Traceability – Can Smaller Food Producers Trade internationally

According to minister for Agriculture, Simon Covney, “We go above and beyond what the European Union requires in terms of food safety controls as Ireland must be best in class. I am satisfied that the rules and regulations set out by the Commission are being implemented across the European Union.”  With the Horse meat scandal of the past, and emerging markets in Asia looking for untainted high quality produce, now is a very important time that traceability plays a key part in the trade agreements between different markets. To some food producers the cost, coupled with the paperwork-involved leads them to letting the bigger companies bid for lucrative contracts in these emerging markets.
There are solutions out there for the smaller scale food producers. Herbst Software’s ERP/Business management program, Insight, comes with a traceability software module that reduces duplication and paperwork by integrating ingredients and product traceability. It improves procedures and simplifies accountability. Herbst Software, being an Irish company whose origins lie in agricultural finance software; have created an add-on module to their ERP that has the specific traceability requirements for the Irish producer. Here are some of the key features Herbst Insight – Traceability Software Module,

• Uses existing batch numbers from suppliers or assign new batch numbers.
• FIFO batch allocation to dispatch goods.
• Track ingredients used in end products and automatically assign new batch numbers.
• Batch recall wizards, which produce letters with referenced document numbers.
• Assign inspection dates to batches.
• Support Expiration date with dispatch controls.
• Check goods received ingredients and assign your own procedures.
• Prevent batch usage before certain quality checks.
• See, select and manage stock by batch rather than by product alone.
• BOM and other documents support multiple batch per line

The traceability module has been a huge success and can be found in some of the largest food, oil, and pharmaceutical companies in the country. Companies all over the country have used Herbst Insight, our software partner, to grow their business. Their reporting tools are just one of the many features of this innovative Business Management Software solution. If you would like to find out more about an integrated software solution can help your business then contact us here at Hybrid TP on 061-211444.