A Belgian malt producer implemented an ERP system from IBM and Appligen to address traceability requirements and optimize inventory. The solution tracks grains from source to delivery, allows duplication of malting processes, and supports business growth by enabling new product offerings. It provides real-time visibility into production and inventory levels across facilities.

1. Synopsis
A malt producer in Belgium
gains support for expanding its
business and product offerings
when it engages IBM
WebSphere Developer Services,
IBM Global Technology Services
- maintenance and technical
support and IBM Business
Partner Appligen NV (acquired
by EASI in 2012) to implement
an ERP system based on
Appligen’s AAA.ERP software
and AAA Financials technology
as well as IBM BladeCenter and
IBM Power Systems hardware
and IBM DB2 and Rational
software
Customer feedback
"The administration and follow-
up of the whole production
process is running on a very
reliable and stable IBM
hardware and software
platform. Moreover, thanks to
this IT solution, I am able to
respond swiftly to consumption
changes. I can make the right
decisions for the production
processes as all necessary
information is managed in such
a way that I can change the
production steps on demand"
says A. Dingemans, owner and
chief executive officer at
Mouterij Dingemans.
Mouterij Dingemans implements an end-
to-end enterprise resource planning
solution
Since 1875, Mouterij Dingemans NV has produced an extensive range of
basic ingredients, such as malt, barley and wheat, for the demanding
Belgian and European breweries. The Mouterij Dingemans malting house
is geographically centered in the middle of the best barley-growing
region, with France, Holland, England and Germany at its doorstep.
Malt is germinated grain - usually barley but sometimes wheat and rye -
that has been dried in a process known as “malting.” The malting
process involves germinating the grains by soaking them in water. After a
few days, germination is halted by drying the grains in a hot kiln. After
baking, the rootlets are removed, and the remaining product is called
malt. The entire process is as quick as a few hours or can last as long as
several weeks.
In the European agricultural sector, breweries purchase their malts
approximately one year in advance. Depending on the sales contract
and the barley stock, additional malt is then delivered on request. At
purchase, the different types of grains are stored in silos. Assorted
varieties are then selected from the silos to produce specific types of
malt. Following the malting process, the malt is again stored in silos and
delivered to the breweries per the sales contract.
Mouterij Dingemans NV is the exclusive Belgian producer of roasted
specialty malts, offering an extensive range of basic ingredients including
brewers base malts, pale wheat, specialty brewers malts, caramel malt,
colored malt and roasted malt. The products are used by Belgian and
European brewers to make Pilsen-type beers, as well as Trappist, Abbey
and White beers.
Business need
In the mid 2000s, a food safety crisis prompted the Belgium ministry to
establish legislation requiring that all food companies track and trace
food products throughout the production process. For Mouterij
Dingemans, this meant that each batch of grain had to be traceable 24
hours a day, seven days a week - from the time the grains were
purchased to when the malt was delivered to the customer. It also
meant the company was now legally required to keep track of which silo
each malt was stored in, as well as the farm it came from and the
specific plot of land it was grown on. At the time, the company had no
traceability or tracking capabilities. Other than referring to error-prone,
manually entered data on spreadsheets, the company had no way of
knowing which batch of malt went to which brewer or from where the
grains originated. As such, if a food safety issue or concern arose,
management would be unable to inform customers, leaving the
company exposed to liability and legal issues.
Inventory was another issue that tied to traceability. To ensure purchase
and sales contracts were met, stock levels had to be accurately
measured and monitored. Moreover, to guarantee that brewers
received the specific type of malt ordered, the company had to track
stock levels of malt based on the techniques used in the production
process as well as the composition of the malt production lots.

2. Without the proper inventory of a variety of malt, the
company would fail to meet customer expectations.
Traceability was now required at two levels: to track
the origin of the grain and the malt as it went
through the production processes as well as to
determine the composition of the grains themselves.
To meet traceability requirements and optimize
inventory levels, Mouterij Dingemans needed to
create a robust information flow as part of its
processes - from purchase to production to sales.
The ideal solution would enable it to automate and
control the outstanding balances between malt
sales contracts and the barley purchase contracts
as well as to track:
- Deliveries, which can be executed in bulk or in
sacks
- Silos, which can contain several purchases of
cereals and several productions of malt
- Sale contracts, allowing for revisions as customer
needs change
- Invoicing, which is based on net weight of freight
What Makes it Smarter
As food contamination crises increase, more and
more government-mandated traceability
requirements are being established. After
implementing a sophisticated ERP solution with
tracking and analysis capabilities, this malt producer
was not only able to comply with traceability
legislations, but also gained the added benefit of
being able to consistently fulfill customer orders for
malts with specific compositions. The traceability
function tracks the origin, storage silo and
production process for each batch of malt. Analysis
traces and evaluates each malt batch based on 25
different parameters including structure, weight,
diameter, hardness and moisture levels. Combined,
they enable the company to locate a specific malt
type, consistently duplicate any malting process
and then market the malts as new products. This has
propelled the company’s growth from a small,
regional company to one with customers from
around the world.
Mouterij Dingemans turned to IBM Business Partner
Appligen NV to implement an end-to-end enterprise
resource planning solution based on its AAA.ERP
software and AAA Financials technology as well as
a host of IBM offerings.
In addition, various services were provided by IBM
WebSphere Developer Services and IBM Global
Technology Services - maintenance and technical
support. The maintenance and technical support
team is providing help-desk, support and upgrade
services for the DB2 database software and i
operating system. The solution, which is delivered as
a Software as a Service (SaaS), was launched in less
than three months.
It combines all of the company’s applications into a
single SaaS solution, delivering real-time information
that can be accessed by authorized users at
workstations in the production plant during the
production process. It also manages key corporate
information, including purchase order and invoice
processing, sales orders, production planning,
production reports with tracing data, lab analyses
and recording, inventory control before and after
production, composition of deliveries, sales
processing and financial information.
Information can be stored for years, if necessary, to
meet regulations.
Real Business Results
- Supported growth, enabling the company to
expand from a regional to worldwide business
- Achieved the ability to duplicate any malting
process exactly and consistently, enabling the
company to create new malt types if needed
- Met food traceability laws and gained more
control over grain recalls by being able to track
grain from origin to shipment with pinpoint accuracy
The new solution has effectively supported the
company’s growth, enabling Mouterij Dingemans to
expand its product offerings as well as it sales
geography. In the past, malts were handcrafted. As
a master brewer, the owner would oversee
production and manually record information about
the grain, the process and the malts. Now, before
and after the production process and over the
course of several weeks, the company can conduct
a variety of tests on each batch of malt, analyzing
up to 25 different parameters of the grains including
structure, weight, diameter, hardness and moisture
levels. This analysis enables the company to exactly
and consistently duplicate any malting process, and
consequently, recreate malt types, name them and
offer them commercially to customers as new
products. It also allows the company to fulfill
customer requests for orders based on very specific
parameters. The resulting insight into and exactness
of the production process and products have
enabled the company to grow from a small,
regional company with local customers to a
producer of roasted specialty malts with customers
worldwide, including South Africa, the United States
and South America.
The recording of data also facilitates traceability.
The traceability function shows the malt analysis
sheets for a given batch that was sold, as well as the
production process it went through, from which lot
of grains it originated, in which silos the grains where
stocked, and from which supplier the grains came. It
also meets the requirements of the Belgian federal
agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC).
Should management receive notice about a
possible grain contamination, the affected products
can be found immediately.

3. The company can also see exactly where the grains
moved throughout the facility and if they came into
contact with other, noncontaminated grains. Any
suspicious malts can be re-analyzed and set aside
from production if any anomalies are found, while
customers are notified.
The solution also helps the company optimize and
balance inventory. Before, inventory management
was a manual process, and new orders were driven
by visually assessing grain and malt levels. Now
inventory levels are driven by customer and
marketplace demand. The solution provides data
about the parameters that make up the best-selling
malts types as well as from where the most
requested grains originate. With this information,
management can increase or decrease stock levels
as well as boost production to ensure the most
popular malt types are regularly available.
Instrumented - The solution is delivered as a SaaS.
Real-time information is available to workers
throughout the facility at their workstations.
Interconnected - The solution combines all of the
company’s applications into a single SaaS solution
that can then be accessed by authorized users at
workstations in the production plant during the
production process.
Intelligent - The solution can analyze and record up
to 25 different parameters for each batch of malt,
such as humidity levels, weight, diameter and
hardness. This enables the company to duplicate
and recreate malt types with extreme accuracy,
resulting in company growth and new product
offerings. Analysis also allows the company to
comply with Belgium food traceability mandates.
Analysis shows the production process that each
batch of grain went through, from which lot the
grains originated, in which silos the grains where
stocked, and from which supplier the grains came.
Copyright © EASI. All rights reserved
Website: www.easi.net
Mail: info@easi.net
Blog: blog.easi.net
Tel.
- EASI Nijvel: +32 67 28 10 00
- EASI Mechelen: +32 15 28 75 00
- EASI Luxemburg: +352 26 18 58 11
- EASI Frankrijk: +33 1 72 75 73 89
Please Recycle