Think first, then steer

With around 380 employees (336 full-time), the family-owned company HUG produces around 8,500 tonnes of fine baked goods every year. Among other things, HUG is the world's largest manufacturer of tartelettes. 40 million pieces in all variations went out into the world in 2016. In other words, the HUG brands (HUG, DAR-VIDA and Wernli) represent the classic Swiss success SME.

Hanspeter Lüthi, HUG stands for Cordial, Entrepreneurial, Conscientious. What does that mean?
Our family business - the fifth generation recently joined us - places great value on quality, openness and honesty. Eggs, butter and flour are sourced from the neighbourhood. The 1000 tons of chocolate processed annually are UTZ-certified. All palm fat comes from sustainable cultivation. We are IFS (International Food Standard) certified, have ISO 9001, the organic label for certain products and produce "From the region, for the region". We also undergo ethical audits as part of SMETA SEDEX Pillar 4 (ethical sustainability in supply chains and sustainable production systems).

A few years ago, Wernli AG joined the HUG family. This had consequences for document management.
When we took over Wernli, the aim was to harmonise departments and processes. We wanted to get closer and present ourselves in a uniform way. At HUG in Malters, we already had a document management system that worked well. Wernli in Trimbach, on the other hand, was using the IQSoft quality management program from IQS AG in Zofingen. We were not sure whether we wanted this system.

How did you evaluate and decide?
We asked for a lot. We wanted something very, very good that the users could also use quickly. Functionally, we demanded a graphical process representation and the visual presentation according to our wishes. We wanted simple management of our 2000 or so documents, including full-text search. Furthermore, we expected a definable document age, the freely definable validity period for each document as well as the traceability of all changes. Also important: automatic write protection, distribution groups per document, freely selectable authorization levels and much more. A clear argument in favor of IQSoft was the possibility of expansion beyond document control. We appreciate the fact that individual new modules can be activated as required.

And so the family business HUG AG chose the family business IQS AG.
That was actually an issue. We are planning for the long term. So we visited IQS AG in Zofingen. We got to know a strongly established family business that we expected to be there for us for a long time.

How was and is the cooperation with IQS AG?
With Colin Kost we got a first-class contact person. You can tell that he

"If you want to build something this good, you should invest."

enjoys working with us, even when it comes to details. It was and is a very creative partnership. Colin wanted to get to know our ideas and implement them.

They say it usually takes 95% of the time to define and understand processes and 5% to implement the digital system. How did you prepare for the introduction of your new software?
We spent hours discussing this internally in teams and thus created salary. You absolutely have to do this if you want to map processes. The free possibility of representation with IQSoft was a great advantage for us. IQS AG sent us a sample. We worked it out and Colin designed it in a short time on site. We were able to learn a lot.

It's a significant investment to get personalized advice like this.
If you want to build something like this well, you should invest. And after careful preparation, it is best to start installing the documentation at some point, even if not everything is perfect yet. We go forward and set some switches on the way. Certain inconsistencies only emerge in the field anyway.

What does everyday life look like?
Who is responsible for what?
The system informs us on Mondays which documents have expired or which processes need to be checked. The process owners are members of the management board. I myself am involved in an advisory capacity. I am also responsible for compliance with the standards. The Q-Team modulates processes and approves them together with the corresponding departments. Different people in the company are responsible for managing documents. If someone modifies something, IQSoft informs all those affected.

At your company, the quality management system is called "Compass". Why?
Because it is not a Q-system, but a management system and should help us with orientation. That is important to me! We are responsible for quality issues at our three sites in Malters, Willisau and Trimbach as a team of eight. But the compass is openly available to all employees. It is not an inspection system, but describes what needs to be done. For this reason, we also attach great importance to making it visually attractive. We see the compass as a means of bringing the HUG family closer together. In any case, I want uniformity. For example, our process map is blue, just like our homepage.

Is the compass well received?
There is a lively exchange among the employees. However, there is always resistance to such a system. I regularly publish tips on how to use the compass. I want to win people over and motivate them to use the compass. It supports sustainability. It defines fields of action and is integrated into the overall system. It should no longer happen that important know-how ends up on some personal hard disk. If documents are made available comprehensively and centrally, there is no loss of knowledge in the event of personnel changes.

What's next?
What else is integrated?
Currently, the compass "only" includes processes, documents and their definitions. However, these are very well structured. We are now working on the ongoing system optimization. It's still a question of harmonising our operations and processes. I would like to integrate the pending management. Today, I still have to do that in Excel and elsewhere. Further IQSoft modules would therefore be good optio-

"There should be no more of that important know-how ending up on some personal hard drive."

nents. As I said, we chose IQSoft so that we can expand at any time. The long-term goals are integration and simplification. The fewer systems our IT has to maintain - and there are still so many - the better. And at some point, everything will be the same. I would very much like to achieve that.