What is driving bakeries to modernize?
Many bakeries will modernize to cloud-based systems within the next twelve months due to the sheer impracticalities of running old bakery management software.
That’s the message we’ve been hearing so far this year and one of the biggest drivers behind this push is simply that of mobility.
It may seem basic, but the benefits of being able to sign in remotely to the software they use to manage their bakeries is commented on time and time again by new Cybake users.
Most were only ever able to use their business’ software on site before. Having all their up-to-date facts, figures and reports whenever they need at home or while going about their business is therefore much appreciated.
Communications are improved both within and outside their businesses. Wholesalers, for example, may have held back from growing their customer base because of worries about increased order-taking and admin overheads. With a web-based system, wholesale customers make their orders direct without incurring extra costs.
Another, often overlooked, driver for change is the sheer user-unfriendliness of old bakery management applications. Increasingly, we talk to bakeries in which staff don’t use parts of the software their company still pays for because they find it too difficult or cumbersome to use.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, when the same bakeries switch to up-to-date systems with clear user interfaces, staff are perfectly happy to use any part of the new software. Bakeries also find that it is much easier and quicker to train newer, younger staff on modern apps.
Running thin
Support is another big issue. With older bakery management systems, support is either running thin or running out. Either way, it is expensive. With a modern cloud subscription, support is built in to your monthly package and support agents are pretty much always available.
Another benefit of adopting modern cloud software is that you become part of a growing, live network. This is important because specialist business technology thrives on constant feedback from its customers.
In turn, today’s cloud delivery model allows developers like ourselves to constantly update our software and issue new features in accordance with their suggestions.
In our case, those suggestions go to a team of in-house programmers rather than the anonymous offshore outsourcers used by most ERP-type providers. For us, the intricacies of managing a bakery’s recipes, production or deliveries are not abstract concepts, they are our bread and butter.
This model of continuous improvement means that there is a now definite element of futureproofing when bakeries consider where to go next with their back-office systems.
One final factor influencing bakeries today is that many legacy bakery software systems face uncertain futures. This follows a number of mergers and acquisitions by the tech corporations that own them.
Faced with questions over whether their legacy applications will continue or what any migration path may be, it is little wonder that bakeries are now looking to switch to a more modern answer.
If you are considering an upgrade to a cloud bakery management system and would like to see a demo, why not talk to one of our bakery specialists on the LiveChat below, contact us here, or email us at info<at>cybake.com?
Rachel Hindle is the Business Development Manager of Cybake in the UK and the coordinator of the Independent Cybake Partners group.
