For a national food distributor managing 16+ warehouse sites and public company audit requirements, seamless systems matter. HF Foods needed a smarter way to unify operations across acquired distribution centers, standardize processes, and ensure traceable, real-time data syncing between Fishbowl and Workday.  

With custom-built integrations, a phased rollout, and strong internal leadership, they transformed not only their tech stack—but their entire operational structure. 

The Challenge 

As a growing, publicly traded company, HF Foods faced some key challenges: 

  • No consistent processes across its many acquired distribution centers (DCs) 
  • Limited audit traceability and approval workflows in its previous system 
  • Heavy reliance on manual data entry and spreadsheet within Workday and other individual systems
  • Costly third-party tools needed to bridge systems and automate flows 

“Our previous system was homegrown and really hard to support. It just wasn’t meeting our audit needs. We needed to see who did what, and trace everything back.” 

They also needed a scalable setup that could handle: 

  • 18–20 separate business entities 
  • Lot tracking and expiration management for perishable inventory 
  • Accurate COGS + revenue syncing with Workday 

They required a new operational workflow with an integration that would link to their core business functions.  

The Solution 

Working across 16 locations, HF Foods used Fishbowl to streamline its full purchasing-to-inventory-to-sales lifecycle. They also built deep integrations with Workday to sync: 

  • Purchase orders (with reconciled and audit-ready controls) 
  • Supplier invoices (triggered post-reconciliation) 
  • Sales orders + COGS data (delivered within the hour to Workday) 
  • Custom fields and checks to ensure sync accuracy across both platforms 

Brett’s team used Alteryx to move data between Fishbowl and Workday but is eyeing Workday Orchestrate as a lower-cost, drag-and-drop alternative in the future. 

“Within an hour of a sales order being fulfilled in Fishbowl, it shows up in Workday. We’re now syncing to the penny—and catching issues automatically if cost basis changes.” Brett Gage, Director of Enterprise Applications, HF Foods 

They also leveraged Fishbowl’s flexibility: 

  • Built custom field tracking for Workday journal IDs and validations 
  • Created a PO prefix system across sites to avoid numbering conflicts 
  • Added RMA workarounds to handle syncing quirks 

The Results 

HF Foods’ results with Fishbowl were evident. They were able to standardize processes, automate workflows, and be confident in the data. Here is a list of a few wins they’ve seen with Fishbowl:  

  • Standardized operations across newly acquired sites 
  • Near real-time revenue and COGS syncing between Fishbowl and Workday 
  • Improved audit readiness, with traceable approval flows 

“We used to manually tie out everything. Now I can match all sales orders from Fishbowl to Workday in minutes—and know they’re 100% in sync.” Brett Gage, Director of Enterprise Applications, HF Foods  

Fishbowl as a Catalyst for Growth 

HF Foods didn’t just implement new software. They reshaped how their entire business operates. 

Fishbowl gave them the visibility, structure, and flexibility needed to integrate complex workflows across dozens of sites—while keeping Workday in lockstep every step of the way. The result? A future-ready organization, built on real-time insights, scalable systems, and a culture of operational excellence. 

“Fishbowl has been the catalyst for change. It helped us consolidate how our company operates, and pushed us to work in a smarter, more unified way.” Brett Gage, Director of Enterprise Applications, HF Foods