The OpenHR and OpenPeople (payroll) system from Advanced have been rolled-out across 16 ABP sites in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and have significantly cut administrative processing times for over 2,000 weekly and monthly paid employees.
ABP's previous HR and payroll infrastructure "was no longer sustainable", said the company, due to requiring high levels of manual intervention, which led to processing errors and corrections. The organisation wanted to standardise its HR and payroll processes to eliminate paper-based administration and improve efficiency.
It also required a system that could ensure continuous compliance with changing UK tax and National Insurance regulations, and support pension auto-enrolment and HMRC Real Time Information functionality. Advanced was selected following a three stage tendering process involving ten suppliers.
Robin Irvine, CIO at ABP Food Group, said: "Employees based at 16 sites were all using different versions of three disparate payroll systems, which clearly wasn't acceptable for a business of our size which needs to run efficiently.
"Due to the aggressive timescales of the project, we needed to have total confidence in our nominated supplier. Advanced was chosen because of the strong functionality and integration capabilities of its solutions."
Advanced's systems are now enabling ABP to electronically store and process HR and payroll information from a single, centralised system, providing timely access to comprehensive management information and full legislative compliance. By cutting excessive use of paper forms and manual processes, said ABP, the systems have also transformed organisation-wide efficiency, reduced payment errors and improved the accuracy of employee records.
Irvine said: "The return on investment has been immediate through combined efficiency savings of over £150,000 and reducing processing times by 32 hours each week."
ABP Food Group consists of four separate divisions, including ABP Beef, ABP Proteins, ABP Renewables and ABP Pet Foods. ABP became embroiled in the horsemeat supermarket food scandal in 2013.
Image iStock/bluebird13