Premier Foods completes transformation plan

Premier Foods, the maker of a wide range of branded goods in every British food cupboard, including Ambrosia rice, Hovis bread, Hartley’s jam and Bisto gravy, has completed its transformation project which included standardising the business onto the SAP enterprise resource planning application. Sales of Premier Foods brands have increased by six per cent in the third quarter of 2009. In January Premier Foods announced that it was creating a new back office and IT centre of excellence to administer its SAP systems as a result of the rapid growth the company has gone through since its acquisition of both the bakers RHM, which produces the Hovis brand, and soup makers Campbell’s. The Manchester based centre created 40 new jobs and centralised IT, accountancy and range of back office functions for the food manufacturer. Atos Origin implemented SAP for Premier Foods, but the expansion of the company meant that it made more economic sense for CIO Mark Vickery to bring the system back in house. In its Interim Management Statement Premier Foods said the “transformation programme following the acquisitions of Campbell’s and RHM is now substantially complete”, although it will continue a lower level of investment to ensure improved “operational efficiencies” in manufacturing. Total sales for the 13 week period increased by six per cent; with UK grocery sales increasing by four per cent and the newly acquired Hovis brand of breads seeing sales increase by 22 per cent during the quarter. Read the full CIO UK interview with Mark Vickery (pictured) on his strategy through the M&A growth here.