"Computerworld", No. 6 (359) February 18, 2003

The results of introducing an automated trade system at IceBit

On January 29, RBC Soft conducted a press conference devoted to the completion of introducing an automated trade system at the IceBit company. Among the conference's speakers were a representative of the customer, IceBit Director Igor Smetanin, and RBC Soft top officials, Director Alexey Kuzovkin together with Ivan Timofeyev, Director of the Department of Corporate Systems' Development and Introduction.

The company IceBit was founded in 1995 and now it is one of the largest suppliers of frozen goods to the Moscow market. Among frozen goods provided by the company are such well-known trademarks as Morozko, Daria and others. Moreover, IceBit also has its own production; it offers frozen vegetables, fruit and berries under the trademark Four Seasons. Among the clients of IceBit are the supermarkets Perekriostok, Seventh Continent and others.

According to a statement made by Smetanin, RBC Soft provided them with more than just an automated system. "The company (RBC Soft) proved that the implementation of the project on time in compliance with all presented demands and within the set budget is a reality," the IceBit head was quoted as saying. The automation system covers all fields of IceBit's distribution activities, including interactions with clients, suppliers, the management of accounts payable and receivable, stock control and so on. Before the introduction of this system, IceBit was using several systems that were not linked to each other. The RBC Soft solution enables the company to automate and integrate all routine operations.

A lot of questions discussed at the Internet press conference with IceBit came from visitors of the RBC web site. In particular, they were interested in the attitude of the IceBit personnel to the innovation. Smetanin admitted there was some resistance to the new system, however, all employers were placed before an accomplished fact and had no alternative inside the company. He noted that IceBit completely relied on the software supplier in adjusting the system. Smetanin believes that under the current conditions, the independent customizing of a similar solution will be rather harmful than useful. It is important to note that despite the ready planning module for the system available from RBC Soft, the customer decided not to buy this module, as it was unnecessary according to the company's current plans.

In other words, another solution of RBC Soft demonstrated that contemporary trading companies are desperately in need of specialized automation systems.

Konstantin Polyakov