Established food and beverage manufacturing companies understand that effective inventory control is the key to sustaining profitability. And in the bakery sector, where product accuracy and freshness are essential, demands for robust inventory management systems couldn’t be more pronounced.
So, what is the best approach to inventory management for bakeries? As a business owner or operations manager, you should be seeking to increase visibility into your supply chain while enhancing your inventory’s real-time traceability at every opportunity. Modern supply chain management procedures require deep insight and accurate reporting for tracking stock levels and optimizing warehouse floor space.
Bakery owners who haven’t yet automated their production facilities quickly discover that enterprise resource planning (ERP) tasks are not infrequently daunting, especially in the early stages of implementation. For most bakeries, industrial automation solutions are much more accessible now than in years past. Let’s explore a few proven approaches to gaining more traceability and visibility into your after implementing an automated industrial solution.
Real-time inventory tracking
To manufacture baked goods profitably, you need consistent bargains on the ingredients used to produce your products. Capitalizing on bulk discount offers is among the most effective ways to leverage your available resources and drive more growth. Any successful implementation of a bulk purchasing strategy is the result of effective long-term enterprise resource planning (ERP). Organizations that strategize longer into the future encounter more predictable sales results, despite the lower margins for error.
If a bakery fails to plan ahead and frequently depletes its supplies early, its operations risk coming to a swift and grinding halt. Reliable inventory management solutions prevent unplanned downtime through continuous real-time visibility into your stock. Quick access to accurate, up-to-the-minute data lets you spot issues early, well before they spiral into unresolvable problems and erupt in expensive downtime.
Moreover, if your management system cannot provide dependable live-time insight and updates about your inventory, the chance of running out of critical materials is high. Warehouse management software and controls offer peace of mind in knowing you have accurate inventory data. Access to a precise calculation of how much stock you have on hand means you can confidently take advantage of bulk order discounts. Reliable industrial automation solutions tell you what ingredients you need and the intervals at which you should acquire them.
Reduced waste
Fresh baked goods have a short shelf life, so purposeful inventory management is crucial. On the one hand, you’re responsible for ensuring that you don’t prematurely run out of ingredients. On the other hand, you’re under time constraints to use all your purchased ingredients before they expire, forcing you to throw value food materials away. Reducing waste requires a well-implemented, long-term enterprise resource planning strategy that specifies the concise supply of necessary ingredients and the order in which they mix to render your final product.
Accurate business forecasting is necessary before you can ever hope to master your inventory management to ultimately reduce waste and permanently lower overall costs. Production figures change by the hour, and capturing accurate overviews in real-time translates to easier business forecasting. If you produce a range of baked goods with unique recipes, automated information controls help take the effort out of managing them all at once.
Food manufacturers that struggle with inventory control expose their operations to product spoilage and waste. If you’re frequently investing in products that only expire later, this starts to add up quickly and can potentially disrupt your supply chain before draining your bottom line. A trusted ERP solution from EzSoft helps bakeries like yours take back control of their stock-keeping and warehouse management. Inventory management software lets organize your materials methodologically by expiration date to reduce costly waste. With the right enterprise resource planning system, you can fully automate first-expiry, first-out (FEFO) stock management to reduce reliable stocking recommendations.
Optimized warehouse space
Every bakery strives to be more efficient and increase warehouse reaction times. Given the shifting demands of consumers today, most food production plants can benefit from updating their manufacturing business software sooner rather than later. ERP solutions for bakeries are scalable and designed to introduce a wealth of new technologies and production standards for businesses as they grow.
ERP and warehouse management software solutions use blockchain integration and GS1 barcodes to boost traceability. Bakery owners gain more control over staffing and deliveries with smart scheduling while optimizing their palletizing through mobile solutions. ERP warehouse management software enables a substantially more flexible workforce, saves time, and enhances warehouse space utilization.
The outlook for the bakery industry
With so many unique ERP software solutions available, you might find yourself stuck on a single question: “Where can I find industrial automation companies near me?” We at EzSoft understand that this is an unprecedented time to be in the baked good manufacturing sector, and opportunities for driving growth are plentiful and abound. As consumer interest and preference for bakery items continue to show several promising trends, the demand for baked goods is higher than ever.
Food production plant owners who recognize the industry is changing rapidly are in the best position to adapt their operations in size and scope over the coming years. Our team of expert technicians at WiSys can provide with you with the necessary support and industry-leading ERP software that scales with the needs and size of your expanding business.
If you’re looking for an inventory controls system that can deliver considerable savings in a short time, fill out our online contact form or call EzSoft today at (484) 568-5040.
