Surlean Foods, a fast-growing custom food producer based in Dallas, is turning to Deacom’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to support its rapid growth and multi-facility expansion.
According to the company, it has seen a significant boom in sales volume leading to the need for two additional facilities. The producer has expanded its operation with a recently opened 114,000-square-foot research and development center in San Antonio, and a 90,000-square-foot production facility in Dallas.
Focus on flexibility
Cory Simmons, Surlean Foods director of IT services, told FoodProductionDaily flexibility was key in opting for an ERP system and choosing which product to run with.
"As we expand into new facilities and new product lines, we must have a system that can adapt to support our ever-changing needs,” he said. “Anyone who has had experience with ERP software knows what a huge impact that has on total cost of ownership.”
Planning for growth
According to the Surlean Foods team, the single-plant operation had systems in place they feared would not be sufficient to handle multiple sites, or increased production, effectively. Their leaders focused on finding an ERP that could be scaled as its growth continued, accommodate complex custom-batch processing (including recipe management, production schedules, quality control, and other issues), and not break the bank.
Simmons said Surlean was attracted to the Deacom ERP chiefly because of the scalability and flexibility. Also, he cited the Deacom system’s functionality specific to food industry applications, and the software’s relative ease of operation, as other benefits.
Surlean Food produces custom beef, chicken, and pork products; sauces; soups; and sides for its food customers across the US. The producer works with customers to reduce product costs and achieve higher yields.