Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC) has gone live with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) suite, based on a JD Edwards solution from Oracle.
The firm provides the catering services for 104 airlines ope- rating out of Dubai International Airport, one of the busiest and fastest-growing airports in the Middle East.
Arun Tewary, senior IT manager for EKFC, pointed out that the firm’s operations are always time critical, with delays of even a few minutes having significant cost implications.
Add to that the need to ensure accurate planning and forecasting for orders that can change right up until a flight actually takes off and the need for good planning software is clear.
Working with Oracle, the firm has now implemented a flight catering solution, the first of its kind worldwide, Tewary claim- ed. “We developed it with Oracle Middle East to take care of the entire supply chain,” he said.
The flight catering solution helps ensure that orders are streamlined at EKFC, right from the procurement of fresh produce through to acknowledgement of meals received on board.
This module covers the complete supply chain function for the airline catering industry, and is the first of its kind to be implemented globally.
With the support of a six-member team, the first enterprise-wide rollout of the JD Edwards solution was completed within 12 months.
In addition to the flight catering solution, Oracle’s ERP implementation also covered key processes in the area of financial planning, plant and equipment maintenance, purchasing, warehouse and inventory, production and manufacturing, human resources and payroll.
Forecasting and detailed and timely planning are the two most critical factors in the catering industry, as they help prevent over and under-production of meals, thus optimising usage of perishable goods, while allowing the catering company to meet passengers’ culinary tastes.
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