Page 22 - Food & Drink Magazine April 2019

SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT
Flexing with the times
The high pressure of modern manufacturing makes the adoption of flexible conveyor systems more crucial than ever, writes FlexCAM Australia managing director Steve Alcorn.
IN today’s competitive environment, FMCG manufacturers want robust material handling solutions that ensure trouble free and low cost operations. They want systems that can be flexible and easily adapted to deal with continuously changing demands and new product introductions.
A typical food producer would have around 200 SKUs with up to 12 active items in production at any point in time. This requires conveyor systems that can handle multiple lines operating at different speeds and carrying various pack sizes around the factory floor.
Systems must be operator friendly, allow for rapid change over, and be easy to maintain and clean to minimise valuable downtime. From an engineering design perspective, material handling solutions must be able to deal with high volume and capacity, optimise floor space, and meet strict mechanical and electrical requirements for improved production efficiency.
Manufacturers also require long life-expectancy and fast installation of their conveyor systems to reduce ramp-up time.
These elements together present a complex scenario that requires design expertise, industry know-how, and high quality parts and components.
Having worked with multiple major international food producers over the past 20 years in Australia and New Zealand, FlexCAM understands these needs too well.
Total cost of ownership and overall equipment effectiveness are two key performance factors for FMCG manufacturers. With that in mind, we have engineered our solutions to: reduce cleaning time by, on average, 25 per cent; increase floor space by up to 40 per cent; and achieve a minimimum operating efficiency of 98 per cent.
Because we conduct simulation on our in-house CAD tool, we can also test our designs and make changes to optimise production flows. ✷
A great fit
Industry-specific ERP software can ease implementation and boost ROI, writes Sanderson’s general manager Mark Lofthouse.
AS food and beverage businesses grow, they typically develop myriad disparate systems to manage recipes, production, supply chain, traceability and other reporting. Streamlining these processes with a dedicated software solution allows companies to increase efficiency and profitability.
Choosing a software solution that is designed specifically for your industry can reduce implementation costs and offer faster ROI thanks to the ready availability of features and ease of configuration.
Essentially this means that you gain capabilities that can accelerate your success
within today’s food and beverage sector.
Having partnered with the food industry on ERP for over 30 years, Sanderson believes an industry specific solution should: optimise purchasing against demand and stock with integrated procurement tools; reduce stock-holding costs by increasing inventory management efficiency; speed up new product development with an integrated recipe database; and improve control of ingredient costs through comprehensive variance reporting and costing facilities.
Quality and accountability are central to the modern food industry, and to deliver the standards that customers
and regulators require, transparency and excellent record keeping are necessary.
Capturing data on the factory floor as a manual process can lead to delayed and incorrect information recording, resulting in inefficiencies and potential for production errors. Common issues include managing recipe
and formulation changes, weighing errors, and incorrect stock recording.
A software solution should seek to resolve these issues via integrated touch-screens and weighing equipment, ensuring accurate recording on the factory floor, without the need for double-entry and removing superfluous paperwork. ✷
22 | Food&Drink business | April 2019 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au