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Created in the cloud with Aspose.Words for Cloud. http://www.aspose.com/cloud/word-api.aspx CEOs Driving the Use of Mobile Technologies Published Date : 2015-12-03 16:28:39 A recent PWC report said “81% of CEOs think mobile technologies are strategically important for their business”. When I talk to technical teams about mobility, their first reaction is to think about supply chain auditors travelling around the world auditing suppliers. But ‘mobility’ is beginning to have a much more strategic importance within your own premises or production unit, before anyone takes a step outside the building… “Mobility” is a term that describes a shift in work habits and practices, primarily driven by the availability of mobile devices, smartphone apps or cloud services that enable people to perform business tasks in real time, from wherever they are.

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Created in the cloud with Aspose.Words for Cloud. http://www.aspose.com/cloud/word-api.aspx

CEOs Driving the Use of Mobile Technologies Published Date : 2015-12-03 16:28:39

A recent PWC report said “81% of CEOs think mobile technologies are strategically important for their business”. When I talk to technical teams about mobility, their first reaction is to think about supply chain auditors travelling around the world auditing suppliers. But ‘mobility’ is beginning to have a much more strategic importance within your own premises or production unit, before anyone takes a step outside the building…“Mobility” is a term that describes a shift in work habits and practices, primarily driven by the availability of mobile devices, smartphone apps or cloud services that enable people to perform business tasks in real time, from wherever they are.

A mobile food safety team strengthens your food safety management system.Mobility has the potential to be incredibly powerful for food safety teams. Here are some examples of how mobility can help to improve processes:

 Using a device anywhere on the factory floor has significant benefits for completion of QC checks and internal audits.

Recording QC checks in real time direct to the QADEX system rather than using paperwork and entering the data later as a separate process

It saves time, increases accuracy, and the system auto-capture provides concrete evidence of the date and time the checks were completed for unannounced audits.

T he chance for a super-efficient operator to complete all their QC checks at the start of the shift/day/week disappear.

Auto validation rules can be used to automatically raise non-conformances Live links to approved raw material specifications ensure that checks are always

completed against the current specification with the correct work instructions.

QADEX systems keeping you at the forefront of mobility.We are focused on empowering and enabling food safety teams to be more mobile, by enabling new ways of working and increasing customer and retailer engagement. This is resulting in greater efficiency across food safety teams.Today QADEX customers can connect to their risk assessment, supplier approval management, product specification, QA Checks & customer complaints management systems from anywhere in the world using laptops and tablets, in a totally secure environment, to complete the majority of tasks in real time, at any time of day.

Mobile Devices revolutionise working practicesA mobile device can be used at any time to view content while out and about, to receive updates instantly and to respond to con-conformances and corrective actions instantly. This enables your food safety team to be up to date and respond quickly. At all times:

QC checks, internal audits and supplier audits can be completed on the move using tablets.

Non-conformances can be photographed using inbuilt cameras, which speeds up audit processes and provides indisputable evidence.

QADEX are at the forefront of mobile technology and continue to invest heavily, but we have only scratched the surface of possibility. Future mobile apps will further revolutionise the QADEX user experience.Please let us know how we can support your journey towards a more effective mobile food safety team.

Cartoon 17 | Back where we started, but have we learned anything? Published Date : 2015-11-30 09:04:07

Back where we started, but have we learned anything?

It feels like we are starting all over again, in fact we are, and have we learned anything?

About These Cartoons

QADEX understand the continual pressure that food safety teams are under.

Sometimes what happens is surreal and would be funny, except you are up to your neck and it is hard to see the funny side.

This cartoon is Number 17 in a series of 17 cartoons charting some of the crazy things that happen in the process of launching a fictional hot potato range into a supermarket.

We hope you find some of these cartoons amusing, if you do please share the smiles by clicking the share button on LinkedIn.

Previous cartoons in this series are available on the QADEX LinkedIn page

You can see the full series on the QADEX website at http://qadex.com/cartoons-npd

How factory automation can improve food safety outcomes Published Date : 2015-11-27 13:03:35

Factory automation solutions are often called manufacturing execution systems (MES).  For those of you frustrated with getting your manufacturing teams to comply with your food safety management system, do not take the above literally.

An MES is a factory-based system that automates plant operations.

It does this by providing factory employees with detailed instructions throughout the steps of the production process and by automatically recording associated activities. It interacts with factory control systems such as weighing scales, CIP systems and ERP – thus reducing manual administration and paperwork.

Food businesses with high numbers of products or complex manufacturing operations stand to gain the most benefits. The main business drivers for installing an MES include:

Improved quality control procedures. Improved traceability Increase ability to capture greater detail around factory activities Less reliance on individuals Interaction with other systems

What does an MES typically do?

MES manages all production and warehousing areas for raw materials, work in progress and finished products. It can also talk to ERP systems for production record keeping and capture additional information not captured by the ERP systems such as the containers, bins, knives, buckets, trays used etc. All of these items can be set-up and traced on an MES system.

During the production process the MES assists operators by guiding them through their work instructions step by step, telling them which equipment to use, capturing scanned details or item numbers of equipment used. As a result the MES can alert users if they are trying to use the incorrect equipment or if the equipment they are proposing to use introduce an allergen cross contamination risk. Linkages to factory specifications and finished product specifications can ensure that all customer specifications are complied with. Quality problems can be captured and fed back to supplier monitoring systems.

Traceability is built on the above so instead of seeing traceability of materials only, MES shows for each production run, what materials were used, by whom and into which containers they were put, what equipment was used, the cleaning records of the equipment resulting in a full chain of events from start to finish.

Where ingredients need to be weighed, dispensed or mixed the MES can link to scales and guide the operator step by step and track the weighing to a target weight or counting down to zero.

Links to finished product specifications and pack copy systems can ensure that the correct labels are applied to packaging.

Conclusion

MES will not be suitable for all sites. Where MES is suitable it will require interfaces with various systems including ERP, food safety management systems such as QADEX, factory systems such as scales etc.There are substantial benefits, but cost benefit needs to be carefully evaluated as a full factory wide MES will require a substantial investment and senior management commitment over several years.

Cartoon 16 | After the promotion, volumes plummet and the product is delisted Published Date : 2015-11-23 10:07:20

After the promotion, volumes plummet and the product is delisted

After the promotion ends the volumes plummet and the retailer decides to delist the product.

More packaging write-offs!

Another market research trip coming up for business development.

About These Cartoons

QADEX understand the continual pressure that food safety teams are under.

Sometimes what happens is surreal and would be funny, except you are up to your neck and it is hard to see the funny side.

This cartoon is Number 16 in a series of 17 cartoons charting some of the crazy things that happen in the process of launching a fictional hot potato range into a supermarket.

We hope you find some of these cartoons amusing, if you do please share the smiles by clicking the share button on LinkedIn.

Previous cartoons in this series are available on the QADEX LinkedIn page

You can see the full series on the QADEX website at http://qadex.com/cartoons-npd

Cartoon 15 | The promotion starts next week Published Date : 2015-11-13 09:16:09

The promotion starts next week

Production are working double shifts to build stock for the promotion, everyone is shattered.

But we hope that all quality assurance systems are being fully maintained, fat chance.

About These Cartoons

QADEX understand the continual pressure that food safety teams are under.

Sometimes what happens is surreal and would be funny, except you are up to your neck and it is hard to see the funny side.

This cartoon is Number 15 in a series of 18 cartoons charting some of the crazy things that happen in the process of launching a fictional hot potato range into a supermarket.

We hope you find some of these cartoons amusing, if you do please share the smiles by clicking the share button on LinkedIn.

Previous cartoons in this series are available on the QADEX LinkedIn page

You can see the full series on the QADEX website at http://qadex.com/cartoons-npd

Cartoon 14 | The packaging does not fit the packaging machine Published Date : 2015-11-09 09:27:15

 

The packaging does not fit the packaging machine

In all the rush to deal with ingredient X, no QA checks were done on the new packaging and packaging specs were not checked to ensure that the packaging works on the machinery.Guess what, it doesn’t fit the machinery.

About These Cartoons

QADEX understand the continual pressure that food safety teams are under.

Sometimes what happens is surreal and would be funny, except you are up to your neck and it is hard to see the funny side.

This cartoon is Number 14 in a series of 19 cartoons charting some of the crazy things that happen in the process of launching a fictional hot potato range into a supermarket.

We hope you find some of these cartoons amusing, if you do please share the smiles by clicking the share button on LinkedIn.

Previous cartoons in this series are available on the QADEX LinkedIn page

You can see the full series on the QADEX website at http://qadex.com/cartoons-npd

Cartoon 13 | Let’s remove exotic ingredient X Published Date : 2015-11-02 09:25:18

Let’s remove exotic ingredient X

Buyer has given up on ingredient X and agreed with NPD to remove ingredient X from the recipe and move to an ingredient from an existing approved supplier who is good at completing raw material specifications.

Great, except we have £50,000 of packing with ingredient X on the pack copy.

Doh!

About These Cartoons

QADEX understand the continual pressure that food safety teams are under.

Sometimes what happens is surreal and would be funny, except you are up to your neck and it is hard to see the funny side.

This cartoon is Number 13 in a series of 19 cartoons charting some of the crazy things that happen in the process of launching a fictional hot potato range into a supermarket.

We hope you find some of these cartoons amusing, if you do please share the smiles by clicking the share button on LinkedIn.

Previous cartoons in this series are available on the QADEX LinkedIn page

You can see the full series on the QADEX website at http://qadex.com/cartoons-npd

Cartoon 12 | While in the factory things are not going quite to plan

Published Date : 2015-10-26 10:47:39

While in the factory things are not going quite to plan

An oven breakdown….but our proactive production manager is using a secondary oven, the one with inconsistent temperatures that result in high levels of boil out.

Customer complaints are high for products baked through this secondary oven and QA checks on the pre-production products indicate that they are all out of specification.

Another day, another fine mess.

About These Cartoons

QADEX understand the continual pressure that food safety teams are under.

Sometimes what happens is surreal and would be funny, except you are up to your neck and it is hard to see the funny side.

This cartoon is Number 12 in a series of 19 cartoons charting some of the crazy things that happen in the process of launching a fictional hot potato range into a supermarket.

We hope you find some of these cartoons amusing, if you do please share the smiles by clicking the share button on LinkedIn.

Previous cartoons in this series are available on the QADEX LinkedIn page

You can see the full series on the QADEX website at http://qadex.com/cartoons-npd

Sustainable Dairy Groups - Retailers are damned when they do and damned when the don’t. Published Date : 2015-10-23 13:10:18

It has been reported recently in the Grocer that the retailers operating dedicated milk pools have paid an extra £500m for their milk over the past 5 years.

A sizeable proportion of this cost has been incurred during 2015 due to the slump in dairy prices resulting in the gap between aligned and non-aligned milk prices widening to nearly 8.5p per litre.

My brother is an Irish dairy farmer and I have seen first hand the impact on farm profitability as a result of the slump in prices. My brother Paddy, the Irishman, do not joke, is a very efficient farmer producing high quality milk at a low cost of production but is getting very near to the point of not making any profit. A substantial number of farmers will not be as efficient and will be losing money.

It is estimated that the extra cost of segregating the milk in these aligned pools from the unaligned pools also adds an extra 1 ppl to the production cost.

This is not a recipe for a sustainable supply chain.

In the UK the average price of milk paid to dairy farmers who are not in the aligned pools is 23ppl compared to about 30ppl for farmers in the aligned pools. To a typical small farmer producing 400,000 liters per annum this equates to £28,000 per annum which is a large sum of money.

The major retailers who have the dedicated pools are Tesco, Sainsburys, The Co-Op, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer & Booths do not appear to be realising tangible benefits in the form of higher milk sales. A recent Harris survey of consumers for the Grocer did not indicate consumer awareness that the retailers with the aligned pools were paying their farmers a substantially higher price.

As a shopper I know that these retailers are advertising this using various mechanics but this advertising does not seem to be cutting through into consumers consciousness.

It is not surprising therefore that some retailers may start to question and review the benefits of these aligned groups. This is a logical step to take but one which I personally think will further undermine the sustainability of our UK farming industry.

With all our recent government focus on the food supply chain and the need to reduce supply chain risk it would appear to me that the retailers who are doing the right thing by their supply chains, at large financial cost, should receive recognition and support.It seems that the retailers are damned when they do and damned when the don’t.

Vulnerability Assessments Could Affect Food Product Claims Published Date : 2015-10-16 13:04:58

The current challenge of the entire UK food supply chain implementing the new vulnerability assessments and supplier approval management is currently dominating my thoughts, and with good reasons.

There is one potential downside to the implementation of this process that could have a huge impact on our current food supply chain. It may force companies to reduce the claims made on their packaging, in an attempt to reduce supply chain risk, resulting in less diversity and a reduction in the availability of exciting, unusual and exclusive product ranges. Let me explain…

I am a foodie, a farmer’s son who has worked in the food industry all of my career. I am passionate about my food and its provenance claims such as: Aberdeen Angus Steak burgers, Cakes containing Sicilian lemon oil, Muffins containing Belgian chocolate, anything containing British Farm Assured produce and everything containing Irish products.

Yes, as you can see I can be a little conflicted, but the overriding driving force, is to consume products with exclusive provenance wherever possible.

Increased burden of proof to support claims

With BRC 7 and retailer standards, it is now a requirement that wherever you make claims on packaging you also need to implement a full chain of custody and consider verification such as; full traceability and mass balance audits. Failure to do this exposes your business to brand protection risks.

Onerous implementation of ‘full chain of custody’

In some supply chains, full chain of custody is difficult to implement. Using the examples above; Aberdeen Angus should be easy enough to implement a full chain of custody, but what about the Sicilian lemon oil, and don’t get me going on black pepper…

Mass Balance virtually impossible

A long time ago while working in food manufacturing, I undertook a vast amount of mass balance work in food factories. This was not because I was far ahead of the industry having already predicted today’s challenges. list of sites It was simply that the business I worked for were very professional about raw material yields and invested heavily in tracking all raw material usage and wastage, for yield management.

Nevertheless, it took years to get the systems up and running; entailing a massive investment in IT hardware and software; with veritable teams of people completing manual reconciliations. How I wonder, will an auditor who visits a supplier within their supply chain, be able to complete this task in just one or two days?

Caution must prevail

I fear that the above challenges could force suppliers to remove some claims, due to the cost and risk of retaining them being too high. Is this where we should be going as an industry?

Thresholds are essential

Going back to the Aberdeen Angus example above, let’s assume that these burgers are made on the same line as burgers containing Irish beef, for the Irish market containing an Irish Beef claim.

Blocks of frozen beef are difficult to differentiate The cost of full line clean downs on all pre-breakers, mincers, mixers, pattie formers etc.

is prohibitive. Mass balance exercises indicate that controls are in place but cannot account for every Kg

due to process gains and losses

This would lead to an over cautious approach resulting in both claims being removed. I hope this is not the case, but the risk is certainly apparent.

Agreed thresholds for  adventitious cross contamination could be the answer. What do you think?

Cartoon 11 | Pre production day Published Date : 2015-10-16 09:39:37

Pre production day

Our frustrated hero is having to explain the unexplainable to the retailer technologist;

Still no supplier approval for exotic ingredient X Supplier is unable to provide a raw material specification Forget ethical compliance with the ETI base code It is not possible to create a finished product specification

Of course there is no sign of the NPD and business development guys who created this mess.

About These Cartoons

QADEX understand the continual pressure that food safety teams are under.

Sometimes what happens is surreal and would be funny, except you are up to your neck and it is hard to see the funny side.

This cartoon is Number 11 in a series of 19 cartoons charting some of the crazy things that happen in the process of launching a fictional hot potato range into a supermarket.

We hope you find some of these cartoons amusing, if you do please share the smiles by clicking the share button on LinkedIn.

Previous cartoons in this series are available on the QADEX LinkedIn page

You can see the full series on the QADEX website at http://qadex.com/cartoons-npd

7 economic indicators of fraud available within your business Published Date : 2015-10-09 13:07:27

Within the vulnerability assessment requirements of BRCv7, is a requirement to review economic indicators of fraud and to include these within your risk assessment.  This is more difficult than it sounds, especially without any recognised  or formal guidance procedures on what exactly to review.

This will not be an easy task, but the first one will probably be the hardest, with following years’ having the luxury of adding up to date comment on each issue raised in the first risk assessment. So here is  a summary of what we consider could  be the seven most vital places to start looking for your information.

It is difficult to know exactly where to start, but taking these areas as separate indicators,  they do all appear to have significant risks associated with economic vulnerability and the amelioration

of fraud.  The BRCv7 guidance notes, and every other guidance that has appeared so far;  sheds little light on any best practice on how to do this and it is not a simple matter of just talking to your purchasing colleagues and reading the latest edition of The Grocer.

If reading this gives you an idea about any other indicators that are not included here, then please do add a comment or contact me by reply for a chance of receiving a £50 Amazon Voucher for your trouble.

# 1 – Use available commodity pricing data

Your purchasing colleagues will be paying for commodity pricing data from one of the business data providers, or will be subscribers to industry specific journals that provide pricing data and trends. Talk to them, and find out which commodities, that are relevant to your business, have gone up in price significantly.  Find out if this was unexpected and find out what their concerns are about it.# 2 – Pull out that stack of Grocer Magazines gathering dust in the sales office

There is no point in looking in the jobs section, technical jobs are in Food Manufacture. Every week there is a very useful page provided by Mintel, which highlights issues related to food commodity prices or shortages. These can be very insightful and if any of these resonate with your field of products, then add these to your risk assessment.

Similarly if they are definitely NOT risks  for your area, then note that too, as an insignificant risk.

#3 – Talk to purchasing, find out which ingredients have availability problems

There are many reasons for availability problems and difficulties of sourcing, which you will already be familiar with.  But these are certain economic vulnerabilities, with a propensity to be fraudulent, and may carry quite a high risk.

Here are some of the biggest culprits:

A Poor harvest of X in country Y now means that suppliers are struggling to supply the volumes your business requires.

China starts importing vast amounts. What does this do to price? A country restricts exports.  For what reason? Will others follow? Is it Political? Economic sanctions against Iran, Russia, or some other country impacts availability.

What is the likelihood of this changing  – or getting a whole lot worse, as world supplies are harder to source.

# 4 and 5 – Suppliers look for price rises

Whenever suppliers come looking for price rises, the justification for this may be an indicator. If you have a number of suppliers in a category and most of them are talking price rises, but one is not; find out why this supplier is not looking to pass on a price increase.

If no one is talking price rises right now, it is still a risk, albeit a lower one, but unexpected price rises in 3 months could be devastating. State this too.

# 6 – Supplier review meetings

Ask suppliers during review meetings to give an update on what’s happening in their sector, what adulteration & substitution risks exist, and  what shortcuts are the cowboys in the sector taking. Reputable suppliers will be happy to help, those who are less reputable will be uncomfortable.

This is a potential time-bomb in the vulnerability risks, and could have significant opportunities for fraud.

#7 – Prices too good to be true

Every food business is under pressure to increase margins, if a supplier comes along with a price that substantially undercuts existing suppliers, it could be too good to be true. Tread carefully and do extensive due diligence,  including supplier audits.

Don’t let the cost of auditing the supplier deter you. If the savings are worthwhile you may even be able to get purchasing to pay for the audit from their budget.  The risk of it being fraudulent may be noted as possibly high, and the impact of this would certainly represent an economic vulnerability risk.  

There you have it

All of these indicators can be built into your risk assessment and will go a long way towards giving you a robust risk assessment of economic indicators.  Dont forget an insignificant risk is still a risk, and ought to be noted. Other parties who have risks, can also become your risks, if they have an impact on your economic vulnerability.

But there is a silver lining to this veritable cloud….. It may improve the working relationship with your purchasing colleagues.

Don’t forget to let me know of any other indicators you think of for a chance of a £50 of Amazon voucher.

Cartoon 10 | Launch Planning Meeting #2 Published Date : 2015-10-09 09:45:58

Launch Planning Meeting #2

The buyer can get 20 tonnes of ingredient X but unless expensive airfreight is used, the 20 tonnes will arrive 10 weeks after the launch.

About These Cartoons

QADEX understand the continual pressure that food safety teams are under.

Sometimes what happens is surreal and would be funny, except you are up to your neck and it is hard to see the funny side.

This cartoon is Number 10 in a series of 19 cartoons charting some of the crazy things that happen in the process of launching a fictional hot potato range into a supermarket.

We hope you find some of these cartoons amusing, if you do please share the smiles by clicking the share button on LinkedIn.

Previous cartoons in this series are available on the QADEX LinkedIn page

You can see the full series on the QADEX website at http://qadex.com/cartoons-npd

Cartoon 9 | Chasing the supplier for a product specification Published Date : 2015-10-02 09:32:44

Chasing the supplier for a product specification

Our hero is now playing catch up trying to implement the supplier approval procedure, as a minimum the supplier self assessment(SSAQ) and product specification will be required, and depending the supplier risk assessment a supplier audit may also be required.

But we may struggle with this supply chain.

Cowboys United are deciding which excuse to use to avoid providing the product specification.

The volume being purchased is too low They cannot understand why so much information is required

They do not have enough resources The information is confidential The supplier is a big company and does not complete customer requests

The list goes on, if you can share other excuses you have heard, please comment on this post.

About These Cartoons

QADEX understand the continual pressure that food safety teams are under.

Sometimes what happens is surreal and would be funny, except you are up to your neck and it is hard to see the funny side.

This cartoon is Number 9 in a series of 19 cartoons charting some of the crazy things that happen in the process of launching a fictional hot potato range into a supermarket.

We hope you find some of these cartoons amusing, if you do please share the smiles by clicking the share button on LinkedIn.

Previous cartoons in this series are available on the QADEX LinkedIn page

You can see the full series on the QADEX website at http://qadex.com/cartoons-npd

Charles brings back legions of lost apples Published Date : 2015-09-25 12:39:33

These days all I ever seen to be writing about is the challenge of implementing vulnerability assessments as part of BRC issue 7.

One potential downside from implementing vulnerability assessments across the food supply chain in an attempt to reduce supply chain risk is that we will start to reduce claims that are made on packaging resulting in less diversity, but I will do a separate post on this subject.

In many ways we have already seen that the relentless drive towards efficiency and cost reduction has reduced the diversity of products available to consumers.

Therefore I was delighted to read in the Sunday Times that The prince of Wales is growing 1,000 different varieties of rare and historic apple trees at his country estate to serve as a “gene bank” to protect the future of Britain’s most popular fruit.

Charles is concerned that  the dominance of a handful of apple varieties in the supermarkets is risky because it narrows the genetic mix.

According to Matt Ordidge curator of the national collection, specific varieties cannot be propagated by seed – and so orchards such as Charles’s are the only way to ensure their survival. The Wellcome Trust owns a similar collection at Tillington in Herefordshire. Ordidge goes on to say that “the experience of the Irish potato famine of the mid-19th century and current problems in banana production show that limiting the gene pool is not sustainable.”

It is encouraging to see that Tesco are providing some support as it disclosed that it was testing six varieties including Reinette Grise du Canada, with a view to stocking them in its stores.

John Worth, a fruit technologist at Tesco, said: “We are working with Brogdale in Kent to look at whether heritage varieties could be grown on a commercial scale.” I do hope this is successful but worry that there will be many challenges bringing heritage varieties to market commercially, and getting consumers to pay the requisite premium that these products would deserve.

The University of Reading is responsible for the curation and maintenance of the National Fruit Collection. The National Fruit Collection is one of the largest fruit collections in the world and is located at Brogdale Farm, near Faversham, Kent. Project partners, the Farm Advisory Services Team (FAST), will be responsible for the maintenance of the Collection. Public access is organised by Brogdale Collections, who are developing the site as a visitor attraction.

The National Fruit Collection includes over 3,500 named Apple, Pear, Plum, Cherry, Bush fruit, Vine and Cob Nut cultivars. The collection is owned by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and is part of an international programme to protect plant genetic resources for the future.

As a farmers son who grew up in rural Ireland I have fond memories of eating apples from our own and various neighbours apples trees and they all tasted amazingly different. I have to admit that none of these apples would have complied with the quality attribute standards defined in today’s food specifications.Well done Charles, keep it up.

Cartoon 8 | A complex food supply chain Published Date : 2015-09-25 09:47:30

A complex food supply chain

Cowboys United Ingredients Agent finds a supplier in India who says they can supply 20 tonne containers with an 18 week lead time.

Agent recognises that 20 tonnes will be enough for 20 years. But does not go into detail on:

product specifications supplier approval supply chain compliance with retailer standards

The agent is only interested in matching volumes and making a profit margin for doing as little as possible. Managing food supply chain risk is not a priority

Not all agents are as irresponsible as Cowboys United.

About These Cartoons

QADEX understand the continual pressure that food safety teams are under.

Sometimes what happens is surreal and would be funny, except you are up to your neck and it is hard to see the funny side.

This cartoon is Number 8 in a series of 19 cartoons charting some of the crazy things that happen in the process of launching a fictional hot potato range into a supermarket.

We hope you find some of these cartoons amusing, if you do please share the smiles by clicking the share button on LinkedIn.

Previous cartoons in this series are available on the QADEX LinkedIn page

You can see the full series on the QADEX website at http://qadex.com/cartoons-npd

How to see the Positives in Customer Complaints Published Date : 2015-09-18 13:43:39

All businesses receive complaints, no matter how watertight their operations. However it’s how a business deals with complaints which separates the good from the bad. With the right approach, grievances can be turned into valuable business intelligence that can be used to improve customer relationships and enhance operations across the board. So how can you take consumer criticism and digest it into fuel for a hard hitting business plan? Read on for some of our top tips:

Exceed expectations

While complaints may seem like a negative scenario, they can actually be used to turn dissatisfied customers into loyal brand advocates. A recent survey conducted by British Airways revealed that customers who had not experienced any serious problems such as cancellations or lost luggage had a customer satisfaction index (CSI) of 70. However, those who had experienced problems but had received ample attention from the customer service department had a CSI of 77. Ultimately, unhappy customers ended up being more satisfied than their unaffected counterparts, purely because they were well looked after in a negative situation!

Make changes

The latest research has revealed that the average business does not receive complaints from 96% of unhappy customers. This means that often issues are left unnoticed and unaddressed. When customers do complain, businesses should consider this as extremely valuable insight into areas that they can improve. Rather than risk dissatisfied customers taking their business elsewhere, complaints can be used to ensure that future customers don’t encounter the same issues.

Word of mouth marketing

Statistics have shown that when a complaining customer receives a satisfactory response they’ll tell five of their friends. This means complaints are actually a great opportunity to reverse any damage and drum up free word of mouth marketing.

Invest in software

 

With the right software customer complaints can be used to generate valuable data. QADEX is an industry leading solution which brings together food safety, quality management systems,

compliance, customer service and new product development together in one simple dashboard. Using the customer complaints management system businesses can analyse and address any grievances in meticulous detail. Advanced intelligence tools enable suppliers to identify “root cause” and gather the intelligence to minimise complaints per million units sold. Auto alerts and notifications immediately flag when a product or batch has ‘above trend’ complaint levels while seamless links to supplier complaint management systems ensures issues are investigated and actioned immediately.

By developing an understanding of these concepts you can find the value in every complaint, and even turn it into a positive.

Cartoon 7 | Trying to source ingredients from Cowboys United Ingredients Agents Published Date : 2015-09-18 09:30:40

Trying to source ingredients from Cowboys United Ingredients Agents

The buyer is now on the case trying to source 1 tonne per annum of exotic ingredient X, robust supplier approval procedures will need to be followed to include supplier certifications for BRC version 7.

Although BRC 7 encourages agents to be certified to the BRC agents and brokers standard, Cowboys United are not certified. In fact our cowboy agent is himself searching on his approved suppliers list (Google)

This not going to end well.

About These Cartoons

QADEX understand the continual pressure that food safety teams are under.

Sometimes what happens is surreal and would be funny, except you are up to your neck and it is hard to see the funny side.

This cartoon is Number 7 in a series of 19 cartoons charting some of the crazy things that happen in the process of launching a fictional hot potato range into a supermarket.

We hope you find some of these cartoons amusing, if you do please share the smiles by clicking the share button on LinkedIn.

Previous cartoons in this series are available on the QADEX LinkedIn page

You can see the full series on the QADEX website at http://qadex.com/cartoons-npd

Cartoon 6 | New product launch meeting #1 Published Date : 2015-09-11 12:35:48

New product launch meeting #1

The presence of exotic ingredient X is out in the open, at long last, except the NPD person is not sure exactly what it is, just knows that he bought it in a local market in Jamaica!Supplier approval and product specifications…….not a chance!

About These Cartoons

QADEX understand the continual pressure that food safety teams are under.

Sometimes what happens is surreal and would be funny, except you are up to your neck and it is hard to see the funny side.

This cartoon is Number 6 in a series of 19 cartoons charting some of the crazy things that happen in the process of launching a fictional hot potato range into a supermarket. 

We hope you find some of these cartoons amusing, if you do please share the smiles by clicking the share button on LinkedIn.

Previous cartoons in this series are available on the QADEX LinkedIn page

You can see the full series on the QADEX website at http://qadex.com/cartoons-npd

“An Ounce of Prevention is worth a Pound of Cure” Benjamin Franklin Published Date : 2015-09-08 13:52:15

As the food industry faces BRCv7, here is my reflection on the new  requirements for vulnerability assessments.

I have been privileged recently to meet over 50 technical managers across our customer base, as we held a series of QADEX user forums, to discuss the plans for our new vulnerability assessment module.

It was clear that all food businesses are at various stages of grappling with the new requirements; some are well advanced with a substantial number of vulnerability assessments completed; and some are still figuring out how best to proceed. But overall, everyone was tentative and for a host of reasons that are beyond the scope of this article.

As I reflected on these conversations I reached a worrying conclusion, that many of the concerns were about avoiding audit non-conformances. As an advocate of both BRC and GFSI standards, for the improvement that they bring to food supply chains; we need to be careful that  we don’t lose sight of  the reasons why vulnerability assessments have been introduced.

Like it or not we have to do vulnerability assessments!

Whether your motivation is to comply with BRCv7,  to meet retailer codes of practice, or for brand protection; the new vulnerability assessments are a fact of life.

The risks are real

It seems as though we hear about another food and drink fraud on a weekly basis: the recent arrests across Europe relating to horse meat, cumin issues, wine fraud…..the list goes on and on. Fraud in the food chain has always existed, and will always exist. As long as there are economic opportunities, there will also be criminals taking advantage of them.

Food fraud makes for great media copy

Food related stories sell papers, they touch every reader and will always get noticed. For any newspaper to possess the ability to select food products at random and send to a lab to challenge product label claims, or to identify minute levels of cross-contamination somewhere along the chain, is presenting an almost insurmountable challenge for the industry.

Added to that volatile mixture, are two further ingredients; disgruntled employees who become whistleblowers,  and the power-house of social media to take one Facebook or Twitter post and spread it virally in just a few seconds. We have clearly been entered  into a whole new era of brand protection challenges.

Should you be thinking beyond compliance?

You have to do a vulnerability assessment as part of your BRCv7 compliance. But should you also use this opportunity to dig deep into your supply chain, to think like a criminal, to identify where real risks exist, and to work more closely with your purchasing colleagues to mitigate these risks.

Or should you instead, write a procedure which complies with the standard, complete vulnerability assessments with everything documented, and present this to the auditor during your audit, to ensure that you do not get a non-conformance.  What do you think?

The extra ounce of prevention could well save your business a pound of cure.