Product Specifications

Government and customers are constantly setting increasingly stringent requirements for quality and food safety and the associated registration. In practice this means that the statements producers make concerning which allergens are present in a food product must meet stricter requirements. In addition the legislation also obliges manufacturers to declare which ingredients are used in a product and it offers guidelines for the declaration of nutritional values. Retrieving this information and the concentrations in which the ingredients are present per product is complex and time consuming. After all, to collate this information each ingredient, intermediate product and finished product must be analyzed separately. For each new recipe the nutritional values of the finished product have to be calculated. And for even the smallest change in the composition of the product or the production method, the calculation has to be carried out again.

Foodware

The Food and Beverage industry is characterized by specific requirements which can often not be catered for by a standard company-wide solution. For this reason Microsoft and its resellers have combined their many years of knowledge and experience into Foodware®. In combination with Microsoft Dynamics® NAV, Foodware® forms a fully integrated standard company-wide ERP solution specifically for food and beverage companies. Foodware is under continuous development and meets the latest industry requirements. This creates a specific solution, where costs remain manageable as the amount of customization is reduced to a minimum. Foodware has been recognized by Microsoft with the highest quality label: ‘Certified for Microsoft Dynamics’. Foodware consists of a number of integrated solutions, one of which is Foodware - Product Specifications. Using this solution, you can define and calculate all your product specifications in a structured manner.

Define once

Foodware can calculate your product specifications, based on the raw materials, food intermediates and packaging materials data entered. You only have to define this information once, and there are handy copy functions available for entering similar products. Every raw material is analyzed separately and all information about ingredients, nutritional values, microbiology, dietary data, allergens, additives, organoleptic properties, vitamins and minerals, logistics details and tracking data are registered in Foodware. If applicable, information concerning the percentages of meat and collagen can also be defined.

Automatic calculation

At the press of a button you can calculate the final product specifications for a semi-finished product or finished product. In other words, the moment you start using a raw material from another supplier and assuming you have already entered its specifications, then the consequences of using this item for various finished products is calculated for you immediately. The same applies to changes in the recipe. For example, you start using butter instead of margarine. The new nutritional values for the finished product are calculated for you at the press of a button.

Product specification version management

By creating different versions of a product specification you can easily investigate what the consequences of replacing a certain raw material would be, for example, for the nutritional values in a finished product. Suppose you are working out a product variant, for example a seasonal cake. Then it is possible to manage various versions of a product specification for which you will only release the final version when you want to start producing the product. Foodware also offers you the option to automatically send new versions of the product specifications to selected clients.

Packaging specifications

Besides specifications for raw materials, semi-finished products and finished products, you can also define packaging specifications. For the packaging specifications, you define which types of packaging are used, the composition of the packaging and the dimensions and weight. Based on the packaging specifications you can calculate the packaging declaration. The packaging declaration states the quantities of food packaging materials sold and the corresponding weight. This weight is then converted after which the required information can be sent to the authorities. It is also possible to report these amounts to your customers.

Ingredients and allergen declarations

Current legislation makes it obligatory to state the ingredients on pre-packed consumer foodstuffs. This is not only obligatory, but also subject to specific guidelines. Also substances that can cause allergic reactions must be stated on labels. All this information is defined in the product specifications for raw materials and/or semi-finished products and can be calculated for the various end products. As well as stating the ingredients and allergen declaration on the labels of your pre-packed consumer goods, it is also possible to display this information on the product information report for your customers. When a product specification is sent to a customer, this is automatically logged in the relationship management module (CRM).

Analysis options

Various analyses can be carried out based on the product specification. So, for example, you can quickly and easily see which finished products contain the cow’s milk protein allergen. Furthermore you can generate extensive analyses based on data that has been entered in the product specifications. You can also generate a structured overview of the raw materials, semi-finished products and other items that have been used in a specific item, via the bill of material (BOM).

Tracking

On a pre-packed product, besides providing information about the ingredients and allergens you can also indicate the lot number of the product concerned. You can link additional data to this lot number such as the best before date (BBD). When you receive a query about a certain product, the lot number will help you to quickly trace what has happened to this product and which raw materials were used in the production process.

Reports

A number of reports are available within Foodware - Product Specifications. For example, you can print a product specification in report format or on a label. Another report gives you an overview of the packaging tax for a specific item.

Trade Shows & Social Media