A Solution for Food Processors: Electronic Tracking Technology

Moreover, such technology can still involve inefficiencies such as the physical keying of routing numbers. Not only is manual entry slow and inefficient, but it also leads to high levels of human error. This operator error could mean that the products cease to exist along the rest of the supply chain, forcing a company to stop everything and search—often with little success. InformationWeek’s 2005 estimate that as many as 75% of companies that touch the food supply chain are still managing their inventory with disconnected spreadsheets and paper documents points to an additional source of potential error.

Electronic Tracking

A food processor must always know the status of mission critical factors in its supply chain, even as it leaves the nuts and bolts of freight management to outside interests. That means knowing what has been shipped, what is in transit, what is due to be shipped, where freight is in the cycle, and how the shipment is performing against the stated timetable. The fundamental need is for best practices in transportation, stocking, and quality of compliance (particularly temperature and humidity controls), so that growers and shippers understand what is expected of them. This also includes installing processes for computation of cross-border tariffs and excise taxes, as well as for compliance with regulatory and licensing requirements. All of these factors demand integration into a comprehensive electronic tracking system.

An effective food supply chain uses cutting-edge electronic systems—through a freight forwarding agency’s comprehensive electronic tracking protocol—to ensure that supplies are delivered on time and with proper quality. Such a system allows a food processor to track freight as it moves around the world, reducing the pressure on its traffic department and improving both efficiency and cost effectiveness.

The ideal program shows what is happening at every step in the supply chain. Using links to the freight shipper’s own information, processors can cross check and validate the progress and timing of each shipment. The entire system should be password protected and encrypted for added security. Finally, the system should be interactive, allowing the customer to authorize and initiate both the original transaction and any subsequent amendments, with the system providing written confirmation of each authorization. Such systems have a number of other advantages (see “Working the System,” below).

This last point on the list below is especially crucial because free on-board (FOB) shipping terms offer more competitive freight rates and enhanced shipment control, and integrate perfectly with electronic tracking because increased supply chain visibility and control is a critical FOB benefit. By controlling the goods as they go on board at the overseas port of shipment, the importing food processor is better able to obtain accurate and timely shipment information by working with the third party logistics provider of its choosing. In this way, the processor is assured the freight partner is working for it, not the supplying vendor.

Use a Logistics Expert

Building a strong working relationship with a logistics expert is the final link in an effectively constructed global food supply chain. A proficient logistics company specializes in getting products where they need to be and is often able to find creative solutions where traditional supply chain handlers see obstacles. When it comes to challenges such as refrigeration, throughput, theft, customs, and other regulations, and product tracking, freight forwarders have consistently been able to solve problems in a nontraditional way that has, time and again, proven their value.

As global supply lines become more complex and concerns over the health and national security aspects of foodstuff sourcing expand, food processors will increasingly find electronic tracking systems—used in conjunction with logistics specialists—to be indispensable. The combination solves global supply chain problems by providing transparency and customization to ensure that supply needs are met without delays or surprises.