Business management software and ERP for Meknes and the Saïss plain

Meknes, an agri-food city at the heart of the Saïss

Surrounded by the fertile Saïss plain, Meknes lives to the rhythm of farming: olive groves, cereals, fruit orchards, livestock and milk. The city hosts the Meknès Agropolis agropole, a park dedicated to food processing on the Rabat-Fez motorway, and every spring the International Agriculture Show in Morocco (SIAM), the sector's flagship event. Around these pillars work olive oil mills, fruit packing units, dairies, animal feed makers, farm input traders and hauliers, along with the commerce and tourism tied to the imperial city and the nearby sites of Volubilis and Moulay Idriss Zerhoun.

What sets these businesses apart is that they do not just resell, they process. An oil mill buys olives and sells bottled oil; a dairy collects milk and delivers finished products. Without the right tool, the cost of a bottle or a pot is worked out by hand once a year, when it is already too late to adjust prices.

Production: from farm produce to finished goods, at real cost

On the Pro and Group plans, SOGESTIO handles production. A bill of materials describes what it takes to make an item: components, quantities and expected losses. A production order moves from planned to in progress to completed; it then consumes the components from stock and books the finished product into stock at the real cost consumed.

Bottling example: for 1,000 one-litre bottles, the bill of materials calls for 1,000 litres of bulk oil at 45 DH a litre, one bottle per unit with 2% breakage, so 1,020 bottles at 2.50 DH, and 1,000 caps and labels at 0.50 DH. The cost consumed is 45,000 + 2,550 + 500 = 48,050 DH, or 48.05 DH per bottle. That cost then feeds gross margin by product and by customer in the reports.

• Bills of materials with components, quantities and losses.
• Production orders that are planned, in progress or completed.
• Requirements planning: what to make and what to buy, based on customer orders and minimum stock levels.
• Batches and serial numbers to trace where a production run came from.
• Stock valued at CMUP (weighted average cost), updated on every receipt and delivery.

Seasonal campaigns: plan purchases and cash ahead

The olive harvest, the fruit season and peaks in milk collection pack purchases and labour into a few weeks. Requirements planning shows what to produce and what to order, bottles, cartons, packaging or ingredients, from customer orders and minimum stock levels. Purchase orders and goods receipts bring goods into stock at net purchase cost.

On the money side, the 13-week cash forecast shows the impact of campaign purchases and upcoming customer due dates. Cheques and bills of exchange (LCN) received from resellers are tracked with bank, due date and status, and bank statements are imported in MT940 or CSV format for reconciliation.

Trade shows and prospecting: from SIAM to signature with the CRM

SIAM and other trade fairs are where you meet buyers, distributors and importers. Instead of leaving business cards in a drawer, each contact becomes an opportunity in the CRM pipeline, dragged from one stage to the next until it is signed.

The quote then goes out in French, Arabic or English, and the customer can accept it online from the client portal, with name, time and IP address recorded. Price lists separate wholesalers, retailers and export customers, and the accepted quote turns into an order, a delivery note and an invoice without re-keying.

Seasonal contracts, payroll and accounting

Food processing units employ permanent teams plus seasonal reinforcements. The Human Resources module records contracts (CDI, CDD, ANAPEC, internship, temporary work) and alerts you before a contract or a trial period ends. The Payroll module produces payslips with CNSS, AMO, IR and seniority, posts the payroll entry and generates the DAMANCOM preparation file.

Every invoice, purchase, payment and payroll run creates its entry on the Moroccan chart of accounts (CGNC), up to the financial statements (balance sheet, CPC, ESG). Your chartered accountant stays in charge: filings are validated and submitted by them or by the company.

An online service, from the plant as from the farm

SOGESTIO has no office in Meknes: it is an online service available anywhere in Morocco, in French, Arabic or English, with remote onboarding. The Android app and the web app, which can be installed on a computer, Android or iPhone, share the same data. Offline, you can still view data and enter customers, quotes, draft invoices, payments and expenses; everything syncs when the network returns, and legal invoice numbers are assigned by the server at that point.

A business that prefers to keep its data on site can choose the On-premise edition, installed on its own server through Docker or a Windows installer, which runs without Internet. The 14-day free trial needs no card; the Pro plan, which includes production, purchasing, payroll and accounting, costs 449 DH/month excluding VAT.