Page 44 - Food&Drink Magazine Aug-Sep 2021

BEVERAGE PRODUCTION
Bundaberg Brewed Drinks is available in more than 60 countries. With quality and traceability more important than ever, Rob Cheesman from professional services firm Kettering explains how it worked with Bundaberg to reach the global gold standard.
Local commitment for a global standard
FOR more than 16 years Kettering has partnered with family-owned Queensland beverage company Bundaberg Brewed Drinks. We recently helped the business align its entire brewing and sales process with the globally recognised Brand Reputation Compliance Global Standard (BRCGS).
Brewhouse manager Belinda Desland says Bundaberg’s focus has always been twofold.
“Our top priorities are providing Australians with great tasting, locally sourced brews, and growing our international markets. Having consumers tell us our products taste great isn’t enough. We also
want consumers to trust every bottle leaving our brewery meets the highest level of safety, no matter where they buy it,” Desland says.
It took Bundaberg 12 months to implement the BRCGS across its entire brewing and sales chain. For Desland, the undertaking and ongoing maintenance illustrate the company’s commitment to its customers.
She adds that the partnership with Kettering was also key to achieving the BRCGS due to its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system using QAD software application.
“This application is the backbone of our operations,
doing everything from inventory, sales, finance, wastage reports, and traceability,” Desland says.
We provide ERP for more than 60 manufacturers of which 25 are food and beverage from high volume bottlers through to specialist ingredients. The QAD application offers flexibility many customers are looking for, mainly because it suits a range of manufacturing verticals.
Our work with Bundaberg is designed to ensure the system works well at every stage of the brewing and sales process. This became even more important in regard to the BRCGS, which requires an annual audit of the business that can take up to three days.
The standard also has stringent conditions regarding traceability. “If there is a contamination report or a product recall, we need to identify product locations and ingredient sources within four hours,” Desland explains.
Traceability covers locating product yet to be despatched, in transit or at its destination. Other required information includes where relevant ingredients are stored, and where waste is stored.
“This applies to local and international markets. Bundaberg supplies more than 60 countries across Asia, Europe, the US and UK markets and has been operating in Australia for fifty years. Maintaining our standard is more important than ever,” Desland says.
A major part of meeting its own standards as well as the BRCGS is embedded in its procurement policy. “First and foremost, we look to local suppliers and Australian businesses. We have fostered strong working relationships with local growers and transport companies in the Bundaberg region and are proud of the role we play in the local economy.”
“Achieving the BRCGS and our procurement policy are really important to us. We want to ensure Australians have confidence that when they buy our product, they are supporting Aussie farmers and local businesses,” Desland says.
The partnership between Kettering and Bundaberg on its operational systems ensure the beverage company will continue to meet its local goals and global standards. ✷
Bundaberg prides itself on supporting local growers and suppliers.
44 | Food&Drink business | August/September 2021 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au
Now in more than 60 countries, Bundaberg is committed to global quality standards