End-to-End ERP

Impala Citrus

Impala Citrus is a family-owned business that has grown into a global exporter of premium fruit. Vulcan Labs partnered with them to design and develop a full end-to-end ERP solution, custom-built to support every stage of their supply chain, from farm to consumer.

impalacitrus.co.za
  • ERP
  • Full-stack
  • Supply Chain
All success stories

The Challenge

Modernising and Streamlining the Fruit Export Process

Our client operates as a vital link between fruit producers and international buyers, specialising in the export of citrus and stone fruit. The core of their operation relied heavily on manual Excel order forms shared via email, an error-prone process that made scaling difficult, hindered team efficiency, and created knowledge bottlenecks.

In addition, their reliance on a packaged ERP system created further friction. The existing system handled all downstream processes post-order but was bloated, inflexible, and mismatched to their specific workflows. They were paying for a fraction of the platform's functionality while having to adapt their business to fit the tool, rather than the other way around.

The Solution

A Tailored, End-to-End Export Management Platform

Vulcan Labs partnered with the client to completely reimagine their systems through an agile and iterative development approach. The first milestone was replacing the legacy Excel ordering process with a custom-built, web-based ordering application offering intuitive, Excel-like inline editing to ease adoption and reduce human error.

Next, we expanded the platform to manage master data and progressively replicated and enhanced key ERP features. We focused on creating user-centric workflows and added custom functionality that wasn't possible within the previous ERP environment.

To ensure operational continuity, we developed a real-time database-level integration between the legacy system and our new platform. This hybrid approach allowed for a smooth, phased migration. Each new feature was seamlessly integrated until the client was fully transitioned to the new system, without any disruption to their business.

Today, the client operates entirely from the Vulcan Labs solution, built around their needs, with the flexibility to evolve alongside their business.

Technologies Used

  • React
  • TypeScript
  • Node.js
  • Express
  • Knex
  • Material UI
  • Microsoft SQL Server
  • PostgreSQL
  • Redis
  • React Native
  • Expo
  • SSIS
  • Docker
  • Caddy