With the evolving needs of the growing Indian food processing sector, the adoption of specialty software solutions has become imperative During the last two decades, several industries in India have grown almost at par with their global counterparts. Among these, the food and beverages industry, particularly the processed and ready-to-eat food segment, has a considerable latent potential. In contrast with the flourishing Indian economy and the local consumer’s craving for fast food in the country, the segment is still largely unexploited. Moreover, the Indian food and beverages industry, though driven by a herculean demand and global exposure, is still largely fragmented with only a few organised players and low involvement of technology.
Key processes, such as monitoring and reporting, associated with the manufacture and distribution of food products are still largely manual and expensive. For these reasons, the industry, despite the availability of resources and its market potential, is still lagging behind on the global front. However, in recent times, a range of software solutions targeting the specific needs of the Indian food and beverages sector have been developed by several IT firms. Meeting the key ERP-based needs of the industry, these solutions improve the system’s efficiency in terms of monitoring, process planning, materials handling, maintenance and quality management. This, in turn, optimises the resources, thus minimising the overall costs associated with the industry.  A process industry software tool built on Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Tectura Process Manufacturing-Food caters to the specific needs of the food industry, particularly for those firms associated with manufacturing and distribution operations. In an industry with slim margins and perishable goods, the software utility provides the management with insights through the system’s robust functionality to trace and control farm-to-fork ingredients, processes and associated costs. Its auxiliary online reporting functionality improves the promptness of decision-making and, hence, profitability. This enhanced system visibility enables assessment and comprehension of profitability by product line and distribution channel, and also provides a consistent focus on costs and management of expiration dates. The manufacturing unit’s compliance with safety, traceability and share-product production is further facilitated through the provision of real-time data associated with point-of-entry and the complete supply chain. A few such software utilities also have an optional workflow module which assists process design and documentation activities. The software solution has built-in dedicated functions to configure elements such as recipes, work schedules, process monitoring, materials handling, maintenance and quality management. All product details are registered in accordance with the selected manufacturing process. Product variants can also be created in accordance with required batch size and packaging types. Some of the innovative features of the utility are discussed below. Automated recipes and part lists
Tectura Process Manufacturing-Food enables automatic configuring of main recipes with additives. Use of part lists for processes such as filling and packaging is also enabled in conjunction with the recipes themselves. Moreover, recipe parameters can be saved as percentages or fractions. This provides a complete overview of food production processes at a glance. The throughput and setup times can also be set in the system without disturbing the work schedules. The functionality is also applicable to fixed production rates, like those encountered in the case of mixers and dryers.  Optimised work schedule With the help of the utility, individual work cycles can be assigned with the associated operations, ingredients, quality tests and tools. Taking into account the freely definable planning parameters, its integrated sequencer can be used to minimise the setup times, while optimising the utilisation and transparency of production processes. This enables the tracking of co-production and work centre usage of ingredients such as dairy products, nuts or other regulated products. Displays of the order network across processes and departments provides for early detection of faults, such as inadequate ingredients or machine incapacities. These control mechanisms optimise the process adherence in terms of delivery deadlines and, thus, help minimise the size of warehouse inventories. At the core of the optimisation system is a machine occupancy schedule which enables direct assignments of machines and representations of entire production lines. Orders can easily be split if required and moved to a different machine and rescheduled. Throughput times, tools (cavities, cycle times and quantities, approach and setup times) and operating resources are considered automatically in this process. A simple function permits similar orders to be grouped together. Moreover, the software utility also consists of interfaces to external graphic programmes. Maintenance and setup jobs Setup jobs can be created directly using a setup matrix which uses information on changing ingredient groups, recipes and tools. These setup jobs can then be assigned to process orders wherever necessary. Freely definable production processes in such systems enable easier and faster distribution, separation and grouping of the required production tasks. In parallel with production processes, the system provides for a comparative assessment of tool setup times. Improved planning and process manipulation In addition to organising machines, tools and raw materials, it is also necessary to assign staff possessing the appropriate qualifications to operate the machines and tools. During creation of a production order, the software module compares staff requirements with shift competencies, thus overhauling the system’s efficiency. Along with staff planning, it also provides a detailed system overview to enable early problem detection, which strengthens the enforcement of countermeasures. Its planning chart is basically a matrix which provides an overview of all the production orders in terms of machines and times. For example, the ‘drill-down’ function enables all the required details to be extracted quickly out of the matrix. An overview of production departments, permitting drilling down to individual machines per day, week or month, provides the required perspective of utilisation levels in terms of percentage, hours or free capacities. This overview of setup times indicates the number of necessary setup staff. Along with its production planning functionality, Tectura Process Manufacturing-Food also includes calculation templates that can be supplemented by the data at the user end. This enables the user to decide the values which may be modified in the calculations and the associated cost rates—whether as percentages or flat rates—to be considered on a regular basis. Cost optimisation can also be performed in accordance with the specifications associated with product, customer or machine. Continuous batch management With its continuous batch management module, the software’s central information window enables navigation throughout the system and its branches to any required individual document. Its batch tracing mechanism provides an overview of the production and supply chain, which enables immediate identification of batch recipients as well as production of raw ingredients and their suppliers. Several product structures can be displayed in one or more articles. In addition, filling and refilling orders can be created automatically or relayed to the relevant departments. The container management section permits the administration of batches down to individual units and even fractions thereof. The solution also enables firms to take goods in bulk volumes and package them into packages or bottles of different sizes to serve various distribution channels. Batches and containers can be released, barred or assigned another predefined status on an individual basis. For example, all the inventories which are due can be earmarked for inspection three months in advance. Moreover, during scheduling and sequencing, one can quickly check the availability of particular materials in stock, and hence the required measures for the same.  Batch number assignment The system can assign batch numbers automatically in accordance with a predefined set of rules. Furthermore, the batch numbers of batch-specific products can be handed down automatically to subsequent batches which form part of the food manufacturing, filling or packaging processes. In the software, associated functions for filling finished products are integrated into the batch and serial number management system. Packaging material and storage aids can be allocated as required, even within individual deliveries. An integrated management system for loaned containers provides a continual overview of inventory, circulation and demand. Available in several extension packages, the quality management system enables early detection of faults and shortcomings to ensure delivery of quality products. Automated lot tracking and suggestion With its ‘single-screen’ user interface, Tectura’s software solution quickly traces the origins of individual ingredients and determines the details associated with the distribution of specific lots. Through this automated lot tracking mechanism, overall lot tracking time is optimised. Moreover, the utility can also perform automatic lot suggestion, that is, it can automatically assign lots to sales orders based on expiration—like First Expiry First Out (FEFO), customer lot status, and customer-specific criteria (private labels). This ensures that the suggested lots meet customer-specific criteria, thus resulting in customer satisfaction. It also generates real-time batch sheets which document vital information on instructions, ingredients, and QC test procedures. This allows better control over production processes and minimises the risk of errors in food and beverage processing facilities. Improved measurement capabilities ‘Catchweight’ is an absolute requirement in various food categories—especially meat, fish and dairy processing—where the quantity of packaged material varies for different containers. It is not just the ability to capture and track inventory in two units of measurement, but also includes the capability to evaluate, enquire, reserve, allocate, cost, plan, produce, order, price, ship and obtain invoice by catchweight. A few present-day software solutions are capable of tracking the inventory related data in both standard weight and ‘exact’ weight. That is, the software fully supports and captures catchweight. Industry compliance From audit trails to traceability, the software utility empowers the food processing industry with the functionalities needed to comply with food safety regulations. With the traceability attribute being part of its continuous production processes, the software helps achieve cost optimisation, while ensuring industry compliance. Quality status and checklists A status can be freely allocated to each product and redefined as required. For each status, it is possible to set preventive actions, such as actions to prevent delivery to the customer or use in production. Barred products can be removed from calculations of requirements. Query templates and possible responses can be integrated into every process stage. Templates, also serving as checklists, permit easy documentation of standard tests. Upper and lower limits for measurement values can be managed and compared with test results. An optional module with the software permits end-to-end integration of more detailed quality management functions such as the management of test instruments and methods, automatic creation of test schedules according to article or supplier and supplier evaluation. Research and Development: ‘From idea to reality’ From customer specification and product conception to the final product, processes can be managed using these software-based process solutions. These solutions enable firms to compare formulations, perform calculations, record hypotheses and prepare production orders, while accounting for purchase requirements, without having to create all the products involved. For example, it is possible to specify data as percentage weight or percentage volume. Sample deliveries can be performed even without product creation. Moreover, all the process stages can be subjected to a cost-benefit analysis to ascertain a new product’s profitability.  Maintenance template and orders The software has a built-in internal maintenance module to monitor and execute maintenance orders. It empowers the user to prepare maintenance templates and define maintenance intervals. Also, the maintenance orders can be created automatically and unscheduled maintenance tasks can be performed at any point of time. Maintenance plans can take into account the requirements for time, materials and external resources. Planned shutdown periods can be coordinated with production schedules in an overview. This improves the system’s overall coordination and minimises the downtime, thus leading to overall optimisation. Conclusion Looking at the current position of the Indian food and beverages sector in the global scenario and its inherent growth potential, it is imperative that India tap the domain. However, it is essential to first identify the factors hindering the growth of the industry and take the necessary measures to rectify these. In the last few years, technological obsolescence has been identified as one of the major shortcomings of the industry, particularly for the unorganised players. To counter this, several software-based process industry solutions have been developed in recent times, which can be adopted to eliminate issues associated with key industry processes, such as food manufacturing, processing and distribution. Such special-purpose software can be a major boost to streamline the activities of Indian food and beverages industry. Courtesy: Tectura |
