How Food & Beverage Companies Achieve Savings with the SOLOCHAIN WMS

SaaS solutions like the SOLOCHAIN WMS are far more accessible to companies with a tight budget than traditional technology. Nevertheless, a WMS still remains a significant investment to the smaller Food and Beverage operations. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that a WMS or ERP’s TOC is not the same as the system’s true value.

Any investment in supply chain infrastructure must be evaluated by relating the TOC to the ROI that can be achieved. Operators must consequently rigorously understand the savings and gains a technology solution can yield to make an informed decision regarding its real value.

In this paper, we look at five ways the SOLOCHAIN WMS enables Food and Beverage companies to make tangible—and intangible—savings and gains.

1. Roasting Coffee to Customers Satisfaction, for Less

A coffee roasting, packaging, and distribution company is putting out a great product and garnering the attention of major players the likes of Walmart, Target, and Menards. To benefit from these new revenue streams, the roaster must comply with distinct customer requirements, from packaging to labeling to shipping.

With the SOLOCHAIN WMS integrated with its ERP system, the manufacturer can rely on automated compliance processes and ensure that all shipments meet their customers’ requirements. At all stages of the production and distribution cycle, employees are informed of the customer’s requirements through intuitive interfaces on handheld devices or computer stations.

Thanks to these efficiency gains, the business is able to achieve a throughput that meets the increased demand instead of having to invest in new real estate, new material handling equipment, and a larger labor force.

2. Making Candy Bars in a Sweeter Work Environment

Some savings generated by the SOLOCHAIN WMS are easily quantifiable. Other gains are more intangible.

Most food processing companies these days find it difficult to attract and retain qualified warehouse workers. For a candy bar manufacturer, this was a problem before the pandemic hit and has now become a real thorn in their foot. Labor shortages are affecting production and distribution activities to the point where delays in shipments are affecting service levels and customer satisfaction. Meanwhile, a high turnover rate is causing significant training fees and further operational penalties.

After implementing the SOLOCHAIN WMS, the company’s workers benefit from automated support from production processes all the way to shipping. Thanks to clear instructions on intuitive interfaces, activities in the warehouse are more efficient and the candy bar maker can meet its productivity targets with fewer employees.

Moreover, by making the WMS accessible on handheld devices that are similar to iPhones and Android platforms, the company made the younger generation of workers feel right at home in their work environment. With a more pleasant workplace, the company achieves a higher retention rate, which in turn reduces the impact of training on their budget.

By relying on a smaller workforce and retaining more of its employees, the company can meet its productivity targets, ensure customer satisfaction, and scale to growth all while saving on labor costs.

3. A Production Flow Without Bottlenecks

The benefits of traceability to Food & Beverage cannot be overstressed. All companies in the industry stand to make important savings by rigorously keeping track of the items consumed in production.

Through SOLOCHAIN’s traceability and automated order cycles capabilities, a soft drink company can keep an eye on quantities produced as well as every item consumed in the process. Management can configure the WMS to automatically generate POs in order to procure the items for which the threshold inventory quantity has been reached. In that way, SOLOCHAIN ensures that production is never halted because items are missing on the shelves.

With management in charge of determining thresholds, the system also bypasses the risk of human errors, avoiding that too many, or too few items are ordered. This leads to an optimal use of the warehouse’s storage capacity, which saves the soft drink company from having to make unnecessary investments in their physical infrastructure.

4. Counting Chickens Efficiently

Weekly inventory cycle counts force a manufacturer of poultry products to close areas in the warehouse. This slows down production and cuts into the manufacturer’s margins. Thanks to the WMS inventory management capabilities, the company can save on the costs of long weekly cycle counts.

Once implemented on handheld scanning devices, the WMS enables the manufacturer to keep track, in real time, of the quantity and location of every item in the warehouse. While they perform cycle counts, employees benefit from clear instructions, which drastically cuts down on the time required to complete their tasks.

Today, the manufacturer is attaining inventory accuracy levels of 99.6% and working on eliminating weekly shutdown periods altogether. Now, annual counts can be performed in a single weekend, ensuring that all chicken cross the road to customers on time.

5. Thinking Ahead: Intelligent Manufacturing

A food processing facility specializes in the production of organic packaged meals that are delivered daily to various organic grocers in the region. Their products are gaining in popularity and demand is on the rise. The number and complexity of customer orders are quickly overwhelming their pen & paper fulfillment processes. The resulting production and shipping errors are now eating at the manufacturer’s profits and affecting customer satisfaction levels.

The SOLOCHAIN WMS facilitates Just-in-Time Delivery through automated full cycle order management. Thanks to the system’s support, order fulfillment at the food service manufacturer is now virtually errorless. Clients are satisfied and demand is on the rise again. Meanwhile, lesser returns lead to lesser losses, which in turn saves the organic meal maker from welting margins.

These are but a few ways our WMS can help Food and Beverage companies to cut costs. To learn more download the WMS Solochain Product Sheet Here https://info.generixgroup.com/US-WMS_Solochain_Product_Sheet.html

Generix Group North America provides a series of solutions within our Supply Chain Hub product suite to create efficiencies across an entire supply chain. Our solutions are in use around the world and our experience is second-to-none. We invite you to contact us to learn more.