town Kuldīga almost 55 years ago. At present, the bakery employs nearly 100 people in several shifts, producing around 200 tons of products monthly. The produce is sold both in company shops and in grocery stores all over Latvia. The greatest demand for the Kuldīga bakery products is in the Rimi and Maxima retail chains.

Company’s success and growth is largely based on the traditions. When procuring raw materials, local is always preferred. Traditional cooking methods have allowed the products of Kuldīga bakery to maintain a homogeneous quality and taste over time.

However, according to the company’s manager Lauris Stolbovs, competition in the market is tough:

“It is not only important to have a good, traditional product people want to eat, but also not to miss out on current technologies taking the products to the market.”

After Kuldīga bakery started cooperating with large retail chains, they immediately recognized the need to automate their processes. Functionality of their ERP system Horizon could be extended by starting to use electronic data interchange (EDI)  with partners.  Kuldīga bakery evaluated their options and chose to cooperate with Telema – the most experienced EDI operator in Baltics.

Kuldīga bakery’s EDI document transfer was fully integrated into the existing ERP via Telema EDI module in Horizon. Retailers’ e-orders are now received directly in Horizon and can be processed immediately, avoiding manual data entry and copying. E-documents have brought greater accuracy to the company’s processes and helped to reduce misunderstandings and errors in the delivery document flow.

Kuldīga bakery receives through the Telema system and processes hundreds of EDI orders every day. Their cooperation with large retail chains has been streamlined to perfection, and Telema EDI module with Horizon ERP makes document exchange with Rimi and Maxima networks a breeze. Says company’s Chief Accountant Jana Dembovska:

“We have absolutely no problems with Telema – the service is smooth and convenient. The key benefit, of course, is that orders are automatically received in the Horizon ERP and not a minute of our time is wasted writing them down by hand and then rewriting them into the system. ”

The 2020 pandemic has not changed the pace of work at Kuldīga bakery either – despite the times people will always eat bread, and many remain loyal to their preferred brand. Also the new generation grows up already familiar with Kuldīgas bread, because the company’s products are a staple at many schools and kindergartens throughout Latvia.

“We accept orders for the next day deliveries both as e-orders and via phone. Processing of EDI orders is significantly faster and supports the Just-in-Time principle of our production. Every day we bake exactly the amount of produce our customers need the next day,”  points out Lauris Stolbovs.

When new shops are opened, Kuldīga bakery encourages them to start immediately with EDI, as this is the most efficient way to exchange orders, despatch advices and invoices.