‘You don’t need to work harder, but smarter’
Bio Bakkerij De Trog strengthens gut feeling and craftsmanship with digitisation.
Can a bakery employing 130 people make bread the way grandfather used to make it, and achieve international success as well? Yes, of course. It’s something that Bakkerij De Trog demonstrates every single day. Even the French, Germans, Irish and Dutch love the bread made by De Trog. To manage its growth, the bakery structured its knowledge of baking in digital systems, without sacrificing quality. Quite the opposite in fact – quality improved. It has twice earned the bakery the honorary Flemish title of ‘Factory of the Future’, plus a Datanews award. ‘You don’t need to work harder, but smarter,’ explains business manager and master baker Hendrik Durnez.
Hendrik Durnez is an entrepreneur at heart. Gut feeling is crucial – how could it be anything different in a food business? Inspiring employees and maintaining their passion in the profession is his main responsibility. But today, he swears by data and systems. Over just a few short years, the business has undergone something of a digital metamorphosis.
The story starts in 1911 when, under the church tower in Geluwe, pépé (grandfather) Henri started Bakkerij Durnez. Mother and father Durnez grew the business into a large, modern bakery, and Hendrik became a baker. When his father passed away, he joined the business earlier than expected, at the age of eighteen. Even though the bakery was performing well, Hendrik wanted more. When he was a child, he was particularly fond of pépé’s old-fashioned bread. Pépé would let nature do its work – back then, there was no such thing as a bread improver or dough conditioner.
Hendrik Durnez is an entrepreneur at heart. Gut feeling is crucial – how could it be anything different in a food business? Inspiring employees and maintaining their passion in the profession is his main responsibility. But today, he swears by data and systems. Over just a few short years, the business has undergone something of a digital metamorphosis.
The story starts in 1911 when, under the church tower in Geluwe, pépé (grandfather) Henri started Bakkerij Durnez. Mother and father Durnez grew the business into a large, modern bakery, and Hendrik became a baker. When his father passed away, he joined the business earlier than expected, at the age of eighteen. Even though the bakery was performing well, Hendrik wanted more. When he was a child, he was particularly fond of pépé’s old-fashioned bread. Pépé would let nature do its work – back then, there was no such thing as a bread improver or dough conditioner.
Almost is not good enough
A few years later, Hendrik was introduced to the bread at Bio Bakkerij De Trog. He was sold on it immediately and became friends with its owners. That friendship paved the way for the takeover that followed in 1996, when Hendrik integrated De Trog with Bakkerij Durnez. ‘My heart was firmly with the products made by De Trog,’ he recalls. ‘The outside world felt that too. “Your product has lost its soul,” one honest customer told me. For me, that was a sign that I had to discontinue Durnez. Organic baking had become my future.’
The business had a fresh start. De Trog relocated from Bruges to Ypres and two highly motivated partners were brought on board. ‘We had a top team with a wealth of professional knowledge,’ explains Hendrik. ‘The problem was that that knowledge was in our heads and in our hands – from recipes to procedures, flows, capacities and seasonal trends.’
‘Enterprise based on gut feeling and experience is nice, but it’s not always efficient. It also “mortgages” quality. As an organic baker, you must follow strict rules on raw materials and the preparation process. How do you make sourdough for example, which is the beating heart of our bakery? In the past, it was a question of feeling and tasting, but with an ever-expanding team, you cannot do that. Almost is not good enough. Everyone must understand and respect the guidelines and the standards.’
‘How do you incorporate all that understanding stuck in people’s heads into systems? How can you objectify knowledge and make it accessible to everyone? Digitisation was the way to go.’
Thanks to automation, we now produce six or seven times more baguettes than we used to – with the same number of people, and without changing the quality, taste, structure or shape.
The building blocks of the organisation
The switch to a latest version of Navision in 2016 gave everything momentum. The partner at the time knew very well what an order entry and a shipment were. But when it came to everything that went on in the baking process in between, they had no idea. ‘They put us in touch with valueXstream. Their motto was “you implement software only once the organisation and processes are in place.” We followed their approach.’
‘valueXstream focused on the valuable knowledge of our professionals and how to make that knowledge insightful. They paid a great deal of attention to what they refer to as the building blocks of an organisation – product categories, cost structures, volumes, times, etc. – in a nutshell, those things that you want to measure, report on, and adjust. That’s how you make money as a business.’
‘At the end of the information session, they presented their view of our processes and workflows, and on the appropriate architecture. It was the beginning of a long-term and intensive partnership. valueXstream went on to guide us through various investment options and implementations. With them, we took the first steps in moving from being an artisanal SME employing 80 employees to a structured and future-focused organisation employing 130. Their approach centres around pragmatism. We’re not really interested in perfect systems. For every cost, we weigh up the added value.’
The building blocks of the organisation
The switch to a latest version of Navision in 2016 gave everything momentum. The partner at the time knew very well what an order entry and a shipment were. But when it came to everything that went on in the baking process in between, they had no idea. ‘They put us in touch with valueXstream. Their motto was “you implement software only once the organisation and processes are in place.” We followed their approach.’
‘valueXstream focused on the valuable knowledge of our professionals and how to make that knowledge insightful. They paid a great deal of attention to what they refer to as the building blocks of an organisation – product categories, cost structures, volumes, times, etc. – in a nutshell, those things that you want to measure, report on, and adjust. That’s how you make money as a business.’
‘At the end of the information session, they presented their view of our processes and workflows, and on the appropriate architecture. It was the beginning of a long-term and intensive partnership. valueXstream went on to guide us through various investment options and implementations. With them, we took the first steps in moving from being an artisanal SME employing 80 employees to a structured and future-focused organisation employing 130. Their approach centres around pragmatism. We’re not really interested in perfect systems. For every cost, we weigh up the added value.’
Green label
‘There was no need for a new ERP system – it quickly became clear that Navision met our needs perfectly, and valueXstream successfully set the new system up for us. They also introduced the “green label”. We established working groups to consider procedures and ways in which we could guarantee and improve the quality and shelf life of our products. We developed detailed instructions for every production step for all green label products in our range. Feedback from those on the shop floor helped us to improve the products and to make processes more efficient.’
‘Shelf life is an important aspect when it comes to exporting vacuum-packed products. It’s a matter of packing the product as quickly as possible when it leaves the oven. The more time this takes, the greater the risk of contamination. It was about finding the balance between long shelf life and preserving flavour. With the green label, we were able to extend the shelf life of tasty sandwiches from 45 to 60 days. Improvements like these give us the opportunity to explore new geographical markets.’
Customers are always happy to pay for added value. The challenge is in fully automating what does not add value, without compromising quality.
The salary cost indicator drives planning
‘In digitisation projects, understanding data is often the common thread running all the way through,’ explains Hendrik. ‘A good example is the salary cost indicator. As a planner, you can help to optimise salary costs by taking the cost of an employee into consideration. Suppose that an employee working a normal daily pattern costs 100. An interim would cost 120 for the same work. If the employee works overtime, he or she will cost 150; and that’s even 180 for the interim. The planner’s job is thus to get an average that is as close to 100 as possible. Five years ago, the average was 108. By 2022, that had come down to 103. The impact on salary costs is huge.’
‘With that data, you can drive policy, set KPIs and incentivise people. There’s another reason why proper management of hourly salary costs is important – our flexibility is our strength. Customers can place orders until 1 pm for next-day delivery. Our major competitors cannot offer that advantage. This makes the planning more complex and increases salary costs. The indicator helps us to keep that cost under control.’
‘We used the same philosophy to introduce analytical accounting. This refined our ability to carry out diagnoses and to administer the proper remedies, as a good doctor would do. If we have careful, fine-tuned analyses, we can do things like identify the cause of a salary cost or machine cost increase and respond effectively.’
The salary cost indicator drives planning
‘In digitisation projects, understanding data is often the common thread running all the way through,’ explains Hendrik. ‘A good example is the salary cost indicator. As a planner, you can help to optimise salary costs by taking the cost of an employee into consideration. Suppose that an employee working a normal daily pattern costs 100. An interim would cost 120 for the same work. If the employee works overtime, he or she will cost 150; and that’s even 180 for the interim. The planner’s job is thus to get an average that is as close to 100 as possible. Five years ago, the average was 108. By 2022, that had come down to 103. The impact on salary costs is huge.’
‘With that data, you can drive policy, set KPIs and incentivise people. There’s another reason why proper management of hourly salary costs is important – our flexibility is our strength. Customers can place orders until 1 pm for next-day delivery. Our major competitors cannot offer that advantage. This makes the planning more complex and increases salary costs. The indicator helps us to keep that cost under control.’
‘We used the same philosophy to introduce analytical accounting. This refined our ability to carry out diagnoses and to administer the proper remedies, as a good doctor would do. If we have careful, fine-tuned analyses, we can do things like identify the cause of a salary cost or machine cost increase and respond effectively.’
Award winner
The organic bakery’s projects have not gone under the radar, and De Trog has twice been awarded the Flemish honorary title of ‘Factory of the Future’. At the end of 2017, it also won the prestigious Datanews award for the most innovative digital project of the year. ‘We were seeking an alternative way to train people,’ explains Hendrik. ‘Hygiene and food safety are crucial for our bakery. Temporary workers and workers who speak other languages need to learn quickly as well.’
‘valueXstream had a design agency from within its corporate group develop BakeryBattle, where employees challenge one another in app-based knowledge battles, from beginner level to advanced. Gamification encouraged them to play regularly, and the management could track the results. These showed how employees’ knowledge was evolving. A little while ago, we replaced the app with a mobile learning solution from MobieTrain. Motivating and incentivising people remain crucial to the success of the business.’
The success of digitisation is often related to the bundling of specialised skills that can complement one another. ‘There were other occasions where valueXstream called on the skills from within its ecosystem. We invested in reporting with PowerBI through Bmatix, for example. Amongst other benefits we now enjoy, we have insight into sales by customer and segment, into sales trends and into how our sales team is performing.’
Award winner
The organic bakery’s projects have not gone under the radar, and De Trog has twice been awarded the Flemish honorary title of ‘Factory of the Future’. At the end of 2017, it also won the prestigious Datanews award for the most innovative digital project of the year. ‘We were seeking an alternative way to train people,’ explains Hendrik. ‘Hygiene and food safety are crucial for our bakery. Temporary workers and workers who speak other languages need to learn quickly as well.’
‘valueXstream had a design agency from within its corporate group develop BakeryBattle, where employees challenge one another in app-based knowledge battles, from beginner level to advanced. Gamification encouraged them to play regularly, and the management could track the results. These showed how employees’ knowledge was evolving. A little while ago, we replaced the app with a mobile learning solution from MobieTrain. Motivating and incentivising people remain crucial to the success of the business.’
The success of digitisation is often related to the bundling of specialised skills that can complement one another. ‘There were other occasions where valueXstream called on the skills from within its ecosystem. We invested in reporting with PowerBI through Bmatix, for example. Amongst other benefits we now enjoy, we have insight into sales by customer and segment, into sales trends and into how our sales team is performing.’
Don’t work harder, work smarter.
Respect for knowledge
‘Big data, the cloud, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things have fundamentally changed how we work. Natural sourdough is a living culture that responds to environmental factors, such as temperature and humidity. We have been collating data about changing conditions and the production process for many years. We then apply algorithms so that we can draw lessons from those data.’
Can you fully automate artisanal or craft work? ‘To me, that would seem impossible,’ says Hendrik. ‘Making organic bread will always be a labour-intensive operation. Automation can help you make bakers’ work easier and more efficient. We focus on automating repetitive and ergonomically demanding work – things like transporting raw materials or semi-finished products through the workshop to people. The gains that you can make in areas like that are considerable.’
‘Customers are always happy to pay for added value. The trick is, therefore, to fully automate what does not add value, without compromising quality. As an example, we now produce six or seven times more baguettes than we used to – with the same number of people, and without changing the quality, taste, structure or shape. Growing in a competitive market is not about working harder but about working smarter. And always respecting the employee, the craft and nature.’
‘My mother used to say: “If I earn something, you’ll see it in my purse.” That’s how we have run our business for decades,’ concludes Hendrik. ‘When valueXstream started working with us, I think I annoyed them to no end. I was probably the least structured person in the business. In the middle of every meeting, I had to leave and go to the bakery. I worked day and night. Not now. If I have learned one thing, it is that as an entrepreneur, you should not work in your business, but on your business.’
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