Infor, a leading provider of beautiful business applications specialized by industry and built for the cloud, today announcedthat Finnish producer and distributor of coffee and spices, Meira Oy, has chosen Infor M3 and Infor Demand Planner. To be implemented by Infor partner Merit Consulting, Infor M3 is expected to help Meira improve sales, budgeting and production planning processes, as well as enhancing overall factory management.

Part of the Italian Massimo Zanetti beverage group, Meira produces and distributes coffee and spices for domestic and out-of-home consumption mainly in Finland, Denmark and Estonia. Meira is also the market leader in the distribution of spices offering a range of products that includes spices, baked goods, almonds, hazelnuts, mustard, ketchup, salad dressings, salt and preservatives.

Infor M3 (13.2) was chosen on the basis of its rich functionality specific to the food and beverage industry, while the forecasting capabilities of Infor Demand Planner and Fresh Food Planner’s production planning were key points to its selection. Meira chose Merit Consulting Oy based on Merit’s proven project methodology, wide industry knowledge and many years experience successfully deploying M3 across the Nordics.

“Aligning our production to demand, and meeting that demand in the most cost-effective manner, is a critical part of our strategy to drive growth across the region,” said Anu Tieaho, administrative manager, Meira. “This has driven our investment in ERP and Demand Planning systems that can support world-class processes and enable us to build on our leadership position in the market.”

“Beverage manufacturers operate with highly volatile margins due to variability in price and availability of ingredients, so they need to continually innovate to maintain profitability,” said Mike Edgett, industry and solution strategy director (pictured), process manufacturing, Infor. “Selling to international markets adds a further layer of complexity into the equation. It is precisely this level of sophistication that Infor M3 and Infor Demand Planner are designed to handle.”

Merit Portal Supply Chain will be implemented to help all logistics operations in warehouse and production using scanners and mobile devices.