How Anchor Yeast met a retailer EDI mandate and made automated order flows the new standard.
Anchor Yeast, part of the Lallemand group, is a leading manufacturer of yeast, enzymes, and specialty ingredients in Southern Africa. The company supplies both industrial producers and major retail chains across the region. When one of its largest customers issued a mandate that changed how purchase orders had to be processed, Anchor Yeast had to act quickly, and needed to get it right.
A retailer mandate with a hard deadline, and a manual process that could not keep up
When Pick n Pay required all suppliers to transition to an EDI-based purchase order process, Anchor Yeast needed to reliably accept EDI orders, translate them into sales orders inside its SYSPRO ERP, and notify stores about delivery dates, all without disrupting ongoing operations.
Previously, much of this work was handled manually by the call center, including order processing and customer updates. The process created delays and errors, and the complex pricing agreements with major retailers made manual reconciliations even more difficult. A reliable automated integration was the only practical path.
EDI in, SYSPRO sales order out, stores notified automatically
Flowgear automated every step of the order process. Inbound EDI orders in XML format are automatically imported and passed to the SYSPRO ERP system, which generates sales orders. Stores immediately receive text messages with expected delivery information. The call center team gained the ability to link EDI orders to ERP order numbers, making ship dates easier to track.
With manual re-entry eliminated, errors dropped sharply. Complex pricing discrepancies associated with retail contracts could be addressed directly inside the system rather than after the fact.
Pick n Pay met, then Shoprite, with more retailers to follow
With the Pick n Pay integration working reliably, Anchor Yeast extended the same digital order flow to Shoprite, ranked the number one retailer in Africa and the Middle East. The company is now preparing to add Spar and wholesaler Shield to the same integration layer.
- Inbound EDI orders converted to SYSPRO sales orders automatically
- Stores receive automated delivery notifications by text message
- Manual order re-entry eliminated, errors reduced
- Complex retail pricing discrepancies easier to identify and resolve
- Integration extended from Pick n Pay to Shoprite, with Spar and Shield planned
“Flowgear had already done integrations with Pick n Pay and could cater for our diverse projects.”
Spar and Shield, completing the retail digital order network
Having integrated Pick n Pay and Shoprite, Anchor Yeast is extending the same automated order process to Spar and wholesaler Shield, ensuring its digital order management can support each new retail partner on the same foundation.
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