Ocean Spray: From manual data entry to granular traceability
Founded in 1930, this agricultural cooperative now counts over seven hundred producer families in North and South America, including more than a hundred here in Canada.
Many challenges
Prior to Epsilia’s intervention, Ocean Spray was facing a number of problems: its inventory system was outdated and required manual data entry. Not only was this a time-consuming task, it also carried the risk of error. What’s more, it was impossible to get an accurate real-time view of the inventory. It therefore became urgent to improve the traceability of ingredients and finished products. This criterion is essential in food processing, as it is one of the rigorous standards required for certification by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). As some cranberries were certified organic and others not, the aim was to be able to identify the provenance of the products in order to separate them and avoid contamination (for example, separating conventional from organic cranberries in the freezer).
Implement granular traceability
In 2015, Ocean Spray therefore called on Epsilia to implement a new ingredient and product management system. Thanks to TRANSFO software, the American company now benefits from complete granular traceability, from receipt to dispatch, and efficient inventory turnover. The system in place manages location, palletization, withholding and release, physical inventories, as well as order preparation and product specification. In addition, Ocean Spray now has access to live inventory and its history, including from a specific date in the past. Employees can now produce accurate inventory reports, without having to physically count individual units.
When it comes to certification audits, being able to trace the precise route of ingredients and finished products is a huge advantage. Listeners can easily obtain all the information they need.
