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Traceability Software Helps Reduce Recalls
By Mike Sachoff
Staff Writer
Article Date: 2008-08-29
A majority of food and beverage companies were involved in at least one product recall in 2007, according to a new study by AMR Research and Lawson Software.
More than half of the losses associated with the recalls exceed $10 million and 40 percent had losses of at least $20 million.
On average, it takes food and beverage companies 14 days to determine there is a need for a recall and 34 days to implement it. By that time less than 40 percent of the affected product can be collected because it has already been consumed or thrown out.
"Despite a perception among food companies that they're doing a good job managing product quality, the staggering cost of recalls proves 'business-as-usual' isn't working," said Rob Wiersma, industry strategy director for Lawson.
"Food producers can be much more proactive in managing food safety to improve product quality and reduce supply chain risk."
More than three in four companies said they plan to spend money this year to improve their time to detect a quality issue and announce a recall. An equal number said they plan to invest in the improvement of supply chain traceability this year.
Companies that proactively manage product quality best have five characteristics: multi-enterprise tracking, unit-level tracking, manufacturing automation, cross-functional team reviews of quality data and mature supply chain teams.
AMR Research conducted 251 online interviews in May 2008 for the "Traceability in the Food and Beverage Supply Chain" study. Respondents included companies within the food and beverage manufacturing industries in the United States as well as three European countries: France, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
About the Author:
Mike is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.
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