Ideation

Background

After 12 years supplying fresh bread to Georgia restaurants as H&F Bread Co., the company rebranded as Ideation and shifted fully into co-manufacturing across two production sites in Atlanta, Georgia. The company focuses on gluten-free, keto, and better-for-you products such as cookies, donuts, and brownies, processing 100+ orders per day across 11-15 routes with 100-500 SKUs.

The Challenge

Despite having FlexiBake already deployed, Ideation was only using it as an invoice generator. All operational data lived in Excel spreadsheets and in staff members’ heads, creating significant barriers to growth.

Specific Pain Points

• Created purchase orders manually in Excel
• Could not easily track raw material usage, waste, or finished goods
• Manually assigned raw material locations, even when inventory was physically moved
• Lacked historical records due to incomplete data entry
• Disconnected processes could not keep pace with growth
• Struggled to access data needed for purchasing, planning, and reporting

The Solution

The team decided to fully configure and embed FlexiBake into daily operations to enable scalability. Rather than replacing their existing system, they expanded its usage gradually, layering in production planning, costing, and inventory over time.

Product Fit

• Used the cloud-based version for full remote visibility and control
• Installed on existing warehouse iPads for instant staff access
• Provided data security during COVID-19 disruptions
• Unified tracking of raw materials, finished goods, inventory, and waste

Implementation Approach

• Expanded usage gradually, layering in production planning, costing, and inventory over time
• Success depended on internal clarity about what problems to solve first
• Recorded training sessions enabled self-service onboarding for new team members

Support Experience

• Reliable dedicated contact on the FlexiBake team for quick issue resolution
• Staff directed to the support portal for independent problem-solving

Results

Operational Improvements

• Pulled reports remotely from any device without being on-site
• Tracked raw material usage and waste in one unified system
• Reduced internal training time via FlexiBake’s recorded sessions
• Generated PO data in under an hour versus manual warehouse walks plus Excel
• Logged lot codes and traceability data directly from the warehouse floor on iPads
• Reassigned inventory locations digitally, eliminating physical-move record errors

Advice to Other Companies

1. Know what you want to solve — the system will not do the thinking for you
2. Take time to set it up correctly — upfront groundwork pays off later
3. Use available tools — leverage training recordings and prebuilt reports to avoid reinventing processes

What’s Next

Ideation continues expanding co-manufacturing operations, serving growing demand for gluten-free and keto products. With unified visibility into materials, production, and inventory, the company is positioned to scale, support additional brands, and adapt to shifting customer needs.