Sometimes the most innovative discoveries come from unpredictable circumstances. Even with carefully laid plans, precise metrics, and calculated data, the best solutions come from unanticipated events. Though this has always been true, the COVID-19 pandemic has breathed new life into the idea, making way for our industry to uncover entirely new ways of doing business, and for one company—a fresh and unrivaled strategy for success.
Famous Software has turned the challenges brought on by the pandemic into opportunities. To get a better sense of how the Famous team made such an epic triumph, I sat down to chat with the company’s leadership.
“When we made the decision to go remote, we didn’t just want to support customers through this time, we wanted to do a better job of supporting them than we ever have,” Heather Hammack, President, told me. “Our goal was to ensure our customers do not experience any negative impacts of this decision, and instead would see a positive outcome as their software and service provider. We were essentially able to reroute all of our systems, making it so our customers may not even know we weren’t in the office if we didn’t tell them.”
Famous acted quickly in the face of crisis, sending all 100 employees home in one day before shelter-in-place orders even went into effect. The safety of its team members took precedence, though the company’s elite customer service never dwindled. With such uncertainty in the air, Famous’ leadership took action, seamlessly transitioning its staff to remote work with many teams not even missing business time.
“This transition speaks to the environment we live in today, the tools we have access to, and the investments we make in our internal resources. Because of our project management system and our customer relationship management (CRM) system and team, we’re able to connect with each other, work remotely, and have our normal collaboration without physically being in a room together,” Heather explained. “It’s been humbling to know these are the types of people that work at Famous Software. When something challenging comes to fruition, our team is going to go the extra mile. We’re gaining a better idea of what our capabilities are, now and in the future.”
It’s no small feat to rise above unprecedented circumstances like those we face today—a true testament to how Famous Software has garnered expertise in terms of tech and services. Not only has the company kept its head above water, but it has found strength in the struggle, allowing Famous to serve its customers in a way the team may have never thought possible.
“This transition speaks to the environment we live in today, the tools we have access to, and the investments we make in our internal resources.”
Heather Hammack, President, Famous Software
“To be able to transition and leverage technology was integral. We promoted our team’s collaboration on this by moving our internal meetings to video. Seeing people’s body language and facial expressions communicates a lot, and it’s been fun to put that into practice with our customers as well,” Heather said. “From a development standpoint, our team has actually been more productive working from home than they were in the office. I didn’t necessarily think that was going to be the case, but when you’re not disrupted by regular office interactions, it is much easier to get things done.”
As the Famous team put it, everyone feels a sense of lost community when not seeing people on a regular basis. But, from a business perspective, it’s actually highlighted improvements that Famous didn’t know it could achieve. With that being said, the company had to figure out a way to promote its culture. Some examples include scheduling a weekly virtual coffee break, competing in a step challenge, and doing the occasional “show and tell” exercise (because we should all know each other’s pets on a first-name basis by now).
“When something challenging comes to fruition, our team is going to go the extra mile.”
Heather Hammack
In the fresh produce industry, we are well aware of how important it is to maintain a sense of familiarity and friendliness. It’s how we define our interactions with each other and stay at the top of our game. For Famous Software, this idea was simply a strategic turning point as the team works to better serve its customers, throughout the pandemic and long into the future.
“Internally, our main focus has been on implementing more webinars and video recordings,” Sales Manager Natalie Kaita commented. “We’ve also pivoted our external events, including the Famous Forum that takes place every year in conjunction with Produce Marketing Association’s (PMA) Fresh Summit. This year we have to do it virtually, which we are hoping will attract more attendees. It’s going to take place over the course of a few days with multiple different sessions available.”
“These past five months have been challenging for most businesses and we couldn’t be more proud of our team for once again showing their resilience, just as they have throughout our 60-plus years of serving communities with fresh produce. Thankfully, we continued to receive the high level of support from Famous that we are accustomed to receiving which helped us maintain a sense of normalcy in a very unique time.” - Sharron Barnier, Vice President of Finance and Administration, Mucci Farms
These are the opportunities Famous Software speaks of—openings for a unique style of communicating which may not have come to fruition otherwise. It is this dedication that has fueled the Famous fire leading to an utterly identical customer experience, from maintaining efficient operations to navigating COVID-related challenges.
“We wanted to ensure that they didn’t see any delays in our service. We’re turning around customer tickets faster than we ever have in the past and have found great success in supporting our customers through initiatives like the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program. By giving them the ability to track transactions such as this in our system, we have remained unrivaled in our services,” added Support Manager Carolyn Craft.
Support in this capacity has been essential, but when it comes to the day-to-day, Famous had some bigger fish to fry. With the leadership team visiting over 1,600 customers throughout the U.S. and Canada every year, it’s needless to say that some big operational shifts were in order.
“Every year, our leadership team travels to customers’ headquarters to discuss our partnership and forward-looking strategies. Per the usual fresh produce interaction, we’d also share lunches together, go to dinner, and ultimately make a three-day trip out of these visits,” Heather continued. “We are approaching our annual meeting virtually with Robinson Fresh and will turn that three-day trip into four hours of conferencing. Of course, we miss seeing our customers face-to-face dearly, but this is just one example of how we have actually become more efficient. We believe if we can embrace the change and create new opportunities, it will enable us to be a stronger company and provide more value to our customers.”
“We’re turning around customer tickets faster than we ever have in the past and have found great success in supporting our customers...”
Carolyn Craft, Support Manager, Famous Software
This ideology has translated to Famous’ newer implementations as well—company leadership has continued to see an unforeseen event simply as an opportunity for growth. Three of the company’s newest accounts in North America adopted Famous Software solutions just as the pandemic hit, adding an air of anxiety to an already uncertain situation. Even so, Famous ensured that these new partnerships kicked off without a hitch.
“Typically, these implementations would have been at least half onsite and half virtual. We ended up completing two of those with roughly 80 percent of the work taking place virtually, while we went completely virtual with the third account, as they were located in Canada,” Nick Calderon, Implementation Manager, said. “So, not only are we facing these challenges on a logistical level, but we’ve had to shift the way we implement our own software.”
Though we’d all like to assume “business as usual,” history is rarely made without facing challenges. A part of rising to this particular challenge has been Famous Software’s pivot to virtual networking, shifting its strategic planning team for business services to focus entirely on making this pivot possible. Moving into the virtual space has proved more effective for the company’s customers, though, leading Famous to the idea that virtual business could be the new norm.
“I think our entire office dynamic will change, as well. We don’t need to have a hundred people in the office at any given time anymore. The Famous team is very comfortable with having a hybrid approach in the future,” Heather added. “We pride ourselves on looking at change as an opportunity, and this is going to be a big one.”
The company’s primary product, Famous Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), includes the Business Intelligence (BI) service, Famous Integration Services (FIS), and Warehouse Management Services (WMS), in addition to a line of apps. This suite compiles a complete system of applications and technology designed to manage and automate the integration of information and operational processes. When it comes to tech in the time of coronavirus, support such as this could not be more pertinent.
“...not only are we facing these challenges on a logistical level, but we’ve had to shift the way we implement our own software.”
Nick Calderon, Implementation Manager, Famous Software
“A lot of our recent focus has been on electronic communication. So, we do a lot of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) on behalf of our customers, using our FIS platform,” Heather told me. “Buyers can send their requests directly to the supplier through our system, meaning less time spent keying in orders. We’re also processing what we call Famous to Famous Transactions, which means customers don’t need to send a paper purchase order (PO) anymore to another Famous customer. It’s all electronic.”
And with a buy-side network as large as Famous’, streamlining services electronically is one of the most efficient ways to maximize value. Roughly 70 trading partners like Walmart, Costco, and Kroger, inhabit the Famous portfolio in addition to several major foodservice operators. Supplier-to-supplier transactions are also prevalent, including shipping and delivery alerts that allow customers to streamline the entire process.
“The BI system has been especially helpful for our customers during this time as it is looking at the data in their Famous database graphically or through visualization, versus rows and columns of data,” Heather pointed out. “This has been interesting because they can see what products are performing, and who they’re performing with. This is particularly helpful for our foodservice customers as they work to keep up with shifting demands during this challenging time.”
The hand-held computers in all of our pockets help, too, with Famous leveraging all aspects of technology to maintain its position as a full-service provider. The company is building multiple applications that not only consolidate its services, but provides its produce partners with unrivaled resources, particularly amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our company has continued to operate through the challenges of coronavirus, and it has been great to have support from Famous available along with us. Our normal day-to-day requests have been answered when we need them, and ongoing projects have continued to move forward like the new Android WMS system for our shipping locations and EDI partnerships with new customers. We even had a wildfire at our door and Famous was ready at 9 p.m. to move our Famous server to a Dataguard server at another site if our building had to be evacuated (thankfully, it wasn’t). We are grateful Famous is able to continue supporting us remotely.” - Hayes Roberts, Director of Information Technology, Church Brothers Farms/True Leaf Farms
“We’re building a quality control (QC) app that five of our customers are currently piloting. This app allows them to take pictures and identify characteristics of the product, which is also completely integrated in our ERP system,” Heather explained. “Another of our recent projects is a truck check-in app. When a truck driver gets to the supplier, they don’t have to fill out a piece of paper or necessarily even talk to somebody. This is an especially important development in today’s environment as we eliminate some unnecessary person-to-person contact.”
With buy- and supply-side operations on lock, Famous Software is now widening its scope in the supply chain, bringing critical distribution operations into the fold.
“We’re known for being the ultimate grower-packer-shipper software suite, and distribution, historically, wasn’t our primary focus. We’re working to change that now by adding to our portfolio of enhancements in distribution and wholesale. This focus on distribution is one of our growth strategies moving forward,” continued Heather.
Distribution inherently goes hand-in-hand with widespread expansion. Anyone in the produce industry has faced challenges when it comes to doing business on both coasts, and Famous Software has long been in talks about bringing its Fresno-based services to the East. Now, with the pandemic inadvertently knocking down barriers, Famous has a renewed sense of motivation to carry out this expansion—an accident turned opportunity at its finest.
“This experience has only solidified our opinion that we can do it. Some of our largest customers are on the East Coast, so it would be beneficial to develop wholesale distribution services that cater to everyone,” Heather added. “Now that we know more about our capabilities, it’s about finding the right people and the right space.”
The Famous Software team is full of unsuspecting innovators that have managed to shake the very ground their livelihood stands on. Each of them has broken the mold, looking beyond the limits of common foresight, and ultimately growing Famous Software into an unrelenting force. 
