A social statement, a streamlined brand: Linda Wright, CMA, helps Voortman keep on track with operational efficiencies.

Voortman Cookies Ltd. has grown over the past 50 years from a two-man operation in two 10X10 foot rooms in Hamilton, Ont., to become a 500-employee operation in a 300,000-square-foot facility in Burlington, Ont. The company now ships its products across Canada, the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and has enough capacity to make 20 million cookies a day.

Voortman made news in the past year by becoming the first major cookie company to take all trans fats out of its products, in response to growing concerns about the detrimental health effects of hydrogenated oils (which carry trans fats). This is just the most recent innovation for a cookie company that prides itself on its innovation and its recipes, which include no added preservatives.

Linda Wright, CMA, has been a part of the Voortman success story since the late '80s, when she started working in credit and collections at the firm. She has been part of the changing landscape at the company ever since and took over as controller in 2000. In 2001, she also became vice-president of Appleby Transportation Ltd., Voortman's own fleet of trucks used to deliver its orders across Canada and the U.S.

Wright has been at the forefront of initiatives to keep the company competitive through the use of efficient management systems, and the maintenance of an efficient, smooth-running supply chain.

Logistics for expansion

Voortman has a network of 500 independent distributors across Canada, the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and these distributors sell directly to 50,000 stores. To maintain an efficient ordering and distribution system, Voortman supplied its distributors with handheld devices for the first time in the early '90s, when the technology was just finding its feet. Over the next year, Wright will update these systems, supplying the distributors with new software, hardware, training and support.

"Handhelds now hold more data than a desktop PC did 10 years ago," she notes. "Now, our distributors can better service their accounts. It also makes it easier for them at tax time--at the end of the day, they know how much money they've made, and have sales, returns, mileage expenses and their own receivables at their fingertips."

This upgrade followed on the heels of another substantial addition to the company's supply chain management. In 2000, Wright introduced an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to integrate all operations--finance, inventory, receiving, production, distribution and costing--so that the full scope of the business could be managed more efficiently.

"It took us a year to implement the ERP system," Wright says. "We spent part of that time off-site, configuring the system and learning how to effectively operate it. It has enhanced all functions of the business."

The management systems were important additions because the company continues to expand in the markets it serves. Since 1992, the company has more than doubled its sales. Last year, 50,000 square feet of new space was added to the plant floor, creating more warehouse space and enough room for new wafer ovens, a new packaging robot, and additional space should another oven be necessary.

Voortman's offices will also be moving in 2005, into a new building that they own. Wright is currently managing the leasing process for the five floors of the six-storey building that the company doesn't require right now for its own operations. She is also organizing the company's move, which should be completed in April.

Shipping south

Managing Voortman's accounting records, cash flow, inventory level monitoring, and tax issues could easily take up all of Wright's time, but with a dedicated staff, she is able to manage operations at Appleby Transportation as well.

Appleby has 32 drivers, one operations manager and two traffic clerks on staff. They operate 32 Volvo tractors and 60 trailers that line up outside the bakery every weekend.

Operating a trucking company has its benefits. Additional revenue can be earned by backhauling other companies' orders back across the U.S. border after delivering to U.S. distributors, through what is known as the LoadLink system. The company can also transport its own baking supplies back to the plant in Burlington this way. However, particularly since 9/11, cross-border trading can, and has sometimes been, a logistical nightmare.

"Because all of our products for the U.S. market are made in Canada, we have to be able to maintain efficient transportation across the border," says Wright. "To allow that, we are having to adapt to a lot of new initiatives being introduced south of the border. These include addressing the Bioterrorism Act, and such initiatives as the Customs Trade Partners Against Terrorism (CPAT) program.

"The CPAT initiative is one that requires any company that is shipping materials over the border to provide assurance that their premises are secure. The suppliers to these companies have to do the same--you have to know where everything comes from. At the moment, security programs like this aren't yet fully developed but if you don't show you're making an effort, you could have your shipments blocked at the border."

To maintain an efficient flow of their goods across the border, Voortman sends its broker a file to the border a couple of days prior to shipment so that border control knows what each truck is carrying.

"It has been expensive, and because of changes in customs' systems, our system was not operating briefly. However, with the prior notice, our drivers can clear customs easier." The challenge for Wright at this stage is simply keeping up with changes in regulations as they occur. Unfortunately, these remain a moving target.

The right recipe

The heart of Voortman's operations remains, of course, its cookies. The company currently has seven cookie lines, three wafer lines, and more than 10 ovens. It has remained competitive, in part, because of the owner, Harry Voortman, who constantly looks for new ways to improve the product to make it more appealing to modern consumers.

In the 1980s, Voortman expanded its reach by riding the enthusiasm for bulk food buying, using its own display cases to sell Voortman cookies in bulk. Later, the company introduced a line of sugar free cookies, and in 2004 the full line of products went trans fat free.

"Preparing for the trans fat change took a lot of work as far as record keeping, determining what sort of impact it would have on the company," says Wright. "But the most time-consuming work was the R & D, which was in (company owner and president) Harry Voortman's hands--getting the recipe right so that the cookies would maintain their taste. The financials, in comparison, were really straightforward."

Asked if the move has affected the bottom line, Wright says not yet. "We had anticipated sales growth of 50%, but we did not meet our goal. We still expect it to come in 2005," she notes. "We are now trying to educate consumers, and there will be a learning curve."

This approach to innovation has earned the company local and international recognition--a nomination for the Burlington Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence award for innovative ideas, and a SIAL d'or in France for its move to trans fat free baking.

Wright is a long-term employee with Voortman for many reasons. "You have a lot of opportunities to innovate and create change, and it's a very comfortable, family atmosphere," she says. "There are a lot of long-term employees because the owners promote good values and mutual respect." By keeping employees like Wright happy, Voortman has been able to innovate with homegrown talent--and Wright plans to keep encouraging innovative change in operational and financial management in this growing company.

Robert Colman is editor-in-chief of CMA Management.