More bakers and snack producers are investing in software to help them better manage their supply chains through the entire production process, from ingredients to finished products. Given today’s stricter industry regulations, higher consumer expectations and increasingly global marketplace, quality is a competitive differentiator. It only takes one product recall to damage a company’s reputation. Thus, more food manufacturers recognize that maintaining accurate, real-time information on ingredients and products throughout processing is essential to protecting their brand and improving customer service.
The advent of lower technology deployment and integration costs are making Software as a Service (SaaS) and hosted software options much more cost-effective, according to Kevin Hume, partner, Tompkins International, Raleigh, NC. The trend began about 10 years ago in transportation-management software and has progressed to include warehouse, labor and order-management software applications.