Building a bridge
To help connect the new with the old, many bakers need custom solutions. “ABI can offer custom SCADA software solutions that can export data automatically for either the customer to manipulate off line or assist with a custom link development on a case-by-case basis to meet the needs of the end-user,” said Stephen Renaud, vice-president, sales and product development, ABI Ltd. “Each company has different protocols and systems, so it means no one solution fits all.”
Waste can be reduced dramatically by using an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system properly. “A solid scheduling system methodology needs to be established and then used with the ERP system,” said Bob White, president of Focus Works. “This will include scheduling of orders, forecasting and/or inventory levels.”
An ERP system can create projected production schedules that can be finalized on a daily basis. “This enables specific handling of work orders as well as material requirements planning,” Mr. White said. “Expected yields can then be compared to actual production to properly calculate and maintain efficiency and greatly reduce losses.”
Focus Works also handles food safety processes electronically, removing the use of paper on the floor as well as eliminating operator errors.
“All processes are monitored, allowing management to be alerted when specific tasks or procedures have not been done or properly executed,” Mr. White said.
To manage warehouse inventory and product distribution more effectively, MiT Systems cloud-based, Web-ordering portal provides around-the-clock visibility to customer order fulfillment managed by cut-off times by product and can be accessed from any mobile or desktop device with Internet capability, noted Mark Maraj, vice-president, sales and marketing.
Today’s software offers time-saving features not available just five years ago. “Picture-taking and image-capture capabilities with edge-detection continue to advance, which has expedited billing cycles and improved accountability,” Mr. Maraj pointed out. “Additionally, our software can generate and read 2-D barcodes that encode much more information versus a 1-D barcode that holds fewer than 85 characters. With 2-D technology, a company can read up to 4,000 characters, which can be helpful when ingredients and product lot tracking information is involved.”
Additionally, GPS helps companies know what’s going on with their distribution system at any given time with configurable dashboard displays that show service times, vehicle locations, perpetual inventory and transactional invoicing details on each route.
Moreover, MiT’s middleware software can serve as a link between its new handheld devices and a bakery’s legacy system. With middleware software acting as a go-between that can supplement various data fields and existing system functionality gaps, bakers don’t have to change out or upgrade their ERP system or accounting software with a new distribution department. “It can reside in either a hosted or local server environment that acts as a data repository that communicates bi-directionally with the mobile devices in the field and sends the respective data back to the host system in real time,” Mr. Maraj explained.
Continue reading for tips on avoiding bottlenecks on the line.
