Cybake has added a new paperless lot tracking, traceability and manufacturing execution module to its ERP-type bakery management software system.
The new module was developed at the request of Cybake customers who needed a user-friendly, affordable and comprehensive traceability solution that would enable fast product recalls and audits.
The complex nature of this requirement gave Cybake’s in-house programming team the opportunity to completely redesign the way the software is used in the baking production environment.
Cybake’s new module now relays information around the production area to colleagues on tablets. Data is faster, easier to understand, more accurate, and up to date, cutting errors, waste and time spent on repetitive paperwork.
Bakeries require traceability that goes one step forward and one step back. In the case of a food safety recall, they need to trace the suppliers of the ingredients that went into any batch of products, as well as identify the businesses they sold those products to.
With the new module, instead of using error-prone paper systems or spreadsheets, colleagues enter the vendor lot codes of ingredients that come into the bakery. Cybake then generates internal lot codes and prints out new bar codes to be attached to them.
Individual ingredients are then reliably tracked all the way through production, picking and deliveries in an auditable way.
If a supplier contacts the bakery to say that there is something wrong with an ingredient, Cybake can immediately identify exactly what products that ingredient went into and which companies or stores they were sold to.
Similarly, if there is a suspicion that something has gone wrong with any ingredients or products at the bakery, it is easy to track and recall them from the businesses or stores that received them. This helps bakeries to meet BRC, SALSA, ISO and, in the United States, FSMA Rule 204.
In addition to lot tracking and traceability, Cybake’s new module also includes a new paperless manufacturing execution system (MES).
Rather than using paper prep sheets, Cybake can now tell colleagues in the production area which products to make, and what amounts to make on tablet or mobile/cell phone screens. Instead of relying on manuals, the software shows colleagues the methods to make them in a clear and user-friendly way with images.
Instructions are fully customized to a bakery’s equipment. If, for example, a bakery has a 140lb mixer, Cybake divides up quantities to match in its instructions. This is particularly useful for bakeries that do not use intelligent mixers or scales.
Colleagues can also see exactly where ingredients lots are in the bakery, their stock levels, and when they expire.
Because bakeries often need to start baking before they have their orders, Cybake’s new module also allows users to schedule production in advance. Decision makers are given suggestions by Cybake on the numbers they need to schedule production based on customers’ historic orders.
Commenting on the release of this new lot tracking, traceability and manufacturing execution module, Cybake managing director Jane Tyler says: “Our new module delivers a reliable, modern and mobile traceability solution for bakeries that replaces the endless paper trails they currently follow. At the same time, its aim is to usher in a new age of paperless production for Cybake users, whatever the size or type of their baking business.”
Bristol, UK-based retailer and wholesaler Hobbs House Bakery was one of a select group of bakeries that helped Cybake’s developers create the new traceability module.
Ed Taylor, business analyst at Hobbs House Bakery, says: “As Hobbs House Bakery grows, the requirement to demonstrate end-to-end traceability has become a must to meet both the needs of our customers, and higher standards of auditing and accreditation.
“Finding a software solution that fits all the needs and complexities of our operation has been difficult, so we are really excited to be part of the traceability journey alongside Cybake, working together towards a system that will help to futureproof our business. We have used Cybake across our bakery processes for many years, and, so far, the elements of the traceability module we’ve previewed have surpassed those of other systems our teams have used before.”
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