Westmill adopts Beacon AI to streamline logistics ops

Westmill Foods has rolled out Beacon's AI supply chain workspace across its logistics operation, replacing a patchwork of daily reports, carrier portals and spreadsheets with a single system for shipment tracking and invoice checks.

The specialist food manufacturer and supplier said the change removed two persistent bottlenecks. The first involved shipment information spread across multiple sources. The second involved manual invoice verification that required staff to compare purchase orders against carrier, routing and date details.

Westmill said its logistics team previously relied on daily reports sent by freight forwarders. Staff also pulled updates from separate carrier portals. They used internal spreadsheets to assemble a view of inbound and outbound movements. The process took up time each morning as staff searched for the latest information on specific consignments.

Invoice verification followed a similar pattern, according to the company. Staff needed to match purchase order numbers to carriers, routes and dates. They had to cross-check multiple sources. Westmill said this slowed approvals and pulled time away from other work.

Westmill implemented Beacon as a central workspace for shipment information. It configured the workspace around its own requirements. The company said staff can now find shipments by container number, purchase order number or other internal references. It no longer requires staff to open multiple reports or log in to separate carrier systems for routine checks.

Live Boards

Westmill has also created what Beacon calls Live Boards. The company said each business unit can use a tailored view that shows the shipments relevant to that unit. Westmill said the Live Boards include comments, documents and real-time estimated times of arrival from carriers and forwarders.

Westmill said the approach changes how colleagues share updates across the organisation. Rather than requesting information by email and following up for clarifications, staff can consult the Live Board for the latest status and supporting paperwork.

For finance and logistics staff, Westmill said invoice verification now sits inside the same system. The company said a user can enter a purchase order number and retrieve dates, routing and carrier details in one place. Westmill said this replaced a process that involved opening several spreadsheets and carrier websites.

Westmill Foods operates across food service, wholesale, cash and carry, grocery and business-to-business channels. The company supplies Asian and Afro-Caribbean food products, including rice, spices, sauces, edible oils, flour and noodles.

Beacon positions its product as a workplace platform for supply chain operations. The company says its system aggregates updates across ocean, air and road carriers and presents them in a single view. It also includes document handling and shipment-level collaboration features.

Westmill's Logistics Manager Niki Morley described the implementation and day-to-day use in operational terms.

"Onboarding and implementing was seamless. Beacon is very easy to use. The support is very good, friendly and approachable. At the touch of a button I can track a shipment. The information is accessible instantly. It has helped me speed up authorising invoices immensely - everything is in one place," said Niki Morley, Logistics Manager, Westmill Foods.

Next Steps

Westmill said it plans a customised Live Board for a specific business unit as its next phase of work with the platform. The company said the change would allow it to discontinue a paid daily report from its forwarder once the Live Board is in place. Westmill linked that to cost reduction as well as time savings.

Beacon Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Fraser Robinson framed the rollout as a targeted change rather than a full operational overhaul.

"Westmill's approach shows that supply chain transformation doesn't need to happen all at once. The team focused on two specific challenges and fixed them. As they continue developing custom Live Boards for different business units, we're seeing how incremental improvements compound over time, and we're proud to support that journey," said Fraser Robinson, CEO and Co-Founder, Beacon.