Food

Leading Distributors Powering the Bottom Line

Click here to view the introduction of Softeon's food solution »

Your issue: increased need for distribution and operational excellence. Given the market recession, price pressures, etc., the food industry as whole, and specific segments like the frozen foods and processed meats in particular, need to implement best practices spanning the entire distribution system, from receiving to shipping. In order to define and implement best business practices and maintain consistency throughout, you need state-of-the-art supply chain execution systems which define, implement and automate these processes, and also provide KPIs and performance dashboards to measure consistencies and efficiencies. Some of the key issues faced by the industry include:

• Efficient scheduling (streamlining backhaul deliveries, minimizing unscheduled deliveries)
• The ability to handle hand-stacked or palletized loads while receiving, through the use of bar code technologies, pallet license plates, RFID, etc.
• Product re-handling on the dock, including temperature controlled docks
• Tracking and controlling pallet movements, and customer specific slotting and optimization strategies inside the warehouse
• Efficient order consolidation for planning, picking and fulfillment

Softeon's solution consistently delivers, with deep, industry-specific functionality and advanced, web-native technology that reduces implementation costs, maximizes flexibility, and has unique capabilities that increase ROI. Softeon's real-time WIP dashboards eliminate bottlenecks in the picking and loading process during progression of pick waves, ensuring timely loading of trucks. The Slotting & Optimization module identifies optimal product placement by evaluating user defined preferences and constraints. The rules based functionality of the system allows for accurate compliance with FIFO rules, batch management, etc.. Softeon's system also addresses key food industry compliance issues, such as:

• "Sell by Date" for every carton
• "Best before date," shelf life, etc.
• Serial number tracking (end-to-end, outbound and warranty issues/re-calls, etc.)
• Overall compliances with regulations set forth by FDA
• Real-time visibility of order status/inventory, etc. for management, customers, and retailers

The warehouse picking processes allow sophisticated and automated methods of handling products in cold storage. For example, pallets are on automatic hold until the minimum time required for them to be brought to ambient temperatures (or specific pre-defined temperature control rules) and are then made available for picking in a seamless manner, owing to Softeon's advanced task management functionality. Temperature controlled pick, pack, shipping and delivery are key factors in improving shelf life, reducing cost of operations in direct distribution for food industry customers, and Softeon's solutions deliver just that.

The Softeon solution also includes:

• Cross Docking features to minimize inventory storage in the warehouse before delivery
• The Load Planning dashboard, which helps configure and optimize pallet makeup for picking and loading using sophisticated rules, including constraints like package mix, brand, customer specific configurations, cubage, bay size and more (in the case of "milk runs" or direct store deliveries)
• Complex order processing for product, pricing/discount configurations, and real-time order status and visibility
• Highly accurate inventory control is possible through ASN interfaces from manufacturing/processing plants or vendors, ensuring accurate receiving and putaway, sophisticated, rules-based cycle counting, and replenishment features