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How Ideation Scaled Inventory & Production

Building Business Intelligence Across Two Plants

# Case study

Ideation logo (FlexiBake ERP client)

Tired of walking the warehouse, searching for inventory, or populating Excel files?

See how this Georgia-based bakery products manufacturer went from using FlexiBake as an ‘invoice generator’ to an all-in-one system for managing raw materials, inventory, and production planning.

1 hour to generate
PO REPORTS FOR A MONTH
2 facilities managed
IN A SINGLE ERP SYSTEM
100% of staff with
INSTANT ACCESS TO INVENTORY

Contents

THE CHALLENGE

THEIR REQUIREMENTS

THE SOLUTION

THE RESULTS

THE CHALLENGE

After twelve years of supplying fresh bread to restaurants throughout Georgia as H&F Bread Co., the company shifted its focus. They rebranded as Ideation and stepped fully into co-manufacturing, operating two production sites focused on gluten-free, keto, and better-for-you products.

With that shift came new operational demands: leveraging purchasing volume, planning ahead, and tracking everything across two facilities.

Their Situation


Struggled to access the data needed for purchasing, planning, and reporting.
Had an ERP system in place, but were only using it as an ‘invoice generator’.
Relied on Excel and staff knowledge to manage manufacturing.

Besides that:

  • Created purchase orders manually in Excel to figure out what to buy.
  • Couldn’t easily track raw material usage, waste, or finished goods.
  • Assigned manually raw material locations, even when the inventory was moved.
  • Lacked access to historical records due to incomplete data.
  • Outgrew disconnected processes, which couldn’t keep up with growth.
Client

Ideation

Industry

Bakery

Production Type

Make to Stock  Make to Order Contract Manufacturing

Their Products

Cookies  Donuts  Brownies

Location

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Size

100+
Orders per day
11-15
Routes
100-500
SKUs
Client Since

2013

Gone are the days of manual, labor-intensive processes where everyone had to scramble to gather information. The upfront effort invested in the setup has paid off tremendously.
Sean Glen,
Supply Chain Director

THEIR REQUIREMENTS

Ideation needed a system that could provide:
  • Granular data to get business insights
    that could be pulled in under an hour instead of spending days compiling reports.
  • Visibility into ingredient requirements
    to calculate raw materials based on upcoming production.
  • Real-time inventory reporting from the floor
    to enter lot codes and traceability data on the spot.
  • Accounting for packaging and labeling
    including labels, glue pellets, safety stickers, and date guns.

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THE SOLUTION

FlexiBake was already in place when Ideation’s Supply Chain Director joined the company, but it wasn’t being used to its full potential. So they decided to fully configure and embed the system into day-to-day operations to enable scalability.

PRODUCT FIT

FlexiBake matched Ideation’s operational needs. It allowed the team to move beyond invoicing and into business data, being more flexible.
  • Leveraged the cloud-based version to give managers full visibility and control without being on-site.
  • Installed on iPads already used in the warehouse, giving staff instant access to inventory.
  • Offered peace of mind during the COVID-19 pandemic by keeping data secure and protected.
  • Tracked raw material usage, finished goods, inventory, and waste in one system.

IMPLEMENTATION EXPERIENCE

The shift to fuller system adoption was driven internally: Ideation had to know the problems they wanted to solve.
  • Expanded system usage gradually, layering in functions like production planning, costing, and inventory once the team felt ready.
  • The training process was always very thorough, but the company understood that success depended on their own clarity and initiative.
  • Access to recorded training sessions simplified revisiting key topics or onboarding new team members.

COLLABORATION & SUPPORT

Ideation noted that the overall experience remained consistent and easy to work with.
  • Appreciated having a reliable contact on the FlexiBake team, someone who could immediately jump in and resolve issues.
  • Directed team members to FlexiBake’s support portal, allowing them to find answers independently without needing management to step in.
What I really appreciate is that when we need help, your support team jumps in right away.
Sean Glen,
Supply Chain Director

THE RESULTS

OPERATIONAL
IMPROVEMENTS

Pulled reports remotely from any device
Without needing to be on-site or chase down info from staff.

Tracked raw materials usage and waste
in a single system, instead of disconnected files.

Reduced internal training time,
thanks to access to FlexiBake’s recordings and support resources.

Generated PO data in under an hour
instead of walking through the warehouse and updating Excel manually.

Logged traceability details directly from the floor
including lot codes, on iPads already used in operations.

Reassigned inventory locations digitally
avoiding errors from physical moves not being reflected in records.

BUSINESS RESULTS

1 hour to generate
PURCHASE ORDERS
Pulled in FlexiBake instead of Excel.
2 facilities managed
IN A SINGLE ERP SYSTEM
With cloud access to the data.
100% of staff with
INSTANT ACCESS TO INVENTORY
via iPads in use on the warehouse floor.
150 + default reports
PREBUILT WITHOUT ANY SETUP REQUIRED
for sales, production, inventory, logistics.

I can access FlexiBake from anywhere in the world. All I need is an Internet connection. I’ve loaded it onto iPads, so people in our company have instant access to not only inventory, lot codes, and numbers for traceability, but they also are able to report on so much information while they’re standing in the warehouse.

Sean Glen,
Supply Chain Director

ADVICE FOR OTHER COMPANIES



Know what you want to solve
The system won’t do the thinking for you. Be clear on your goals before you start.


Take the time to set it up right
Don’t skip the groundwork. The effort upfront is worth it later on.



Make use of the tools
Use the resources FlexiBake gives
you (training recordings and reports) to avoid reinventing the wheel.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Ideation continues expanding its co-manufacturing operations, serving the growing demand for gluten-free and keto products. With full visibility into raw materials, production, and inventory — and fast access to the data behind it — they’re well-positioned to scale, support more brands, and adapt quickly to evolving customer needs.

Need faster reporting and clear visibility across your operations? See how FlexiBake can help.

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