Boulangerie du Vieux Lyon: First Real Holiday in 3 Years

Context

Boulangerie du Vieux Lyon is an institution in the Saint-Jean neighbourhood, founded 15 years ago by Thomas Bernard. With 12 employees split between the bakehouse, the shop and deliveries, it's a thriving business — but one that rests almost entirely on Thomas's shoulders. Traditional breads, speciality loaves, pastries and catering: the range has expanded over the years, and so has the complexity of management. As an artisan French bakery, the business must comply with <a href="https://www.economie.gouv.fr/entreprises/boulangerie-reglementation" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">strict regulatory standards for the artisan bakery sector</a>.

Problem

With a growing team, informal processes had shown their limits (see our guide on <a href="/blog/manage-team-roles">team management</a>). Preparation errors were increasing (wrong quantities, products forgotten for special orders), causing customer dissatisfaction and waste. Accounting, done manually on spreadsheets, took Thomas 8 hours every weekend. In 3 years, he hadn't taken a single week's holiday, convinced everything would fall apart in his absence.

Solution

Thomas adopted <a href="/#features">Fournil</a> in January 2025, starting with the team management module and automatic reports. Each employee received their own account with role-appropriate permissions: till access for shop staff, production access for bakers, full access for Thomas and his assistant manager. Daily and weekly financial reports replaced the manual weekend data entry.

Results

After 4 months of use, the results speak for themselves. Preparation errors dropped by 40% thanks to traceability and digital production sheets. Accounting time went from 8 hours to 1 hour per week, with reports generated automatically. And in May 2025, Thomas took his first real holiday in 3 years — a full week — monitoring the business remotely from his phone, without a single emergency call.

I thought no software could understand how an artisan bakery works. Fournil proved me wrong. For the first time in 3 years, I was able to go on holiday with peace of mind.

Thomas Bernard, Owner, Boulangerie du Vieux Lyon