VSS Meat grows with tailor-made automation system

How do you manage your company’s growth while making work easier and more efficient? The answer lies in automation. To achieve this, VSS Meat partnered with paSys Food Automation. An automation solution built from hands-on experience, focused on service, and designed to fit the company like a glove.

Put two traditional butchers together, and the conversation flows naturally. Reijer Evers and Roy Meenderink both started out young in the butcher’s shop and remain loyal to the food industry to this day—Reijer as co-owner of VSS Meat, and Roy as managing partner at paSys Food Automation. “Because it’s in your DNA,” they say.

Let us introduce

Reijer Evers has been an entrepreneur in the meat sector for 27 years. Together with his business partner Gerwen Hazeleger, he opened a butcher’s shop in Elspeet in 1998. “We thought we could do it better ourselves—turned out we could. From that butcher’s shop, we grew into VSS Meat in ’t Harde, focusing on business-to-business. We supply beef, poultry, veal, lamb, and halal products to the hospitality sector and wholesalers across the Netherlands. Purchasing is international, sales are national. With 35 employees, we work on quality every single day. We don’t want to grow by hiring more people, but by working smarter through automation.” The passion for the craft remains at paramount. “A beautiful piece of meat still makes me happy. We want to preserve that craftsmanship and make it future-proof.” Roy Meenderink also started in the butcher’s trade—as a logistics worker, deboner, and project manager. “I saw the mountains of paperwork and thought, ‘there has to be a smarter way.’” He now has 23 years of experience with ERP systems in the food sector. “I know what happens on the work floor and translate that into automation solutions. Automation isn’t a goal in itself—it’s a means to help companies work better and more efficiently.”

Roy Meenderink (left) and Reijer Evers

The motivation

For VSS Meat, the main driver was growth and the increasing pressure of legislation and regulations. “We were using an ERP package that worked fine for a butcher’s shop, but no longer met the needs of an internationally operating business,” Reijer explains. “Then you start thinking: where do we want to be in five or ten years? And what must a system be capable of by then?” After discussions with several providers, VSS Meat chose paSys Food Automation. The decisive factors were the comprehensive solution, continuous innovation, and the fact that not all hardware needed to be replaced. “We try to reuse as much as possible,” Roy adds. “It saves money and it’s more sustainable.”

The solution

Production has now been fully automated. The system supports the entire process—from purchasing and receiving to production management, labelling, recipe management, cost calculation, order intake, registration, and invoicing. A key feature is the integration of production planning and order processing. Customers place their orders through an online portal, selecting their favorites and completing their order with a single click. “It saves a lot of email traffic and manual work,” says Reijer. The system also flags irregularities: if a customer who usually orders twenty units suddenly orders two thousand, it sends an alert. Roy summarizes: “We build standard automation that fits like a glove. True custom work is tough on both supplier and customer. We prefer client-specific solutions that are built into the standard.”

The collaboration

The project started in 2022. VSS Meat deliberately opted for a full transition in one go. “Cold turkey,” Reijer laughs. The change required adjustment—young employees picked it up quickly, others needed more guidance. “What mattered most was that paSys Food Automation responded quickly whenever we had questions,” says Reijer. Roy agrees: “You can deliver the best system in the world, but if you leave your client to fend for themselves at go-live, you lose their trust. That’s why we focus strongly on service. We’re also honest when something isn’t possible. And we keep learning from each other. That’s how we achieve growth together.” The benefits are already visible: orders now run almost entirely through the system, logistics operate more efficiently, and goods reception has been streamlined. “We’re doing more with the same number of people,” Reijer concludes.

Looking ahead

The ambitions go further. VSS Meat wants to use the accumulated data to steer the company more effectively. The partnership with paSys Food Automation will play a key role in this. They are testing the use of Microsoft BI and ensuring safer, more connected operations. Roy explains: “Our clients will soon be able to switch to a cloud solution. Cybersecurity is crucial—no one wants to come to a standstill because of a malfunction or a hack.” Reijer concludes: “Automation helps us achieve our goal: delivering top-quality meat, supported by a system that fits us and makes our work easier.”

www.vssmeat.nl
www.pasys.nl

Photos: © Koos Groenewold