Customer Stories
Better Data and Communication for Plukon Food Group
Plukon Food Group needed to modernize their IT infrastructure for better email and more efficiency. After considering various options, Plukon opted for Google
Plukon Food Group has thirteen branches spread across the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, including nine poultry slaughterhouses and four processing and packaging companies. With a weekly volume of over 6.8 million chickens, Plukon is one of the largest European players in the poultry meat market. The realized turnover amounted to 1.3 billion euros in 2014. Plukon employs approximately 4,100 people.
To create an easy-to-use and flexible IT infrastructure in the cloud
Why
By implementing Google Workspace and creating a data exchange portal
What
With a phased rollout of Google Workspace and using Scrum to develop a data portal
How
Simplify Communication While Remaining Flexible
Plukon used an outdated version of Novell GroupWise. It was time to try something new. Ray Mennink, IT Manager at Plukon: 9 years ago, we started looking to replace our current email system with one that works in the cloud to simplify communication. We were considering solutions like SharePoint/Microsoft, but most of them were expensive and lacked flexibility.
A Two-Fold Solution
Google Workspace
Because Microsoft solutions were deemed inflexible and costly, Plukon has decided to go with Google. Plukon implemented Google Workspace (previously G Suite) with the help of the Google Cloud Partner Xebia. The first steps included mail and agenda. Multiple people received an Android smartphone to give Gmail a try. And the pilot was successful. Plukon employees are also very pleased with Gmail's extra storage capacity, of 30 GB per user.
Ray Mennink: We also had the desire to deploy mobile phones and asked Xebia to investigate our case. Later, Xebia assisted us with the rollout of the devices and training of our people.
Plukonnect
Together with Xebia, Plukon developed Plukonnect, a portal for poultry farmers. Lotte Kroeze, Business Development Manager at Plukon: We use this portal for data exchange with poultry farmers and with other partners in the supply chain. I don't have a technical background at all and I am also not experienced in the IT field, so it was all new to me. Xebia has proposed to run this project using the scrum methodology. They explained us really well how it worked, what the perks were and what they expected from us.
Plukonnect drastically increased the efficiency, mostly regarding data exchange.
“This was so successful, that it was an easy choice to transition to Google Workspace.”
Ray Mennink
IT Manager at Plukon
More About Plukon
Plukon Food Group has thirteen branches spread across the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, including nine poultry slaughterhouses and four processing and packaging companies. With a weekly volume of over 6.8 million chickens, Plukon is one of the largest European players in the poultry meat market. The realised turnover amounted to 1.3 billion euros in 2014. Plukon employs approximately 4,100 people.
The brand Friki has existed since 1964, long before the Plukon Food Group had been established. Plukon delivers products to the retail channel under the brand Friki, in both the Netherlands and Germany.
In 1978, Friki merged with the poultry farm Bekebrede at Barneveld, which formed the PLUimvee KOmbinatie Nederland (Poultry Combination Netherlands), prompting the name Plukon. In 2010, the business unit tasked with sales of high-quality, sought-after products to clients in the food service and -industry became independent, under the name of Plukon convenience. This unit uses the brand Friki.
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