In 1925, Wilhelm Meyer laid the foundation stone for the Heidebäckerei Meyer in Wahrenholz near Gifhorn. When the current owner Herbert Meyer Jr. took over the bakery in 1980, the company had seven employees. Since then, the bakery has grown steadily. 30 years later, there were already almost 80 branches between Braunschweig and Lüneburg and over 700 employees. The huge expansion made it necessary to build a new production facility. During the construction of the new building, the opportunity arose in 2021 to take over the 21 branches of the Bosselmann bakery in Hanover.
This not only increased the production volume, but also the number of branches that needed to be supplied to over 100. Planning the logistics presented the company with major challenges. When no satisfactory solution was found with the previous provider of the picking system, the company turned to Pcdata. Thanks to its extensive experience in similar operations, Pcdata was quickly able to offer suitable concepts and flexible solutions. “Despite the difficult conditions, especially due to Corona, Pcdata supported us from the very beginning and showed commitment,” reports Andreas Borchert, Head of Logistics at Heidebäckerei Meyer. After two reference visits, the final decision was made in favor of Pcdata. In addition to supplying the hardware and software, the company also took care of the installation on site.
Andreas Borchert was involved in the introduction of the new system right from the start. “The decisive factor for me was that Pcdata really responded to our needs,” he explains. Today, the paperless picking system Distrib covers the three major dispatching areas of bread/rolls, pastry/cakes and dough pieces. Pcdata’s DisM2K displays are used, which support up to seven pickers.
All areas operate as so-called direct dispatcher. This means that the available goods are recorded and picked to all stores in a single operation. Due to the continuing growth, a changeover to a two step dispatching system with pre- and end dispatching is planned for the future.
The dough pieces are picked in a temperature controlled room of 0 degrees celsius, which initially raised concerns about the durability of the Pcdata hardware due to the temperature and humidity. However, practical use quickly dispelled these doubts. A special feature of the system is the recording of incoming goods, which enables continuous inventory management.
Today, more than 100 branches and 50 customers are dispatched on a daily basis using Pcdata. After more than two years of use, Andreas Borchert is extremely positive: “It was above all the comprehensive service that made the difference for us.”
