Chef Works
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Chef Works
CHEF WORKS
Segregate responsibilities and conquer everything from forecasting to purchasing.
Chef Works is proud to be on the leading edge of uniform manufacturing. Since their start in the 1960’s, they have been an industry leader in design, development, and management of uniform and culinary apparel across the globe. They have a simple mission to provide their clients with new, innovative, high-quality products at competitive prices. Nicolette Molina has worked at Chef Works for nearly five years and is a senior supply-chain analyst. In describing her company, Nicolette said; “Chef Works is a family run company. Joe Grass started selling uniforms while he and his wife were basically the company. They found it was best to sell uniforms here in the states instead of their native country of South Africa, so they migrated over. One of the things Chef Works prides itself on is being a leader in the industry, being innovative. You would think chef clothing is simple, but Joe and his wife saw a need to make what seemed like a simple change into something lightweight and stylish. They were one of the first to come out with a lightweight option in different colors. This made the chef’s experience different by allowing them to have not only functional clothing but stylish clothing.”
“For example, Chef Works has reached out to Denims which gives an urban look and gives an easy way to update their company looks. We manufacture these uniforms in 4 different regions and have international distributors all over the world. We ship everywhere but we are still a family run company.”
Nicolette mentioned some of the perks of using the software. “First, the forecasting software has helped us tremendously. In addition, the visibility into our current inventory hold has helped us very much. Without Avercast I don’t know how I would find out how much inventory I have and what I am going to end at. To say that in June this is where I will end in my inventory and to be real close to that is a major benefit. Not to mention the customer support Avercast provides.”
As you might imagine, a family run business with distributors around the globe would have a hard time managing demand and forecasting. Before switching to Avercast, Nicolette and her team had some serious issues with forecasting. They were using strictly historical sales data to forecast which, Nicolette said, “…was problematic because you aren’t going to sell exactly what you sold last year. If you are anticipating growth, then it could be wrong. If you know a customer isn’t buying something anymore, or you are going to discontinue a product, then your forecast is going to be wrong.” These issues combined with the need to be more efficient led Chef Works to Avercast. With the implementation of Avercast, Nicolette and her team were able to more effectively divide duties and responsibilities. Their team of 4 at the time of implementation was able to divide and conquer everything from forecasting to purchasing.
After switching to Avercast, Chef Works has seen the benefit. Nicolette mentioned some of the perks of using the software. “First, the forecasting software has helped us tremendously. In addition, the visibility into our current inventory hold has helped us very much. Without Avercast I don’t know how I would find out how much inventory I have and what I am going to end at. To say that in June this is where I will end in my inventory and to be real close to that is a major benefit. Not to mention the customer support Avercast provides.” At Avercast, we are constantly striving to provide customers like Nicolette with the tools they need to be successful in forecasting and demand planning. When asked what advice she has for potential Avercast customers, she said; “It’s not going to do your work for you. Prepare to roll up your sleeves. Make sure policies are correct. Make sure that someone is checking your forecast. Avercast isn’t going to solve your problems, it’s going to help you get there.”
