Batch management software is valuable for companies in many different industries, but it would be accurate to say that its value is maximized in food industries where raw and perishable goods are at stake. Do you know how batch management software can save you money?
What is batch management software?
When basic computers entered the workforce many decades ago, the potential benefits were clear. However, in order to maximize the benefits of these machines and the programs they ran, businesses had to put systems in place to speed things along and overcome painful inefficiencies that were unfortunately very common.
Because computers were much slower then – and didn’t have the memory or capabilities that today’s sophisticated devices have – businesses started using batch processing. The goal of batch processing was to eliminate, or at least diminish, the dead periods between the time in which one program was run and the other was loaded and run. By having programs preconfigured and queued, programs could run one after the other (as opposed to suffering through the lengthy wait periods that could often last hours.
Batch processing and management was extremely archaic and rudimentary back in the 1960s-1980s, but it helped speed things along. Today, batch management software is incredibly sophisticated and almost totally automated.
A batch management software program works by recognizing when a previous process is completed, locating data to complete the next task, and utilizing available resources in the most efficient way possible.
“The right batch processing system can greatly benefit a business by giving company owners the peace of mind that processing is happening without the burden of human error and time consumption,” says Daniel Cochran, who uses batch processing in his own business. “Batch processing software can keep working long after employees have gone home for the day—the system can be set to keep carrying out its task after hours. A good batch processing program is also more cost-effective compared to the same amount of work that would have to be put in manually.”
Five ways to save money on raw and perishable goods
From financial institutions to hardware manufacturers, almost every business can benefit from using batch management software. However, as previously mentioned, those working in food industries can truly make the most out of the features.
Here are five specific ways you can save money on raw, perishable goods:
1. Reduces lead time
The biggest benefit of batch management software is that it directly decreases the amount of time it takes to move from one process to another. There’s less time waiting around and more time actually producing the product. While a few minutes here or there may not seem substantial, minutes turn into hours, which turn into days. When you’re dealing with perishable goods that have an expiration date, days matter.
2. Maximize human capital
When batch management is automated and streamlined, this frees your employees up to focus on other tasks and procedures. But even more than giving your employees something useful to do, batch management software reduces the likelihood of human error. A single oversight or mistake by an employee could compromise an entire batch and deplete your raw goods. As long as the correct parameters are in place, you don’t have to worry about errors with your batch management program.
3. Better recipe management
As you know, the cost of different ingredients can change rather significantly over time. But despite rising costs, you don’t always have enough leverage to adjust the price of the end product. In this case, the only thing you can do is find a way to maintain quality while somehow changing ingredients or adjusting the size of the food. This is a very tricky thing to do, but batch management software can help you identify the appropriate balance.
4. Standardize processes
Operational inefficiencies directly affect your ability to maximize raw and perishable materials. With a batch management software program, you can adopt best practices and capture processes that permit you to move quicker along the way. This reduces any chance of wasting ingredients.
5. Ensures regulatory compliance
Do you feel the weight of regulatory compliance in your industry? As you’re well aware, product recalls can be debilitating – forcing you to not only spend time and effort recalling the products from shelves but to also throw out materials and purchase new ingredients. Batch management software governs recipe management and greatly mitigates your risk of recalls.
Learn more today
When it comes to increasing efficiency and protecting your investment in perishable inventory, you can never know too much.
Check out our best practice whitepaper on supply chain management in the food industry to learn more about batch management software and how it an integrated system can link that information up with additional operational practices to help with lead time, order cycles and demand forecasting.
Ready for a specialized food ERP? Learn more about Aptean Food & Beverage ERP JustFood Edition — a solution purpose-built to solve your challenges and propel your food business and digital transformation to the next level.
