The food industry is currently one of the Italian economy's most important sectors. SAM ERP2 is a second-generation ERP system specifically designed and developed to meet the needs of Italian food businesses.
Its features enable optimum management not only of administrative and commercial processes, but also of all requirements relating to the purchasing, storage and processing of goods, quality controls and food trackability and traceability (in full compliance with the "food law" EC 178/2002).
SAM ERP2, which includes full management of advanced logistics (with the support of INDICOD "UCC/EAN-128" "SSCC" standards), is also an essential tool for certifying production process quality for all products involved in the integrated supply chain (ISO 22000 e FSSC 22000).
SAM ERP2 is a powerful, latest-generation ERP system designed by Centro Software for complete, integrated management of food businesses.
Safety, quality controls, trackability and traceability, full supply chain control, management of the processes involved in successful and attempted sales, relations with major retail chains, management of batches and expiry dates, organization of warehouses and internal and external logistics, labeling, bar codes, picking, transport and calculation of net profit margins… are just some of the features that make this product perfectly adaptable to all food production and trading businesses, whether large or small.
SAM ERP2 is a comprehensive integrated system that provides all the necessary modules to manage internal and external business processes, including:
purchasing, production, CRM, goods handling and storage, connections with the supply and sales chain and, obviously, administration, treasury, financial management, management control, etc.. The following features are specifically provided for the food industry:
Warehouses and internal and external Logistics (EAN, UCC, SSCC etc.), Labeling, Picking
Instant identification and location of products, optimization of space and handling routes, with consequent reduction of average order preparation times and improved customer service, due to drastic cuts in non-conformity attributable to picking. Management of storage locations, including their dimensions and "anti-contamination" characteristics, creation and management of loading units, and SSCC labeling. Management of shipping documents, including Packing List, DESADV etc.
Trackability and Traceability
Product quality is not just the result of first-class production processes, it also derives from rigorous control of the origin and use of raw materials. This is even more important for the food industry, because full knowledge of ingredients plays a major role in safeguarding consumer health, and Italy, with its long-standing reputation for quality and creativity in every sector, is a country with more interest than most in defending the certifiability of its products.
By managing operational processes, it is possible to follow products along the supply chain simply and automatically, identify their origin, and collect key information to be highlighted with markings, labels or certifications. Using the powerful traceability tools offered by the ERP system ensures compliance with the specific regulations governing food safety and thus also with the clearly defined criteria, of an exclusively health-related nature, set down in EC regulation 178 of 2002.
The integrated environment also enables you to make commercial use of the trackability and traceability functions via the ERP's operating portals. The qualitative characteristics of raw materials, semi-finished and finished products can be highlighted and made available to consumers, by way of establishing safeguards for consumers/customers.
Batches and expiry dates (shelf life, best before), FIFO and FEFO (first expire first out)
Because the "flow of materials" is fully configurable, it is possible to manage batches and their respective production dates, shelf life and/or best before dates, for each raw material, semi-finished or finished product.
The management of silo warehouses provides automatic access to batches deriving from blending, refining, diluting, etc.. This is a particularly vital function for liquids (oil, wine, etc.) and grains (rice, wheat, etc.).
Quality Controls (transfers, internal/external laboratories, HACCP, tools, etc.)
The integration of Vision 2000 and ISO standards makes it possible to manage company Quality efficiently during normal operating flows, without any additional or asynchronous operations, in full compliance with product control (definition of Control Plans for every article and at every stage; customizable test levels; associations between Product Criticalities and Vendor Classes; configuration of automatic mechanisms for transition between test levels). Every transfer of raw material, for example, can be accompanied by Measurement and Analysis, in the internal laboratory, with recording of the transfer, opening of a Non-Conformity report (if applicable) automatically linked to the purchasing process (setting of price on the basis of the characteristics detected, downgrading etc.) and to vendor accounting.
Real-time production control
The system's ability to manage recipes, processing cycles, factory calendars and maintenance operations ensures effective planning of processing lines and outsourcing phases. The MES (Manufacturing Execution System) enables you to monitor the progress of production by means of "line-side" integration of functions relating to sampling and quality control cycles, while the management of batch characteristics means that the operator can always be prompted to use the most suitable raw materials. The connection with automated warehouses, load cells, silo warehouses and the integrated management of handling with WiFi terminals complete the management of operational production.
Production plant maintenance (Industry 4.0)
The concept of Business Continuity, i.e. the ability to continue to deliver products or services without interruptions, is imperative in an industry that not only needs to guarantee definite production and delivery times, but also, in most cases, has to take account of problems associated with perishability.
Predictive or preventive maintenance of plants is one of the factors that help reduce a business's risk rating in this respect. The Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) helps manage the maintenance of company plants and equipment, by proposing “overhaul”, “replacement” or “repair” operations before any malfunctions occur. This makes it possible to schedule maintenance-related plant downtimes at the most appropriate times, thus optimizing the use of the plants in question, in full compliance with the requirements of World Class Manufacturing (WCM).
The CMMS module is integrated with the ERP and the entire flow is automatic: when pre-set limits are exceeded, the system proposes or issues a Maintenance Order (MO), which contains the bill of materials with the information needed by the maintenance technician to pick the parts and carry out the work (part number, lubricant type, estimated time required to do the job, images or links to web pages, technical specifications, etc.).
An important aspect of this software feature is that, for maximum effectiveness, it needs to be interconnected with electronic devices that enable real-time communication between the ERP and the production plants (e.g. the "Black Box C4" electronic card designed by Centro Software) and is therefore one of the first steps that companies can take to enter the world of Industry 4.0, thereby also benefiting from facilitated depreciation.
Sales Process Management (attempted sale, SFA, etc.)
The best way to integrate the sales force into a company's business processes is to adopt Sales Force Automation and Attempted Sale procedures. This tool yields substantial efficiency gains in the sharing of new "prospects", "visiting rounds" and credit recovery. It also makes it easier to involve the sales force in activities envisaged by the company's CRM system (interviews, bookings, canvassing, etc.). It includes an excellent "quick sales system" (Orders, Invoices, Shipping Documents), which uses sales history to simplify re-ordering, while also making it possible to list Substitute Articles and Alternative Articles for each article, for use in the sales phase. "License plate/van" type warehouse management is available with procedures for the rapid transfer of quantities and batches.
Relations with major retail chains
The complex commercial rules governing relations with major retail chains can be effectively replicated in the Sales area of SAM ERP2, where you can set and fully manage different levels of application of prices, line-item discounts, multi-agent, document-specific promotions and period-specific bonuses. The possibility of holding campaigns in specific periods and setting targets by product mix, not only constitutes an excellent tool for managing and controlling the real selling price, but also enables the Sales Director to lead the sales force extremely effectively.
The integration of all the major EDI standards (Euritmo, Edifact, etc.) yields efficiency gains in the management of document flows by minimizing recourse to manual operations.
Organization and calculation of Transport costs quotes
The organization of transport can be optimized by saving the relevant data for each loading/unloading point, including: characteristics of vehicles required, pick-up time, need for tail-lift, dimensions and weight, etc.. The classification of vehicles and the management of the transport contractor's price lists, with automatic issue of transport purchase orders with "automatic pre-invoicing" to be submitted to vendors, complete the integration with management control for the calculation of ancillary costs. The integration with MapPoint and Google Maps makes it possible to conduct quick, precise checks of the route and actual km to be traveled.
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