Packaged snack producers faced an unprecedented surge of demand as the pandemic and corresponding stay-at-home orders pushed consumers to comfort foods including packaged snacks. Convenient on-the-go packaging was replaced with bulk purchases that are now trending back as consumers emerge from stay at home orders. Consistent trends include the drive for more flavor, healthy choices, and protein. “Self-indulgence” grabs the premium space in the market but value is a strong driver in consumer behavior.
These trends and the corresponding dramatic shift in demand mean that your organization must be flexible and agile to deliver innovative products timed to market needs, all while managing costs and risk.
The Adroit team helps organizations to improve their agility. Our team works to understand your specific operational challenges, jointly craft solutions that incorporate best practices, leverage your existing software assets, and where necessary implement Adroit’s software solutions.
Working with Adroit, you are better positioned to efficiently create and produce products in response to newer trends.
Looking Deeper – Package Snacks Operational Challenges
A Proliferation of SKUs
The industry covers a range of products – including ready-to-eat food that has been processed and packaged into convenient packaging. The snacks can include frozen, fresh, and shelf-stable products.
Within the category, we see a lot of processors with high SKU counts in a range of packaging configurations. Formulations can be complex requiring multiple processing steps combining a larger number of ingredients.
Due to the complexity of the market, and the demand for products that offer convenience, portability, portion control and other value, leveraging ERP systems for packaged goods processors is a key success factor.
Improved Business Systems
The systems and processes supporting package snacks need to support batch processes that produce the formulated snacks in bulk, which in turn feed configurable high-speed packaging lines.
A single formulation batch may feed multiple packaging lines simultaneously. Different inner packs may be grouped in a variety of case sizes.
The packaging bill of materials may require multiple levels. The inventory control system should be able to show total on hand formulation across the range of packs.
Key Components of Packaged Snack Information Systems
As with all food production processes, traceability, formulas and recipes, lot control and traceability are key components of an enabling ERP system.
Adroit has the food processing industry experience to make sense of it all. We can help you solve your production and inventory control challenges with the application of best practices, optimizing your existing systems, or through the implementation of an Adroit software solution.
Packaged Snacks Industry Solutions for Improved Operations
Whether it is crafting targeted solutions to specific operational issues or helping to improve the processes of the entire supply chain, Adroit understands the unique challenges of packaged snacks.
Packaged snacks processing can be complex. Recipes can include many ingredients and process steps. Packaging configurations can be numerous. This can create a scheduling nightmare. The challenge is to streamline operations while managing cost and maximizing food safety and compliance. The manufacturing process is typically a combination of front-end batch processes and simultaneous continuous runs producing discrete units. As packaged snack operations scale up and the number of unique formulations and packaging configurations increase, so does the operational management challenge.
In many cases, we can help understand how a packaged snack oriented ERP system in combination with a Supply Chain Planning system can be leveraged to meet key challenges, including:
- Developing cohesive sales, operations, and finance plan (SOP Planning) with accurate forecasts, production capacities, inventory inclusive of distribution pipeline and planned expiration, and financial metrics.
- Shifting formulations and recipes to an online system when spreadsheets becomes unmanageable.
- Integrating insights into production including yield challenges, bottlenecks, and downtime
- Determining trends across batches and production runs.
- Eliminating manual and labor-intensive traceability through the application of traceability software.
- Integrate the record-keeping and document management challenges into ERP software
- Improving work in process visibility and inventory tracking through the application of a meat inventory tracking system
- Assessing your packaged snack software system fit to the required batch and continuous processes
- Complying with GFSI food safety schema, such as SQF, supported by independent record-keeping and plans
Packaged snack processing software and other key business systems all have a role in helping to modernize operations. When properly aligned with overall strategy, these systems help manage complex traceability and record-keeping mandates.
Adroit brings industry experience to each engagement and takes the time to understand the specifics of your meat operations. We can help you migrate the spreadsheet-based recipes and formulas into a formal system, and help you to get control of your costs, yields, production, and inventory challenges.