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Sharon Fuchs

May 26
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Recall management

How ERP helps you manage food and beverage surplus production

By | ERP, Food and Beverage | No Comments
Woman inspecting a food item in a manufacturing plant.

Food and beverage companies need tight controls on the supply chain to reduce food waste.

Food and beverage companies are under increasing pressure to cut waste, both by competitive pressures and public sentiment that businesses can do more to be environmentally and socially sensitive.

An enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that helps reduce waste is a vital part of any solution focused on preserving resources and reducing costs. Here’s how ERP helps you manage food and beverage surplus production.

The state of food waste

According to the United Nations, an estimated third of all food produced every year is lost or wasted. Food waste can take on many forms, according to a recent U.N. post on the issue, including the following examples:

  • Produce that is not of optimal size, shape or color is removed from the supply chain
  • Retailers and consumers discard products that are close to or just beyond the “best-used-by” date indicated by producers
  • Restaurants and households regularly discard “large quantities of wholesome edible food” that’s leftover or unused
  • Processed foods are more likely to end up in soup kitchens instead of perishable more healthy foods, which end up in dumpsters

A reduction in food waste would result in less land and water use, less hunger and poverty and fewer adverse impacts from climate change. Decaying food, for example, leads to more greenhouse gas emissions in landfills.

Activists and conservationists alike call for a slew of remediation efforts, including surplus prevention via donations, recycling or use as animal feed.

Person using a metal scoop to get coffee beans from a large mixer.

Technologies that reduce food waste result in significant ROI, according to a recent study.

The impact of conservation on the bottom line

A recent study by Champions 12.3, a global coalition focused on reducing food waste, shows that companies that invest in technologies designed to address the issue see marked benefits. The study of 1,200 business sites across 700 companies in 17 countries found that almost every site yielded a positive return.

Half of the companies generated returns on investment that were 14-fold or greater.

Investing in a food and beverage ERP helps companies optimize supply chain operations and develop greater efficiencies throughout their operations.

Choosing an ERP solution like FoodBusiness ERP, built on the Sage X3 platform, lets your food or beverage business gain considerable benefits. FoodBusiness ERP has tools specifically designed to improve supply chain operations, including:

  • Shelf-life management to track expiration and use-by dates for raw materials and finished products
  • Production planning that optimizes the scheduling of equipment and personnel, including grouping by like products to reduce bottlenecks and changeovers
  • Ability to cost, plan, trace and output production by-products
  • Formula and recipe management that automates costing, formulas, testing and labeling
  • Quality control configuration and work order management, including user-defined technical sheets and questions; functional testing at receipt of raw materials, production of finished goods and in-process work orders; and change control management of work orders, production orders and inventory revisions
  • Dashboard and business intelligence to provide real-time information, leading to better decisions
  • Food safety functionality, including lot traceability, allergen reporting, and recall management

How can your business find and optimize the right food ERP solution? NexTec delivers expertise in business software, helping food and beverage companies find, install and tune solutions to maximize return on investment. With NexTec and FoodBusiness ERP, your food or beverage company can reduce food waste, improve operations and drive efficiency.

Learn more about our great Sage X3 add-ons for the food and beverage industry.

Apr 23
0

Benefits of a mock recall for your food and beverage business in 2020

By | ERP, Food and Beverage | No Comments

FDA Recall note.

Is your food and beverage business ready for a recall? One way to find out is through regularly conducting mock recalls which help you get ready for the real thing.

What happens during a recall?

When a real recall occurs, food and beverage business owners are required to provide the FDA with detailed information about the product in question. This includes a full consignee list and contacting all customers who may have purchased the product.

If you didn’t document this information ahead of time, it would be difficult to provide it accurately. Mock recalls help you prepare to meet these demands and demonstrate a proactive approach to food safety.

What does a mock recall entail?

Think of a mock recall as a food safety fire drill you should conduct once a year. The Food Safety Modernization Act contains a “preventive controls” rule mandating that any facility that can identify a hazard requiring a preventive control must put a written recall plan in place. If your business falls into this category, you’ll need to conduct mock recalls to determine the effectiveness of this plan.

Even if you aren’t required to conduct mock recalls, you should still strongly consider them since they test your ability to execute the real thing. Here are five additional benefits of conducting mock recalls.

Testing your traceability system

A mock recall allows you to test your traceability system by tracking a product as it journeys through your supply chain. Begin by identifying the traceable unit (batch, lot or single unit) and account for transformations across the supply chain. This is known as mass balance.

Conduct traceability exercises that follow your product through all stages of production, processing, and distribution.

A recall team sitting around a table.

Mock recalls help you establish the right recall team in advance.

Establish a recall team

A food recall will not be successful without a dedicated team. The size of your team depends on available resources, but should include:

  • Recall coordinator to oversee all activities
  • Quality assurance specialist to identify root causes of the recall
  • Communications expert to handle all public relations
  • Sales/customer representative to convey information to consumers
  • Legal counsel to advise on recall legalities

Verify communication systems

A mock recall tests the strength of your organization’s communication system. This includes the contact information of suppliers, recall personnel and consumers who purchased the product in question.

Should an actual recall occur, you’ll need to contact appropriate parties as soon as possible. A strong communication system makes this possible.

Modify and fine-tune the recall plan

A mock recall helps you modify the recall plan so you can identify aspects that need to be improved or changed. It gives you the opportunity to address problems or challenges and find solutions before an actual recall is necessary.

Perform a vulnerability audit

A mock recall helps you establish how to proceed with a real recall through a process known as a vulnerability audit. You’ll identify possible safety issues; figure the likelihood they will occur and assess the potential damage they will cause.

Implement the right ERP solution

When establishing a recall plan and preparing for mock recalls, you need the right enterprise resource plan (ERP) in place. An ERP designed for food lets you take control of the plan from supply chain to sales and beyond.

Choose NexTec’s food and beverage solution built on Sage X3  to ensure all business units are ready. From mock to real recalls, we offer the best solutions and food and beverage experts for managing all aspects of your business from ERP, customer relations and everything in between.

Give Sage X3 a try and see how NexTec can tailor your Sage X3 to your needs

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