Consumers expect to get fresh produce at any time – with an emphasis on “fresh” and “at any time”. The challenge for the industry is to balance product availability and minimization of the cost tied up in inventory without disappointing their customers. Essentially, supply capability and lead time, in addition to price and quality, are factors of increasing importance in the fight for market share.
The optimal inventory
What does this mean for your stocks of non-durable fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG)? Securing ever-shortening lead times implies that companies in the fruit and vegetables business have to opt for higher inventory levels. Yet, excess inventories will cause inventory costs to soar, which has a major impact on liquidity and profitability. Additionally, there is a high risk of waste and write-offs. On the other hand, if your inventory is too tight, you might weaken your company’s production and delivery capabilities, which could result in negative supplier assessments or even being eliminated from your customers’ shortlists.
Clearly, you cannot do without a safety stock of auxiliary and operating materials. But what is needed and how much is needed? Material planning managers use historical consumption data and the procurement lead-time to define the need. When the inventory levels fall below the defined minimum stock, purchase orders with predetermined suppliers can be initiated automatically.
Data-driven material requirements planning
Which figures are used to calculate the minimal or optimal inventory level? CSB’s solution for inventory management uses the details of all relevant goods regarding quality, quantity, price, sell-by date, location, and batch, in any number of locations, inventories, and companies. With material requirements planning based on this data, the items are supplied at the right time, at the right place, in the right amount, ensuring that deadlines are met and that the inventory capacity is economically optimized. The fast evaluation of data enables you to respond instantly to fluctuations in supply and demand. Warehouse operatives can access bin location information at the press of a button so they can locate the products much faster.
Apart from optimizing inventory levels, batch-based inventory management offers the advantage of providing end-to-end batch traceability. If you succeed in supplying all goods while tying up as little capital as possible, you achieve an optimal balance of inventory levels which, in our experience, reduces the cost by up to 30 percent.
Beyond inventory management
For most customers, material requirements planning and inventory management is just one component of their planning. The increasing demand for organic, sustainable products, as well as the natural production conditions made unpredictable by climate change have a major impact on the processes in the fruit and vegetables industry. What we need is increasingly complex and fast planning in order to factor in all these conditions.
Many companies rely on integrated digitalization with a seamless flow of data across the entire production, inventory, and supply chain - precisely adapted to their individual needs. In fact, they organize their entire procurement (including producer clearing and supplier assessment) and they plan and control production and sales (including picking and shipping) in their ERP system. Certainly, with end-to-end quality management and controlling.
The success stories of our customers provide actual proof. For instance, Eisberg AG, a Switzerland-based producer of prepared salads, uses modules for process planning, quality management, traceability and EDI at all of its sites in various countries. The figures are quite impressive: Eisberg AG processes 50 tons of fresh produce every day. The company owns a logistics center with a total storage space of 5,000 square meters as well as a two-story cold-storage warehouse, and it operates its own transport fleet - totally optimized. In short, it really works!
Farmsoft Fresh Produce Barcode Inventory control’s fresh produce software is built with Microsoft .NET and SQL, the most technologically advanced system available. Farmsoft Fresh Produce Barcode Inventory control understand the industry’s need for systems to handle large amounts of data such as bin, box, tray and consignments seamlessly. Business processes are also streamlined through Farmsoft Fresh Produce Barcode Inventory control’s use of barcoding pallets as they are packed which allows their movements to be precisely tracked via RF scanning with handheld mobile devices.
Tablets are used on the Sales floor giving real time stock control and eliminating back office re-entry of sales.
Perishability presents a challenging problem in inventory management for the fresh produce industry since it can lead to higher inventory costs and lower service levels. If a supply chain has multiple echelons, that further complicates the issue since companies have an added risk of not having the right amount of product at the right location at the right time. We conduct our research on Chiquita's Fresh Express supply chain. We analyze the impact of perishability on total relevant costs. Our research focuses on determining the optimal inventory policy for the system considering inventory holding costs, shrinkage costs, lost sales costs, forecast accuracy and service levels. We test the sensitivity of the system with respect to forecast errors and the transportation lead time. We developed a discrete-event simulation model using Arena software to conduct the research. Our research demonstrates that by lowering the current target on-hand inventory levels at the distribution center and retail stores, inventory holding costs and shrinkage costs are reduced significantly. Under the optimal inventory policy, the system can save 31% in costs, improve the item fill rate at the distribution center, reduce the total shrinkage volume, and maintain high service levels of more than 95% at the retail stores. Our sensitivity analysis shows that the system is very sensitive to the forecast errors. Additionally, we recommend keeping the transportation lead time as low as possible to maximize the products' lifetime at the retail stores. Reducing the forecast errors or the transportation lead time would reduce the total relevant cost of the system while improving the item fill rates across the supply chain.
Farmsoft Fresh Produce Barcode Inventory control’s Fresh Produce Software,
Allows communication between growers, suppliers, pack houses, market agents, and buyersfresh produce software - lot tracking
Is fully integrated with other software such as financial management, and warehouse management, 3PL, and cold chain management
Each solution is tailored to suit individual customers
It ensures flow of information throughout the fresh produce business and allows for analysis of business processes
Farmsoft Fresh Produce Barcode Inventory control’s fresh produce software is comprised of four main systems,
Fresh Produce Software - sales floor entry
Farmsoft Fresh Produce Barcode Inventory control Farm Management Software
Farmsoft Fresh Produce Barcode Inventory control Packhouse Management Software and eFreshPak
Farmsoft Fresh Produce Barcode Inventory control Food Manufacturing Software
Farmsoft Fresh Produce Barcode Inventory control Food Distribution Software
The Farmsoft Fresh Produce Barcode Inventory control modules within the Fresh Produce software packages include:
Warehouse Management (WMS)
Pallet & Crate Control
Pooling Systems (pack houses)
Value add re-pack, regrade and pack to order
Mobile Computing (tablet and PDA)
RF Scanning/ Barcoding
Claim Tracking
Importing/ Exporting Markets
Lot Tracking
Freight Reconciliation
Levy Rebate Tracking and grower pay backs
Sales Forecasting
Sales Floor – Market Agents
EDI Integration
Quality Assurance
Why Choose Us?
Farmsoft Fresh Produce Barcode Inventory control Software’s complete solutions package for fresh produce businesses has been developed to manage all processes from production including grower and packhouse management through to distribution and supply chain management and onto retailers.
Just a few of the reasons our existing fresh produce clients love Farmsoft Fresh Produce Barcode Inventory control are,
Years of experience in fresh produce business management systems
Skilled development and support team
Use of new technologies such as mobile scanning and tablet technology
Utilize the latest in eCommerce direct to supermarkets
Supplier portal integration with eFreshpak
Seamless integration of modules
User friendly interfaces
Advanced tracking and traceability features
Research and Development
Farmsoft Fresh Produce Barcode Inventory control’s fresh produce software is unsurpassed in technological advancement due to their commitment to research and development. It is their dedication to R&D that is their point of difference; it allows them to deliver systems that address the unique requirements of the fresh produce wholesale and distribution industry.
Customer Base
Farmsoft Fresh Produce Barcode Inventory control understand each client has differing requirements; existing Farmsoft Fresh Produce Barcode Inventory control customers handle an array of produce including fruit, vegetables, nuts, seafood, flowers and much more. Their success in managing a diverse range of needs can been seen in their eclectic fresh produce customer base, with Montague Fresh, Perfection Fresh, Moonrocks, Favco, Foodstuffs Fresh, Premier Fruits Group, Nippys and Jeftomson all using Farmsoft Fresh Produce Barcode Inventory control’s fresh produce software tailored to suit their individual requirements.
Using Farmsoft Fresh Produce Barcode Inventory control Fresh Produce Software Solutions, you will:
Handle complex paybacks and claims
Allow for informative lot tracking
Manage freight, market & industry levies and costs
Control quality by tracking individual grower receivals
Protect profitability by accurately receiving & picking
Tight control over pack house administration ensures accurate costings
Have total control of each pallet with accurate stock records and efficient dispatch
Utilize the aspects of our comprehensive customer orders system which handles the sale of each pallet to export, agent or supermarket
So give Farmsoft Fresh Produce Barcode Inventory control a call today on 1800 649 524 for more information about how Farmsoft Fresh Produce Barcode Inventory control can help your business! Alternatively download the Fresh Produce software overview.