Time to remove manual processes, paper from Food and Beverage! How do we address regulations, at a cost effective level.

Last week I visited 2 Food and Beverage sites in the last week, and I am continued to be surprised by the amount of manual processes and paper trails that still exist. This is for set up of runs, quality, regulation, and process improvements.

To achieve a “positive release” of the product, there are many paper documents filled out across the production line that make up the production record for the run. This process has been running for years, often the data is captured on clip boards and then in some case re-entered into requirements of the business applications. All of this leaves significant room for error, but most of all it leaves limited room for agility of production.

During discussions, the increased requirements for satisfying regulations set down by government or retailers. One customer talked about new significant requirements coming from the “all important” RETAILERS, who own the “shelf space." Does this mean more paper, and how do you educate the operational staff and gain consistency?

Take this combine it with the other big business challengers in F & B:

·         Increased Variety of Products on lines, increased NPI (New Product Introduction)

·         Increased velocity of production

·         Driving of these costs down.

·         Increased regulation requirements.

Combine this with the changing workforce which I have talked about at length. Too deal with these challenger's business would ideally require a stable, experience workforce, but the opposite is now happening.

A foundational requirement is that the manual process / paper processes are replaced with “Managed Operational Processes” that are electronic and enable enter data once have a model driven workflow for “self-learning” of the process. This allows monitoring of the process, and improvement/ tuning of the process. Most of all it removes delays in capturing of data, while allowing workforce transition across activities.    

The technology is mature in Operational Process Modeling, and the shift to an electronic process, is real, it is key for F & B across the world to remove as fast as possible manual operational process!