Baking & Snack - June 2017 - 124

WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT

Performance dashboards monitor
actual delivery vs. scheduled appointments to ensure on-time supply
of snacks and baked goods.
Pcdata

the line, being dispatched and getting to where it should
be, and that's what our system does," he added.

Save money and reputation
Real-time tracking also improves customer satisfaction.
"ROI is always thought of strictly in dollars. This is not
necessarily true," Mr. Grimaldi said. "Profits can be realized just by streamlining operations and eliminating
potential mistakes. A properly implemented WMS can
easily eliminate mistakes, as well as provide better control over inventory. This will provide better scheduling
to eliminate waste and unnecessary production."
These indirect or "soft" costs can damage a company's
reputation in a market and cause unnecessary waste,
both of which impact the bottom line in the long run.
Often, fixing a short order or incorrect delivery helps
maintain close relationships with valued customers.
"You don't discover 24 hours later that some product
is missing or was overproduced," Mr. Braun said. "You
avoid having customers reprimanding you because they
didn't get the product they wanted, and you have no idea
where, when or what's missing. With WMS, your production team can now tell you everything was produced
that was ordered that day."
WMS also plays a vital role especially when it comes
to implementing an updated food safety program.
"Bakers need to ask, 'Can a full recall be accomplished
from ingredients to the customer?' " Mr. Grimaldi
wondered.
When it comes to traceability, bakers and snack
manufacturers need to obtain information immediately

124 Baking & Snack June 2017 / www.bakingandsnack.com

at the slightest indication of a potential problem. "Our
system knows which batch was picked for which order,"
Mr. Ulmer said. "This is a must-have for up-and-down
tracking of goods in case of recalls."
McCook Cold Storage uses Datex for receiving, putting away, inventory tracking and billing. "We want to be
able to provide our customers with a visible inventory of
what they store in our warehouse," Mr. Kucharski said.
"Customer needs have changed greatly in the past few
years, so we've made sure our WMS has changed with
them. Traceability has gone from tracking by truckloads
to tracking by pallets and even down to the case level."
Should recalls happen, McCook's online portal gives
bakeries full transparency of their inventory. "They can
trace their inventory as if it were in their own warehouse," Mr. Kucharski said.
Another good question involves the software's versatility and adaptability to enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems that might be a few years older and
costly to change. "These systems need to adapt to the
users rather than have the users adapt to the system,"
Mr. Grimaldi pointed out. "Most technology that can be
used in these systems was available five years ago. The
main difference is that the technology today is more
readily available and at lower costs."
Moreover, MiT's "middleware" software serves as
a link between its new mobile devices and a bakery's
IT system. With middleware software acting as a gobetween, bakers don't have to change out or upgrade
their ERP system or accounting software when implementing a new mobile solution. "It's important to consider how flexible a system is in accommodating common complexities found within the baking and snack
food industries," Mr. Maraj said. "This includes companies that rely on a mixed solution environment to provide the required functionality for various operational
aspects of their businesses. Strong software vendors will
have experience with database management that integrates into third-party systems."
The bottom line? "Bakers need to determine what
their biggest pain is," Mr. Braun said. "For some, it's the
fact they have too many people running around the back
or too many people trying to coordinate shipping to get
the product out. For others, it's making sure to ship the
product to the right customer or eliminating product
waste. You need to know the problem that you want to
address first and foremost. "
That's one way to ensure that everything is all accounted for.

Find resources for warehouse by visiting
www.esourcebaking.com. Browse by category under
Equipment, and click on Ship/Deliver/Transport for listings.

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Baking & Snack - June 2017

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