Finances drives innovation.  This caused EDI to be developed, as well as electronic bank transactions and other developments.  Finances should also drive the other aspects of production and quality.  The RFID implementation started by Wal-Mart will soon be as common as the barcode.  The RFID marker will not only provide financial data, but will be the key to quality data.  The food safety aspects that can be linked via RFID will provide immediate access to all users from the farm to the fork and will have a tremendous financial benefit that is currently lost for lack of information.

VENDOR:PRODUCER

VENDOR:PRODUCER INTERACTION

The first step is to create a bond between the supplier and the producer, and the producer to the client.

Sentry9000 has a Vendor Certification Module that supplies a link between the vendor and the producer.  This module identifies the supplier and the products associated with the supplier.  Additional data can be added for accounting identifiers of the supplier and the MRP identification for the ingredients.  The company information can be entered for the persons responsible for different departments such as QA Manager, lab Manager, Shipping Manager, etc.

A key to certified vendors is in-house or third-party inspections as well as Certificates of Analysis.  On-site inspections by third party inspection agencies are recorded with final scores and comments that for areas  need attention.  This provides an insight into current conditions and provides a history for past conditions to record a sustaining history.  This also allows for comparisons between vendors.

A COA is usually sent prior to, before or after a shipment is received.  This varies between ingredients, suppliers and producers.  The Vendor Certification Module has a list of the tests and the expected results.  In addition, the vendor has the opportunity to enter the data on-line prior to a shipment.  This allows pre-shipment approval as well as a continuous record of test results for the ingredient available at the click of a button.  A producer can compare history of a single vendor and compare results of one vendor to another.

The specific P.O. for a vendor’s shipment can be added to the vendor’s record automatically or at ingredient receipt using the Receiving form for ingredient receipt and carrier inspection.  The P.O. number is transferred from the receiving form to the supplier form creating a history of PO’s on the supplier form.

The standard data can be supplemented by data specific for a location as required.  All Sentry9000 systems are configured specifically for each individual site.

PRODUCER:CLIENT INTERACTION

The producer now becomes the vendor, however, the scenario is somewhat different because the producer has a Sentry9000 system.

The Sentry9000 system creates a continuous report of every checkpoint that a product goes through from start to finish.  These include HACCP CCP's, quality checkpoints, production KPI monitoring points, laboratory results, shipping data and even sanitation pre-ops.

The producer and supplier determine which of this data that is made available to the client on a routine basis.  This allows the client to go to a client-specific web site and see the checkpoint data and a digital COA is provided.  This does not provide the same real-time view to the client that is available to the producer with the Sentry9000 system, but does provide an overview of the product’s production and quality values throughout the process.

This has benefits for both the producer and the client.  The producer is aware instantly and continuously during the process that the product meets the client’s standards.  The client is aware that the product did meet their standards.  The data is received on a lot by lot basis so it is apparent that the process is in control continuously.  This provides the client with confidence that the product is being produced within the client’s standards and the resultant reports can serve as a virtual audit.  Continuous data is much more relevant than the one-time annual visit to a plant by in-house or third-party inspectors.

Sentry9000 provides the data for the client through an off-site server that prevents data from the on-site server at the producer’s location from being available to the client.  Data is stored for three years and then archived indefinitely.

Trust is an important ingredient in a supplier:producer:client relationship.  Sentry9000 can play an important role in assisting all levels of the food chain to develop and demonstrate that trust and confidence between all the players in this most important endeavor.