Keep on moving

The pandemic won't slow this high performance industry innovator

29th March 2021

The global pandemic hasn’t slowed Anpario, as staff rally to meet demand and investment in systems and processes proves fruitful.

Anpario is an international producer and distributor of natural animal feed additives. Their high-performance products are helping to feed a growing population in a world with finite resources. The additives are increasing farming efficiency by reducing the amount of antibiotics needed and improving gut health. Some of the products may be new innovations, but the company itself can be traced back over thirty years. In which time the business has made a name for itself globally, now exporting to over 70 countries with offices all over the world. But interestingly, 99% of their manufacturing is done from one single site in Nottingham.

Helping out where they can

The Group has big aspirations, and despite the pandemic, continued its global expansion throughout 2020 by opening new operations in Europe and investing further in production automation. Anpario recently announced their best ever year, increasing profits by 22%, despite the challenging circumstances for the world. Marc Wilson, Group Finance Director explained that the beginning of lockdown coincided with their busiest ever period in production, but they were able to continue to produce despite the difficult conditions. He acknowledged that their swift implementation of COVID-19 response plans and positive company culture were to thank for that. When staffing difficulties arose, they had many volunteers from different teams nominating themselves to help fill gaps.

“We have been keen to keep the team safe and at home where possible, and due to some people needing to isolate we were at risk of running into production issues. But thankfully everyone’s been happy to pitch in wherever needed to keep things moving and we have not lost a single days production.”

Due to everyone pulling together, as a business Anpario hasn’t had the need to accept any government support and has made donations to Nottingham Hospitals Charity and Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals (DBTH). As well as sourcing and donating PPE to local care homes.

Getting the most out of their systems

It's testament to business’s investment in their IT systems that they were able to run so effectively during these uncertain times. Much of the manufacturing is automated, and remote working is easy thanks to secure cloud systems in place.

Recently the group upgraded to the latest version of Sage X3 and they are excited about testing out the system’s capabilities. For Phil Holland, IT Manager, the timing of the upgrade was just right. “The deadline for Making Tax Digital is looming and it wasn't supported by our current version. Sage X3 v12 has production management functionality and allows for multiple handheld devices which I'm keen to test out once we are settled in.”

Manage Support service from Datel

Anpario uses our Manage Support Service, an additional service that provides the business with an outsourced System Manager function. As part of this, the Datel Support Team are responsible for maintaining or monitoring Anpario’s system performance and dealing with any user queries from across the business.

For Simon Hirst, Business Systems Analyst ,the service allows him to expand his knowledge, “The Help Desk Team won’t just quickly sort something, they’ll take the time to explain how to do something so that should that query come up again, it's something that I potentially can solve. This thoughtful kind of service means I can develop my own skill set going forward.”

Marc went on to explain how the Manage service hasn’t just helped reduce the task load on their IT function, but has also benefitted them by being able to access expertise and advice as and when required.

“The Manage Service is a very useful service. It is great to be able to make quick changes, or go to the team with something both urgent or non urgent. It’s always an honest conversation and I trust your recommendations implicitly. It’s clear your customer service culture is coming from the top down. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending your services which is a credit to the work that you guys put in.”