Solutions for Baked Goods
Baked goods manufacturers are under growing pressure to develop and release products to meet the changing mood of consumers dietary appetites in an increasingly price sensitive environment. The need to maintain profitability in an environment of constantly changing commodity costs means looking into all areas of the business for opportunities to drive out waste and get more done with less effort and resources.
Most food processors have a common need to control some of their production processes with batch calculations and other aspects, such as final packaging and labeling, with discrete functionality.. Horizons International offers scalable formula and ingredient management, with real time perpetual inventory and cost control, production and material planning, cradle to grave lot control and quality management all on an affordable Microsoft DynamicsGP platform with tools that are already familiar to your staff.
Reduce Costs with Upgraded Equipment
Equipment that supports combining product lines in single processes, decreasing the cost for changeovers and providing more efficient sanitizing, can be effective in reducing labor and improving throughput. But these process changes can bring administrative challenges when trying to marry production results with inventory and accounting practices, resulting in simply transferring costs from one area to another of the operation. Multi product production functionality from Horizons International can address these accounting and inventory needs, helping you to maximize the value of your investment in new resources by reducing reporting and transaction tasks.
Reformulate for Cost Control and Regulatory Requirements
Formulating products with suitable alternatives to animal proteins or replacing hydrogenated vegetable oils, whether driven by cost or regulatory requirements will impact material planning, formulation and quality management functions. Timing of changes and cost impacts require oversight and communication across the management team for successful execution. Bill of ingredient visibility and cost calculation tools, along with production planning visibility from Horizons International will ease the process of implementing and managing these changes across your team.
Trim Ingredient Inventories and Adjust Batch Quantities for Better Cash Management
Overall costs can be reduced through better labor utilization if larger production runs of intermediaries that can be frozen or stored can be planned. Ingredient inventories when matched correctly with sales can also be trimmed to better manage cash flow. Success with these strategies needs accurate and timely visibility of product sales trends and actual production needs. Can you easily identify which products at which margins justify specific ingredient inventories? Do your or your staff have the time to complete that analysis? Real time visibility of inventory, production demand and sales that is fully integrated to your general ledger, purchasing and payables provides timely and accurate cash management tools, allowing your team to do the in depth analysis to trim inventories and more efficiently plan production batches.
Improved Forecasting to Reduce Waste, Optimize Sales and Increase Profits
Internally each organization is faced with daily challenges to accurately forecast demand so waste is reduced while ensuring that sales are optimized. Changes in consumer behavior whether it is for more prepare at home products or products with specific dietary makeup are driving rapid changes in product preferences requiring more resources and focus on consumer behavior. Accuracy of forecasts and rapid communication on sales commitments are key to successful product launches and inventory utilization. Research and planning for these efforts can be resource intense creating distraction from managing day to day business events. Integrated sales, forecasting and planning functionality that seamlessly runs in a Microsoft DynamicsGP environment tying to Outlook and Microsoft Office speeds communication, reduces costs and keeping the whole team in full communication.