7 benefits of managing formulas and recipes with ERP software

All process manufacturers across different industries face a range of similar challenges, from managing inventory to complying with a multitude of regulations, to ensuring the safety of their products. Read on to find out how ERP software can provide solutions to these concerns, by carefully and consistently managing formulas and recipes involved in the manufacturing process.

Maintaining safety standards

As the customer comes first, the ultimate priority for any manufacturer should be the safety of the products they make. While this is true of any industry, it is particularly vital in the food and drinks industry. ERP software helps producers consistently adhere to strict regulations without time-consuming paperwork. It can monitor expiration dates and ensure accurate ingredient and allergen information is transmitted at each stage as it passes through the production chain. Ever-evolving safety standards can easily be maintained and monitored with consistent and accurate reporting.

Improving compliance

Adequate regulations are essential to ensuring safe production but adhering to them can be costly and time-consuming for companies. ERP software automates workflows and enforces controls to make sure the correct procedures are continuously followed, ensuring compliance with national and international laws through every step of the manufacturing process.

Ensuring traceability 

The complexity of modern manufacturing demands an ERP system to properly manage and track each step of the process, from raw material to finished product. Should a product become the subject of a recall, its management through ERP software would make that recall far more efficient and effective through examining electronic batch records (EBR) provided by ERP software. This can provide the necessary information to act without delay and minimise negative consequences. Furthermore, individual ingredients can be identified and isolated from other production processes and quickly made available for testing.

Improved recipe management

Consistency is a key in mass production, and companies can find themselves investing vast amounts of resources into ensuring consistent and quality products are reaching the shelves each time. Using ERP software, individual ingredients and components of a multitude of variations of products can be accurately measured and recorded to create the desired product across every batch. Ingredients can easily be adjusted to create a new product variation, making new product development simple and efficient.

Enhanced quality management

Customers expect the same level of quality from every batch of their chosen purchase, and ERP software has become a powerful tool in ensuring quality control.

Using the system to administer operational processes ensures everything is logged and tracked, which allows checks, controls and traceability on everything from raw ingredients stored in the warehouse to the finished products.

Greater stock and cost control

It will provide companies improved measure, manage and control stock levels, increasing efficiency and profitability while cutting down on waste. Such accurate oversight enables more detailed budget forecasting and a better understanding of costs, which enables the implementation of a more effective financial strategy.

Improving packaging

Once a product leaves the factory, its packaging influences a number of important factors, from determining shelf life to improving consumer information, to enabling urgent recalls. With so many factors to consider for every piece of packaging for each different product, keeping up with the nuances can prove impossible without ERP software. It also allows the monitoring and management of waste, an issue that is becoming increasingly important to the modern, environmentally conscious consumer.

Please contact us today for more information on how our integrated system can help your process manufacturing business.