Foodware Lunchbox packs Dynamics NAV 2013, Office 365, industry features in appetizing package for SMEs

Chicago-based Liberty Grove Software has rolled out Foodware Lunchbox, a Dynamics NAV-based solution for small and mid-sized food and beverage companies. The new offering, based on SI Foodware, will be offered with pre-configured templates and fixed fee deployments.

The offering is in large part an effort to bring to market an offering based on NAV 2013 with lower implementation effort and costs, says Andrew Good, president and CEO of Liberty Grove.

Prospective Foodware Lunchbox customers can select the level of functionality that they wish to use via the application's website and receive fixed-price services quotes on those services. Because there is less customization involved - and fewer choices - implementation costs are lower than they would normally be for a larger organization, says Good.

"You're still getting the functionality," he says, "but you're getting a pre-configured system that meets your requirements and in an economical package."

According to Good, Foodware Lunchbox helps food and beverage companies tackle some of the special requirements that aren't addressed by Dynamics NAV out of the box.

"The quality module is one area that's not available in the base NAV product," says Good, noting that companies in this industry use item specifications relative to particular vendors and customers. Also missing from NAV's base version is Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) labeling - which companies use to track products at the pallet, case, and package level - and the ability to track items that are private-labeled.

To address the food market, Good says Liberty Grove Software has had to develop internal expertise around best practices and business processes associated with food manufacturing and distribution. That expertise ranges from fresh products to long-shelf-life products and everything in between. "...