Applications for the Food Industry

Corporate Value and Brand Protection

Developing and protecting corporate value involves maximizing profitability, protecting brand integrity, and minimizing risk. Quality and process management are critical to develop and maintain corporate value including tangible assets and intangibles such as brand value. While this is true for all industries, it is especially true for a regulated industry such as food production with the large downside for quality and safety failure. Maintaining consistent quality and safety concerns for consumers are the common causes of brand problems.

Companies that run stable processes that are capable of dependably delivering product within specifications develop a strong position to win business, and to keep contracts and customers once won. Consistent quality vendors can hold their price point and get maximum dollars per transaction.

Process aware organizations are typically better managed and can maintain the process that enables them to keep delivering product to the supply chain and getting paid for product that is always within specification. Managing supply chain quality is critical for both minimizing risk and maximizing profits. SPC is a core tool for managing vendors and supply chains and maximizing food safety, quality, and profit. MA is the best approach to monitoring and managing the food processing enterprise.

The food industry is rapidly developing vendor certification and supply chain quality management systems that rival the sophistication of fields such as aerospace and automotive. For example, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has implemented such a program for the purchase of ground beef for the school lunch program:

Article: Supply Chain Management in the Purchase of Ground Beef
Webcast: Supply Chain Quality Management
Video: Food Safety in the Food Supply Chain

The use of SPC and Continuous Process Improvement enables the processor to reduce risks ranging from major Class I recalls through to Class II and III label violations. Reducing risk and maximizing business success and profitability both protects brands and enhances stock value.

Additional Corporate Value Links

Connect the Plant Floor to the Supply Chain
NWA and other manufacturing software vendors discuss how to integrate plant floor information with enterprise management systems to guarantee supply chain success.
An Alternative to Reduce Variables in Cuts
Cargill’s Excel Corp. pork plants use Quality Analyst to reduce variation, meet specifications and make money.
Achieving Customer Specifications Through Process Improvement
ConAgra uses SPC to develop a process that is highly capable of meeting specifications, and establishes role as a dependable and profitable vendor.