SAP Customer Success Story | Wholesale Distribution | EMI Yoshi

Picture Credit | EMI Yoshi Inc., North Brunswick, New Jersey, USA. Used with permission.

EMI Yoshi: Serving Up Greater

­Performance with Enterprise
­Software from SAP

Partner
 SAP Customer Success Story | Wholesale Distribution | EMI Yoshi

Executive overview Company

EMI Yoshi Inc.
Company
Industry
Wholesale distribution
Vision
Products and Services
Why SAP Premium plastic tableware
Web Site
Implementation www.emiyoshi.com
SAP® Solutions
Solution
An SAP® Business All-in-One solution; SAP BusinessObjects™ Edge
Business Intelligence software; and SAP Incentive Administration
Benefits application by Vistex; SAP Customer Relationship Management
and Sybase® Mobile Sales for SAP CRM applications
Future plans
Partner
YASH Technologies (www.yash.com)

EMI Yoshi Inc. is a trusted supplier of premium disposable tableware for the foodservice
and retail industries. Well known for its innovative products and outstanding service,
the company has realized remarkable success. To help continue this trend and build a
solid foundation to enable long-term growth, EMI Yoshi chose various software solutions
from SAP. Says Hillel Zafir, chief technology officer, “It was clear to us that all roads
for growing a company lead to SAP.”

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 SAP Customer Success Story | Wholesale Distribution | EMI Yoshi

Executive overview
Setting standards for creativity,
Company
quality, and service
Vision

$25 million
EMI Yoshi is dedicated to assisting foodservice
­operators and retail customers who want to
Why SAP
­entertain elegantly, effortlessly, and economically.
The company manufactures single-use, high-end Annual revenue
Implementation tableware. Its products have the upscale look of fine
china, cut crystal, and premium flatware, yet they
are ­disposable and recyclable.
Solution
Based in North Brunswick, New Jersey, the company The company generates more than US$25 million
Benefits was formed when EMI Plastic and Yoshi Inc. merged. in revenue and constantly strives to capture more
“We had complementary products,” says Zafir. market share by differentiating its products and
“We would meet at sales calls to offer a full product services. Products are manufactured in China, with
Future plans line. The owners of both companies are very entre- distribution worldwide from warehouses in China,
preneurial and like-minded in commitment to quality New Jersey, California, and Canada. EMI Yoshi accom-
and service, so it made sense to merge.” plishes all of this with a lean staff of 100 employees
worldwide.

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 SAP Customer Success Story | Wholesale Distribution | EMI Yoshi

Executive overview
Supporting a long-term vision
Company
for growth
Vision
EMI Yoshi is committed to serving each customer To identify and outline its requirements, EMI Yoshi
with an unparalleled product assortment, attractive created a 45-page request for quotation that detailed
Why SAP
pricing, unmatched delivery times, and outstanding the scope of the needed solution. Top priorities in-
service. To uphold this commitment, the company cluded functionality for warehouse management,
Implementation needed software that could accommodate increasing customer relationship management, financials, and
complexity. Manufacturing had expanded to China, enterprise mobility. “The day we decided we needed
and the customer base and distribution network warehouse management and mobile sales, we knew
Solution were on the rise. Simple accounting software we needed enterprise mobility,” Zafir says. Beyond
would no longer suffice. “Our go-to-market strategy handheld scanners in the warehouse, EMI Yoshi’s
Benefits had changed,” Zafir explains. “We needed an all- long-term plan is to enable mobile access to back-
encompassing software solution to help us take end data and processes using the Sybase® Mobile
our business to the next level.” Sales for SAP CRM application.
Future plans

“When business grows beyond a certain level, you have to be

able to manage it seamlessly and efficiently. To get to that point,
your technology has to help you get there.”
Hillel Zafir, Chief Technology Officer, EMI Yoshi Inc.

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 SAP Customer Success Story | Wholesale Distribution | EMI Yoshi

Executive overview
Choosing the best path forward
Company

Vision
As EMI Yoshi delved into its requirements, ­executives EMI Yoshi selected an SAP Business All-in-One
realized that not just any software would do. The ­solution. Designed for midsize or fast-growing
Why SAP
­solution would need to touch every aspect of the small companies, it provides in-depth ­functionality
business, from supply chain to inventory manage- for ­running the entire business efficiently with
Implementation ment and financials. A custom solution was not an ­support for best practices. After its core software
option; that would be far too complicated and costly was in place, EMI Yoshi rolled out the SAP Incentive
to develop and maintain. ­Administration application by Vistex. Plans are to roll
Solution out the SAP Customer Relationship Management
The company considered a number of vendors, (SAP CRM) application, SAP BusinessObjects™ Edge
Benefits including other well-known names in enterprise soft- Business Intelligence (BI) software, Sybase Mobile
ware. But none met all of the requirements. Then by Sales for SAP CRM, and mobile BI applications. “We
sheer serendipity, an EMI Yoshi executive was seated were excited to be partnering with one of the most
Future plans next to an SAP employee on a flight. They started innovative companies to bring technology to the
talking about SAP® software. “Once SAP software ­enterprise,” Zafir adds.
was in the mix, the choice was obvious. SAP takes
care of everything,” Zafir says. “It would help us handle
tasks from the simplest to the most complex.”

“If you’re going to compete with a large voice, you have to level the playing
field, even if you run a small business. SAP offered the better value and
surpassed all the others in terms of features and long-term fit.”
Hillel Zafir, Chief Technology Officer, EMI Yoshi Inc.

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 SAP Customer Success Story | Wholesale Distribution | EMI Yoshi

Executive overview
Putting the right resources
Company
in place
Vision
While SAP Business All-in-One solutions are designed EMI Yoshi ran the new software in parallel to its
for a quick deployment with minimal business ­existing solution for one month to assist in training
Why SAP
disruption, the choice of implementation partner staff on new business processes. “Before, all of the
greatly impacts the outcome. That’s what EMI Yoshi tasks to complete a job were in someone’s head.
Implementation found with YASH Technologies. Now everything is defined in the software,” Zafir
­explains. EMI Yoshi also implemented SAP ­Incentive
“You want to pick the right software and the right Administration to help it track and manage its
Solution partner so you implement only once,” Zafir says. ­incentive agreements and programs.
“YASH Technologies made our SAP Business All-in-
Benefits One implementation a success. They came in, dug
into the details, and understood right away what
needed to be done.”
Future plans

“The perception is that SAP software is too complicated

for small businesses. That’s not true. We were amazed by
the simplicity to the day-to-day users of the processes
once we started to work with the software.”
Hillel Zafir, Chief Technology Officer, EMI Yoshi Inc.

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 SAP Customer Success Story | Wholesale Distribution | EMI Yoshi

Executive overview
Operating in a more connected way
Company

Vision
Since implementing SAP software, the changes in In the past, locations for items in the warehouses
EMI Yoshi’s operating practices have been dramatic. were loosely accounted for on paper. If the item
Why SAP
With role-based navigation and an intuitive inter- couldn’t be located, it didn’t exist. Now with an SAP
face, the software provides easy access to the key Business All-in-One solution, inventory count and
Implementation ­business content that employees need to execute location are tracked in the software so nothing gets
tasks and transactions quickly and efficiently. The lost or sent out by mistake. “Our order pickers and
entire company is able to share information across packers were the product experts,” Zafir says. “Now
Solution the enterprise and operate in a more connected way. handheld scanners help ensure we’re pulling the
right items.”
Benefits Perhaps the most profound changes have been in
warehouse operations. “Before, all of our processes The solution supports EMI Yoshi’s financial ­processes
were paper based,” Zafir says. “If a customer made and provides a management accounting tool for
Future plans a change to an order, for example, it often happened monitoring and controlling performance. And with
in the warehouse and didn’t always flow back to the integration of SAP Incentive Administration, EMI
­accounting. Now we have full visibility of these types Yoshi can tightly control profitability. “SAP Incentive
of changes.” Administration eliminated third-party integration
for one of the most important parts of the business,”
Zafir adds. “A single sale can have six or seven different
types of incentive payouts. We know our true profit-
ability since the software shows the entire order flow
and who got paid.”

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 SAP Customer Success Story | Wholesale Distribution | EMI Yoshi

Executive overview
Running at peak
efficiency
80%
Company

Vision
With tighter control of operations, EMI Yoshi has Reduction in order
­reduced operating costs. It used to keep six months processing time
Why SAP
of inventory in stock. “Now we know exactly what
we have and where it’s located, so we require less
Implementation inventory. This frees up significant capital,” Zafir says.
And the company reduced the number of pickers and
packers from eight full-time order pickers to two fastest-moving items closest to the warehouse
Solution pickers and two packers, with the rest of the crew in- door. This change, combined with better inventory
volved in daily inventory cycle counting. During peak ­management, has resulted in an 80% reduction in
Benefits seasons, temporary workers, armed with handheld order-processing times. “We can process 10 orders
scanners, fill the void. in the time it took to process 2,” Zafir explains.
“Since our pickers know the exact location of every
Future plans Warehouse audits are now a breeze. “Before, it used item, we’ve reduced overtime from two to three
to take warehouse staff a day to prepare and an hours every day to none.”
­auditor four to five hours to perform the audit,”
Zafir says. “Now we can run a report and provide “Order accuracy has improved significantly, and
an accurate count in minutes.” we can service customers better,” Zafir says. “With
a clearer picture of what’s in inventory, we won’t
With better insight into which items are in ­highest promise something we can’t deliver and can suggest
demand, warehouse managers relocated the replacement items if needed.”

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 EMI Yoshi

Executive overview
Going mobile and
Company
gaining insight
Vision
Looking ahead, EMI Yoshi will complete the imple-
mentation of SAP CRM, SAP BusinessObjects Edge
Why SAP
BI, and Sybase Mobile Sales for SAP CRM. Sales
reps will use tablet devices to access back-end SAP
Implementation CRM data. “If sales printed a report two days ago,
they would be in the dark about last-minute orders
or changes,” Zafir explains. “With data available on
Solution device, they are better informed in serving our cus-
tomers.” The company plans to use Sybase Unwired
Benefits Platform to enable the secure exchange of data, and

Picture Credit | EMI Yoshi Inc., North Brunswick, New Jersey, USA. Used with permission.
the SAP Afaria® mobile device management solution
to secure and remotely manage mobile devices.
Future plans
EMI Yoshi also sees more SAP software in its future,
which will help inform strategic decisions. ­“Business
happens at the speed of now,” Zafir adds. “By
­accessing information as it happens, we can take
our business to a whole new level.”
CMP18658 (12/04)

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