Modern convenience food saw their beginnings in the period that began after World War II in the United States. Many of these products had their origins in military developed foods designed for storage longevity and ease of preparation in the battlefield. But in today’s high paced life, countless factors seem to have contributed to the opening out of shelf stable food, part of which is perhaps, the critical throng of nuclear families with both husband and wife working. Busier consumer lifestyle, shrinking deadlines, more time in traveling, increased purchasing power and frequent social gatherings and outings have refrained people from cooking two meals, slogging over a hot stove messing about with ‘fresh’ ingredient. Moreover, people living in areas with extreme climatic conditions that thwart them from going out for buying raw vegetables or even to nearest Maccy or Pizza Huts are left with no choice but to use Processed or Frozen Food.
Thus, processed foods manufacturers have realized the potential of instant foods and moreover, are the answer to the prayers of today’s people. Hot in demand being Indian Cuisine and Indian varieties, developed and processed in India, appreciated and savored by Indians around the world especially in the US; which gives them the flavor of home away from home.
Another factor fueling the boom in instant foods is the use of new packaging technology. It has not only helped reduce prices but also ensured proper sterilization and increased shelf life.
But for satisfying the customers, Package Food industries have to face numerous challenges with shrinking margins, retail shelf competition, and other issues such as shelf life and recall management, recipe management, perishable ingredients, and quality assurance. Furthermore, they continue to be challenged by evolving and expanding industry regulatory and compliance requirements.
BatchMaster works the way Package Food Manufacturers work. It encapsulates modules like Formulas, Production, Inventory, Sales, Purchase, Quality control, MPS/MRP, MSDS, all integrated to work together seamlessly. The most appreciated feature of BatchMaster is the flexible structure it provides. It could easily handle the exception as well as the rules. The package food manufacturers could blindly rely on the flexibility of BatchMaster, which lets the company change flavors during production when customers change their minds at the last minute. BatchMaster automates process manufacturing operations and shows significant savings from the improvements in inventory management and waste control. It virtually tracks all operations and reflects complete information flow. As Package Food Industries work through the process of perfecting a formula, lab personnel can quickly perform what-if scenarios and analyze how changes in the formula will affect the master. Ingredients can be changed and quantities can be adjusted to meet specific targeted prices set by customers. The company can use the purchase history tracked by BatchMaster to negotiate better pricing from the vendor. It also enables to accurately track the cost of the finished good based on the cost of all ingredients. The most striking feature of BatchMaster is that it eases the compliance burden through its comprehensive lot tracking capability. This enables the company to quickly recall a defective lot back from the customer. It lowers costs, improves food quality, and manages customer compliance.
BatchMaster stands single-handedly to not only provide solutions but to become a part of Package Food Industries and thus provides 360-degree visibility into operations.
