NECS: entrée-An Intelligent ERP Management System

Chris Anatra, President

With technology advancements, companies today are on a constant lookout for a proven, user-friendly, and specialized ERP system to automate and manage the critical daily tasks. Many available software and hardware in the market are not designed for the complex needs of a specific industry, difficult-to-use, and expensive. Implementing new technologies to meet the ERP needs of food service distributors, NECS offers a comprehensive, easy-to-use, and cost-effective ERP software package. Headquartered in Branford, CT, NECS automates and manages all the critical daily tasks of a food service distributor. “Not only are we focused on keeping a food distributor profitable and running at peak efficiency, but we also ensure that all the latest requirements by the government, such as the Food Safety Modernization Act and Food Traceability are included and part of our ERP application so that our customer base always stays in compliance,” says Chris Anatra, President, NECS.

In the fast-paced food distribution world, often distributors fail to understand how to implement advanced technology and capabilities in their solutions. NECS provides on-site training and in-house training options, where they review key features and help their customers understand and implement new capabilities.

Over the years, the NECS ERP system evolved into a Windows application known as entrée. The software possesses industry-specific features like catch weight management, customer special pricing and standard orders, inventory lot control for food traceability, warehouse management, online order entry, and offers an iPad application for Distributor Sales Representatives (DSRs). Additionally, “our add-on software— the mobile platform called the Electronic Order Pad helps DSRs to get their jobs done effectively and efficiently and can run on a tablet computer. It includes everything from fast order entry to customer prospecting,” says Anatra.

Not only are we focused on keeping a food distributor profitable and running at peak efficiency, but we also ensure that the food traceability requirements are met

Furthermore, entrée includes accounting functionality to make customer’s job easier, with features like sales commission management, Accounts Payable (AP), General Ledger (GL), Accounts Receivable (AR) management, and an excellent order entry module for inside sales. “The entrée system also includes dashboards with drill downs providing new visual insights into their complex data and customer trends,” notes Anatra.

In one instance, Ideal Meat J&L Inc, an Indiana-based wholesale food distributor wanted to automate their warehouse and picking processes for correctly recording scanned barcode data from customer invoice line items so that the catch weights are within specific tolerances of the order quantity and match the vendor provided weights. Using entrée enabled Ideal Meat employees to scan any barcode label in real-time so that customers are correctly invoiced based on the actual weight. It enhanced speed and accuracy as receiving, shipping, and physical inventory processes were automated with handheld scanners. It also allowed them to see occurrences where the vendor was providing inaccurate weights and over billing Ideal Meats. The savings provided by catching these vendor errors provided Ideal Meats with a payback within just months.

NECS was awarded for the 6th year in a row, the prestigious “Food Logistics Top 100 Software and Technology Provider” award in December of 2015. Then on March 28, 2016, NECS, Inc. company President Chris Anatra was awarded the 2016 “Food Logistics Champions: Rock Stars of the Supply Chain” award. This award recognizes influential individuals and organizations in the food/beverage industry whose achievements, hard work, and vision have shaped and continue to attain milestones in safety, efficiency, productivity, and innovation throughout the global food supply chain.