How the right ERP system can help a dairy producer track key vendors

When folks talk food allergens, can you list "The Big 8"?

The School Nutrition Association estimates that 90 percent of all food allergen reactions come from one of these eight categories:

Dairy producers in the U.S. looking for an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, must be savvy enough to find an ERP solution that offers dairy process functionality — one that supports meeting increasingly complicated regulations. For example, look at the FDA’s Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) regulation.

Dairy producers who require vendor approval before certain items can be purchased need an ERP system that can handle vendor approvals. This could be a company policy which specifies that vendors must be certified within some sort of safety compliance program. In this type of scenario, not only do vendors need to be marked as approved, but it must also be possible to turn this designation on and off, in the event that a vendor loses a previously obtained certification.

At the same time, a dairy producer’s ERP system should provide visibility into the certifications that have been awarded to their vendors. For example, if the dairy producer requires that a vendor must pass a safety program, they would want to have information about each vendor’s certification status readily available. It should also include an expiration date. It may even be necessary to maintain this at the vendor’s order address level.

As you know, the key to food safety is prevention. If a dairy producer’s safety plan includes vendor/item pre-approval, then the dairy producer’s ERP system should administrate this plan at the point when a purchase order is created. The ERP system should validate the vendor/item approval that's required and approved, before the purchase order is released.

A dairy producer’s ERP system should be able to assist in administering key parts of their Food Safety Plan, including vendor approval and compliance tracking. Vendors and customers will recognize this as a commitment to food safety. See how we are helping dairy producers with ColumbusFood ERP for Dairy.