Transforming Operations at Southern Produce Packing & Sales with GrubAssist AI

Executive Summary: Modernizing for Market Leadership

Southern Produce Packing & Sales, a well-known grower, shipper, and packager in the produce industry, is renowned for its high-quality onions and watermelons. Based in Reidsville, GA, the company recognized that small margins define success in this industry. Access to timely metrics like pricing, analytics, operations, and traceability can provide the competitive edge needed to capitalize on opportunities. To modernize their operations, Brandon Giddens, COO, sought to implement WholesaleWare’s cloud-based ERP in concert with GrubAssist AI. This case study explores how these technologies streamlined processes, improved data accuracy, and enhanced decision-making at Southern Produce Packing & Sales.

Company Background and Challenges: Overcoming Operational Hurdles

Southern Produce Packing & Sales has consistently delivered high-quality produce such as onions and watermelons. However, as the company expanded, managing operations became increasingly challenging. Manual processes, data management issues, and a lack of real-time insights created significant hurdles. The existing ERP was cumbersome and lacked the flexibility and real-time capabilities needed in the fast-paced produce industry.

"Our ERP was just hard to use. You have to be an expert in the software before you can even use it at all. This limits who can get access to data and creates a major bottleneck," explained Brandon Giddens. "Also, you had to remote into the software and half the time that would not even work properly, so just forget being able to access things on the go. I’m always on the run, so being able to access data in the field is extremely important to me." The need for a more efficient and user-friendly solution became evident as the company struggled to keep up with the increasing demands for access to data and analytics.

Discovering the Solution: Embracing Innovation with WholesaleWare and GrubAssist

To address these challenges, Southern Produce Packing & Sales turned to GrubMarket’s WholesaleWare ERP and GrubAssist AI. These technologies promised to streamline operations and provide much-needed real-time data access.

WholesaleWare ERP offered a robust platform for managing inventory and orders while significantly reducing manual workload. Unlike their old ERP, WholesaleWare ERP was user-friendly and adaptable to the specific needs of Southern Produce Packing & Sales. GrubAssist AI added another layer of benefit by offering real-time data querying and AI-powered insights, enabling the team to make informed decisions quickly.

"We needed a solution that could streamline our operations and give us the real-time data we were missing. WholesaleWare ERP and GrubAssist AI delivered exactly that. The best part is anyone can use WholesaleWare right out of the box without needing any training. The software is amazingly intuitive and easy to learn. Our whole team was able to use it on day one," noted Brandon.

GrubAssist AI also impressed Brandon with its speed and ease of use. “It’s so fast. I’m amazed by the potential it has. I can get access to data in the field in seconds that used to take me at least 15-20 minutes to get out of my old ERP if I was lucky. It’s just a conversation too. You’re just talking to it. Forget BI or having to create new reports from scratch. The AI just gets it right to you. It’s really incredible.”