Manufacturing companies have a lot on their plate.
It’s not easy to keep track of orders, suppliers, production schedules, and other little concerns that arise when running a manufacturing company. Often this leads to mistakes – something small at first – which compound into larger issues further down the line.
This is where food manufacturing software can help. It allows you to streamline your process and create a connected business that lets you concentrate on growing your business instead of crunching numbers or searching through old files for documents.
What is Food Manufacturing Software?
Food manufacturing software is a kind of manufacturing software, which by definition means “a type of automation in the workplace for the controlled execution of physical and logical risk-free processes.”
That’s it. You can replace that with just about anything you want to minimize the chance that your employees will do things wrong when they’re processing food.
For example, instead of saying “automation,” you could replace it with “automated conveyance system” or any other term completely unrelated to food if you prefer.
Why Do You Need Food Manufacturing Software?
It depends on what kind of factory or business you run (e.g., bakery, meatpacking plant, etc.). Here are 9 reasons why food production companies use manufacturing software:
- To comply with federal, state, and local laws
Food manufacturing software is a way to make sure government agencies can verify that your company is complying with all food-related laws in its jurisdiction.
- To ensure the safety of consumers
Food traceability solutions facilitate real-time data capture throughout all stages, ranging from sourcing to storage before being routed to further production processes until it reaches customers. The software has helped identify if a product is still good for consumption or not at every stage, even before it reaches supermarket shelves. In addition to this, consumers can thus be assured of healthier and safer food items as the manufacturers are now getting rid of adulterated products from their supply chains.
- For cost control and risk management reasons
This kind of software often includes features such as lot tracking, inventory management tools, vendor management capabilities, product loss tracking, and more.
- To increase productivity and reduce waste
Suppose you’re using a program that automatically performs certain actions, such as lot tracking, inventory management, production reporting, and the like. In that case, your system will be able to run on autopilot much of the time without human oversight. This means that you’ll have more employees available at all times for other tasks or possibly even need fewer workers if your company hires less by automating certain processes with software.
- For improved customer service
Centralizing information about products in real-time makes it easy to provide customers, retailers, and distributors with crucial data whenever they need it—and quickly resolve issues before they escalate into big problems that can lead to returns, recalls, and other negative consequences.
- For enhanced visibility into your supply chain
With food manufacturing software, you can see where in the supply chain a product is, who’s working on it, what tasks have been performed on it, when those things happened, and more—and this makes it easier for your business to accurately forecast demand and cost as well as find problems that may be plaguing single or multiple products or facilities before they become serious issues that could result in lost revenue due to returns or increased costs from recalls.
- To work with suppliers on new product development
Suppose you’re working to develop a new product (e.g., cereal). In that case, your food manufacturing software can provide valuable assistance by helping you collect and organize data about the ingredients, testing results, prices, etc., so it will be easier for you to make decisions both short-term and long-term involving this initiative.
- And more!
The main takeaway is that food manufacturers use automation software of all kinds for different purposes. Still, it’s one way they can increase efficiency and reduce costs without sacrificing quality or safety—and hopefully improve their bottom line in the process.
