Young's already uses the Freshnet system for ordering meat, poultry, game, fruit and vegetables, dairy, beer, wines and sprits and coffee. In the future it is looking to add frozen, chilled and ambient products. "We were looking for a way to streamline our business and the Freshnet system has helped us to achieve this," says Young's retail director Patrick Dardis. "We have been able to standardise our purchasing process across our estate, including the integration of our suppliers. Having real-time information and a complete audit trail of purchasing information has provided positive operational benefits to us."

Once Young's had taken the plunge, implementation of the system moved quickly. It was put on trial in six outlets during the summer of 2003, and they were followed by a phased roll-out three months later, with completion in early 2004.

A series of one-day training workshops were held at the brewery for managers, deputy managers and chefs and was followed up by a visit to each of the pubs. Back in familiar surroundings, the chefs and managers were free to ask further questions and were supported in setting up their ordering requirements specifically to suit the way that they had operated.

Capital outlay was minimal as the hardware was already in place - the pubs already had computers.

David Cunningham, Young's financial controller retail, is delighted with the system. "One of the reasons we chose Freshnet was because the core system is very flexible. Freshnet is willing to listen to any questions or improvements that can be made. The product is continuously being enhanced and improved and that benefits everyone."