Aspall

About Aspall.

Established in 1728, Aspall is one of the most well-known cyder brands. They combine a love of traditional cyder-making with a passion for innovation. Their apples are still pressed at the original Aspall Cyder House to produce the very finest, world-class cyders and cyder vinegars, which increasingly enjoy global acclaim, for quality and excellence.

Overview.

Aspall ran their production business on a series of very complex spreadsheets and had no centralised system. This meant that they were relying heavily on key personnel, having no manufacturing processes documented.

They took the decision to invest in an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, which would help to increase efficiencies and streamline their manufacturing process.

Having no internal procurement team, they lacked the experience in-house to be able to run such a complex and business-critical IT project.

An eXceeding team of procurement consultants was engaged to assist. We worked with the entire business and engaged with multiple stakeholders. We then mapped out all products, manufacturing and ‘delivery to retailer’ processes, in order to understand the requirements and business-critical needs of Aspall.

The solution.

eXceeding’s procurement consultants handled the entire procurement process. From documenting the specifications, to testing the market, writing and running the tender process. We shortlisted and selected suppliers and finally, negotiated and agreed the commercials and service level agreements (SLAs) with the chosen supplier.

1. The first stage was to review, map out and document all product, manufacturing and ‘delivery to retailer’ processes, in order to understand the requirements for the new ERP system.
2. Following the review, the specification was documented. eXceeding then took the requirements to market with an initial PQQ to test potential providers and ensure the required functionality existed within the marketplace. The PQQ provided a short-list of bidders capable of providing the required ERP system.
3. A detailed invitation to tender (ITT) was then developed which outlined in granular detail the requirements for the ERP system. All aspects of the ITT were handled by eXceeding’s procurement consultants including documentation, release, managing Q&A, and evaluating responses to assess the short-listed providers.
4. Once the responses had been assessed, eXceeding arranged and facilitated a presentation of the preferred bidders to establish cultural fit and negotiate their best and final offers. A provider was then selected and contract commercials and service delivery negotiations were undertaken and agreed.

The future.

Aspall now has a highly scalable ERP system that allows for business growth, whilst ensuring best practise processes and traceability is at the heart of all production and operations.

As they continue to have no in-house procurement team, Aspall have stated they are likely to utilise eXceeding’s consultants again for any future projects.