Souto Foods provides an extensive selection of authentic products from Latin America, the Caribbean, and around the world to more than 1,000 grocers and food service providers across the United States. Their diverse customer base ranges from single-store operators to larger retail chains, all expecting consistent, reliable delivery of dry goods, refrigerated, and frozen food products. With same-day and next-day delivery commitments and high volumes of product moving through its Norcross, Georgia, distribution center, operational precision is non-negotiable.
As the company experienced exponential growth, they felt under mounting pressure to maintain their exceptional service levels, and that was creating challenges across the business. Manual processes struggled to keep up with increasing order volumes, putting the accuracy of inventory and the speed of fulfillment at risk. To scale up efficiently without compromising the customer experience, Souto Foods decided it needed a modern warehouse management system (WMS) to improve inventory accuracy, enhance productivity, and streamline order fulfillment across operations at its distribution center.
After a rigorous, nine-month evaluation, Souto Foods selected Made4net's cloud-based WarehouseExpert WMS, integrating it with Honeywell Voice technology and their NetSuite ERP system. The idea was for the combination of technologies to allow seamless order processing, advanced inventory management, and significantly improved warehouse accuracy from day one.
Souto Foods selected Made4net for a specific set of capabilities that matched their operational demands: Proven stability and market reputation; lot and batch tracking with FIFO/LIFO capabilities and expiration date management; integrated voice-picking technology for speed and accuracy; enhanced inventory control to maintain compliance with regulatory requirements; and a flexible architecture designed to support rapid, sustained growth.
The implementation was notably smooth.
“Switching to Made4net's WarehouseExpert was the easiest transition in my three-decade-long career,” says David Malan, warehouse manager at Souto Foods. That was in no small measure because the warehouse staff quickly embraced the system, thanks to intuitive menus and screens, Malan says, making adoption faster than anticipated, while minimizing disruption to daily operations. “Voice integration drastically improved our productivity and picking accuracy,” Malan adds.
The impact of the implementation of Made4net’s WMS was immediate and measurable, according to Souto’s data. Cases-per-hour pick rates increased by 65%, while inventory accuracy soared to 95%. Workflow efficiency improved by 50%, driven by the system's intuitive design and voice-picking technology. Picking and packing errors dropped sharply, improving order accuracy and on-time deliveries across both independent operators and larger chain accounts.
These gains allowed Souto Foods to not only meet but exceed customer expectations, ensuring faster, more accurate deliveries while optimizing existing assets.
With Made4net in place, Souto Foods feels it is well-positioned to meet the increasing demand for authentic Hispanic food products, continuing its rapid growth while delivering the exceptional service its customers and communities depend on.
“The scalability of this software is truly remarkable," notes Malan.
Resource Links:
Souto Foods, https://www.soutofoods.com/
Made4net, https://made4net.com/
