Food Logistics serves the entire Printing Industry with targeted content for the large commercial print segment.
Issue link: https://foodlogistics.epubxp.com/i/295107
T here was a business term a couple of decades ago known as "manage- ment by walking around" – meaning, a boss who visits the office, shop floor and warehouse to see what's actually going on with employees, machines, inventory and day-to-day processes. A mod- ernized version of "management by walking around" is the boss who has a tablet, smart- phone or other mobile device in his hands – and so do his employees! Mobile technology is a game changer across all segments of society right now, and the food industry is no exception. Having access to transactional data and real-time metrics, at the very spots where this infor- mation is needed, is today a reality, and coming down in price all the time as mobile apps, cloud/SaaS business models and other flexible options revolutionize the food industry's adoption of technology. Perhaps when you think of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software systems, mobility isn't the first attribute that springs to mind. It should be… your food business doesn't live only in the back office with no one getting up from their desktop computers – and neither should your ERP software. Zdnet.com wrote in December 2013: "What is defining success in ERP now is how well companies connect their people and systems to all manner of constituents (e.g., customers, machines, prospects, etc.) and all kinds of technologies (e.g., machines, handhelds, mobile devices, etc.)." We like this description so much we coined the term, "Connective ERP" from it – that is, the busi- ness of connecting your employees, machin- ery/equipment, information, processes and procedures easily to each other for maximize efficiencies and real-time responses. Game changer. Game changer. Game changer. Food companies can now benefit from web-based technology that extends function- ality to handheld devices such as barcode scanner guns; mobile applications that display your vital data via mounted tablets on the shop floor. Some of the resulting benefits include: food safety and quality compliance supported; improved inventory visibility and accuracy; real-time, on-the-spot metrics; and overall efficiency boosters such as mobile printing in the warehouse, and real-time recording of production activities. Let's break down the concept of "connec- tive ERP" by department in a food company (leaving out the obvious work that ERP software does in accounting, sales and mar- keting, and purchasing). The web client is revolutionizing ERP – bringing it into places at work it's never been able to go before – the production floor; the warehouse; the QA walk-around. Mobile Production Real time recording of production activi- ties – such as output, consumption, and precise calculation of yield and actual costs – can be immediately analyzed for imme- diate improvements. Corrections can be made right in the production line, in time to avoid any serious repercussions. Imagine if production transactions could be accessed quickly and easily through mobile devices using a mobile application that talks to your ERP system. Transactions could also include: • Pallet license plates; country of original labeling (C.O.O.L.); product labels and batch tickets via mobile printers; Product specifi- cations, and work instructions; Production schedule work center 'to do' lists; Results from weigh scales and other equipment are integrated or progress dashboards with on- the-spot metrics. Food safety and quality compliance is supported because mobile ERP allows for more timely and accurate tracking of inven- tory – enhancing bidirectional traceability across the supply chain. It's Always All about UI User interface (UI) is always the deal breaker/maker in technology – and that is true, too, for mobile technologies rocking the food industry. Because key performance indicators (KPIs) are so vital to efficiency, their visual display (UI) has to be the best it can be; handheld devices do not always lend themselves to more customizable data, nor integration with weigh scales and other equipment. However, KPIs can be displayed and integrated on a wash-down touchscreen computer, or displayed on a tablet set up at the front or end of a production line. Today there are graphical tools – exten- sions to ERP – that allow visibility into all machines and data on the shop floor, so that faster, more accurate decisions can be made about production. Automation logic enforces sequencing rules for items such as allergens, flavors and colors, and solves criti- cal production issues – before they cause problems. Mobile Warehousing Warehouse management systems (WMS) no longer need be bulky, separate software that must be integrated with your ERP sys- tem at great pains and cost. In fact, WMS does not even need to be restricted to the back office anymore, but rather, can be extended to bin level transactions through RF and mobile devices connected wirelessly S P E C I A L E D I T I O N 24 A P R I L 2014 ❯❯ FO O D LO G I S T I C S W W W . F O O D L O G I S T I C S . C O M 'Connective ERP:' Software Connecting Employees, Machines, Data & Processes on the Shop Floor & in the Warehouse By Heather Angus-Lee ....Cloud Technology Use of the cloud is close to becoming universal as enterprises increase their adoption of both private and public services. A recent 2014 State of the Cloud report by research firm RightScale finds that as cloud use matures, security concerns lessen and attention increasingly shifts to managing the ongoing challenges of compliance, cost management, and performance. The report shows significant benefits from cloud usage, including improved availability and better geographic reach as well as cost savings. Respondents in more cloud-focused organizations report that issues require ongoing attention—compliance, cost and performance—have become more important than security worries. FLOG_24-26_0414 CS Connective ERP.indd 24 4/3/14 5:22 PM