Baking & Snack - February 2018 - 124

ROUTE ACCOUNTING

Mr. Vandenberg suggested using a combination of
internal and external systems that creates the flexibility
to operate on multiple formats. "You need to ensure you
have an exchange tool that will seamlessly and consistently pass your data between each system," he observed.
"Harvest Exchange provides the key for you to bridge
this gap."
Pcdata offers systems specifically developed to collate orders, track production and expedite fulfillment
through a bakery's supply chain. For DSD, its production count system monitors what is produced then automatically tracks the products as they're loaded into
trucks through its dock manager application.
"Our put-to-light order fulfillment solution will work
in both a DSD and warehouse distribution scenario
and, in fact, is implemented in a lot of bakeries with a
mixed distribution model," Mr. Braun said. "As a result,
the transition from DSD to warehouse distribution is really not a big deal within the flexibility of the software. It
doesn't matter if the checker is dispatching product to a
store or to a warehouse; the standard operations remain
the same."
Moreover, he noted, the company's Distrib EQT lets
bakeries capture when orders are delivered and tracks
their baskets, dollies and other materials.
MiT's Mobile software can be configured to meet both
DSD and mobile proof of delivery between manufacturing and distribution centers to track inventory movement while having more visibility within the supply
chain. Mr. Maraj added MiT has developed a warehouse
management system package designed to support and
optimize warehouse or distribution center placement of
raw materials and finished product. "Ideally, you would
want a vendor who has both capabilities to limit the
number of software integrations, which can be inefficient and costly," he said.
MiT devised a flexible system relying on emerging
technology that, granted, many bakeries are just exploring. "Cloud computing has made a significant impact
in various aspects of the distribution supply chain efficiency including the reduction of capital expenditures, better resource allocation and ease of scalability,"
Mr. Maraj said.
The good news is that this trend of cloud computing
will continue, meaning it's not too late for the baking industry to embrace this technology. "Those legacy companies can still benefit from using modules designed to
be stand-alone solutions to address different aspects of
their businesses until they decide to fully transition to
the cloud," Mr. Maraj said. "MiT has developed our entire solution suite with this approach to offer companies
a migration path to the latest technology at their pace."
Mr. Beam suggested the cloud also opened doors that

124 Baking & Snack February 2018 / www.bakingandsnack.com

were unavailable to smaller bakers a decade ago. "In
many ways, it leveled the playing field in local markets,"
he said. "This will continue to evolve over the next decade as technologies become more available, creating
more opportunities and further innovation."
For Jonathan Dolp, Harvest's founder, a core objective of the company enables bakers to invest in creating
quality products and serving their customers. "We want

Hardware goes beyond a
punch of a button
Just a short number of years ago,
cutting-edge bakeries relied on clunky,
durable handheld devices for generating sales and accounting transitions.
Unfortunately, the rugged handheld
devices were bigger than most drivers'
hands, involved punching number after
number and then downloading the information only after returning to the depot
or distribution center. Hopefully, then,
there were no connection issues to the
bakery's back office systems.
Today's software such as HarvestDSD
is compatible with anything that's wireless - from smartphones to tablets
to a host of hardware that makes for
real-time management. Route service
representatives can scan or wirelessly
transfer invoices with the flick of a finger.
They can even take shots of displays
- and/or their competitors' positions
on the shelves - and instantly transfer
them to their bakeries' management
teams for approval.
"In today's world, customers have
many choices, and what we have seen is
they're buying hardware based on their
jobs' requirements and the skills they
have rather than having the same device
for everyone," noted Jonathan Dolp,
founder, Harvest Food Solutions.
Marc Braun, president, Pcdata, said
the company has seen it all over the
past 30 years, and platforms today can
be configured more easily than ever. "In
the end, the bakery wants and needs to
know what was produced and shipped
and where the differences are, be it in
inventory, stales or whatever," he said.

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