Tag Archives: data security

John McPherson, rfxcel
FST Soapbox

End-to-End Supply Chain Traceability Starts with High-Quality Data

By John McPherson
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John McPherson, rfxcel

End-to-end traceability technology across the food and beverage (F&B) supply chain has many benefits for companies at all nodes of the chain, not least of which is the ability to act to prevent problems such as irreversible damage, loss, and theft. For these technologies to best deliver on their promise, however, they need standardized and quality-assured data. F&B supply chain stakeholders need to take steps to achieve effective data management to truly take advantage of the benefits of traceability and real-time monitoring technologies.

Since FSMA was introduced in 2011, actors across the F&B supply chain have had to change their behavior. Prior to FSMA, companies tended to react to events; today, proactive and preemptive measures are the norm. This is in line with what the legislation was designed to do: Encourage the prevention of foodborne illness instead of responding after their occurrance.

F&B manufacturers and distributors rely on technology to help predict potential obstacles and mitigate issues along their supply chains. But expressing a desire to embrace technologies such as real-time monitoring solutions and predictive analytics isn’t enough to achieve ultimate supply chain efficiency. Only by taking the necessary steps can companies get on track to ensure results.

Any company that is thinking about deploying a traceability solution has a lot to consider. Foremost, data must be digitized and standardized. This might seem challenging, especially if you’re starting from scratch, but it can be done with appropriate planning.

Let’s examine what F&B companies stand to gain by adopting new, innovative technologies and how they can successfully maximize data to achieve end-to-end supply chain traceability.

New Technologies Hold Huge Potential for F&B Supply Chains

The advantages of adopting new technologies far outweigh the time and effort it takes to get up and running. To smooth the process, F&B companies should work with solution providers that offer advisory services and full-service implementation. The right provider will help define your user requirements and create a template for the solution that will help ensure product safety and compliance. Furthermore, the right provider will help you consider the immediate and long-term implications of implementation; they’ll show you how new technologies “future-proof” your operations because they can be designed to perform and adapt for decades to come.

Burgeoning technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain are driving end-to-end traceability solutions, bridging the gap between different systems and allowing information to move seamlessly through them.

For example, real-time tracking performed by IoT-enabled, item-level sensors allows companies to detect potential damage or negative events such as theft. These devices monitor and send updates about a product’s condition (e.g., temperature, humidity, pressure, motion and location) while it is in transit. They alert you as soon as something has gone wrong and give you the power to take action to mitigate further damage.

This is just one example of how data from a fully implemented real-time, end-to-end traceability platform can yield returns almost immediately by eliminating blind spots, identifying bottlenecks and threats, and validating sourcing requirements. Such rich data can also change outcomes by, for example, empowering you to respond to alerts, intercept suspect products, extend shelf life, and drive continuous improvement.

As for AI technologies, they use data to learn and predict outcomes without human intervention. Global supply chains are packed with diverse types of data (e.g., from shippers and suppliers, information about regulatory requirements and outcomes, and public data); when combined with a company’s internal data, the results can be very powerful. AI is able to identify patterns through self-learning and natural language, and contextualize a single incident to determine if a larger threat can be anticipated or to make decisions that increase potential. For example, AI can help automate common supply chain processes such as demand forecasting, determine optimal delivery routes, or eliminate unforeseeable threats.

Blockchain has garnered a lot of buzz this year. As a decentralized and distributed data network, it’s a technology that might help with “unknowns” in your supply chain. For example, raw materials and products pass through multiple trading partners, including suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, carriers and retailers, before they reach consumers, so it can be difficult to truly know—and trust—every partner involved in your supply chain. The immutable nature of blockchain data can build trust and secure your operations.

To date, many F&B companies have been hesitant to start a blockchain initiative because of the capital risks, complexity and time-to-value cost. However, you don’t have to dive in head-first. You can start with small pilot programs, working with just a few stakeholders and clearly defining pilot processes. If you choose the right solution provider, you can develop the right cultural shift, defining governance and business models to meet future demands.

To summarize, new technologies are not disruptive to the F&B industry. If you work with an experienced solution provider, they will be constructive for the future. Ultimately, it’s worth the investment.

So how can the F&B industry start acting now?

How to Achieve End-to-End Traceability

Digitize Your Supply Chain. We live in a digital world. The modern supply chain is a digitized supply chain. To achieve end-to-end traceability, every stakeholder’s data must be digitized. It doesn’t matter how big your company is—a small operation or a global processor—if your data isn’t digitized, your supply chain will never reach peak performance.

If you haven’t begun transitioning to a digitalized supply chain, you should start now. Even though transforming processes can be a long journey, it’s worth the effort. You’ll have peace of mind knowing that your data is timely and accurate, and that you can utilize it to remain compliant with regulations, meet your customer’s demands, interact seamlessly with your trading partners, and be proactive about every aspect of your operations. And, of course, you’ll achieve true end-to-end supply chain traceability.

Standardize Your Data. As the needs of global F&B supply chains continue to expand and become more complex, the operations involved in managing relevant logistics also become more complicated. Companies are dealing with huge amounts of non-standardized data that must be standardized to yield transparency and security across all nodes of the supply chain.

Many things can cause inconsistencies with data. Data are often siloed or limited. Internal teams have their own initiatives and unique data needs; without a holistic approach, data can be missing, incomplete or exist in different systems. For example, a quality team may use one software solution to customize quality inspections and manage and monitor remediation or investigations, while a food safety team may look to a vendor management platform and a supply chain or operations team may pull reports from an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to try and drive continuous improvement. Such conflict between data sources is problematic—even more so when it’s in a paper-based system.

Insights into your supply chain are only as good as the data that have informed them. If data (e.g., critical tracking events) aren’t standardized and quality-assured, companies cannot achieve the level and quality of information they need. Data standards coming from actors such as GS1 US, an organization that standardizes frameworks for easy adoption within food supply chains, can help with this.

There are many solutions to ensure data are standardized and can be shared among different supply chain stakeholders. With recent increases in recalls and contamination issues in the United States, the need for this level of supply chain visibility and information is even more critical.

Data Security. Data security is crucial for a successful digital supply chain with end-to-end traceability, so you must plan accordingly—and strategically. You must ensure that your data is safe 24/7. You must be certain you share your data with only people/organizations who you know and trust. You must be protected against hacks and disruptions. Working with the right solution provider is the best way to achieve data security.

Incentive Structures. Incentives to digitize and standardize data are still lacking across some parts of the F&B supply chain, increasing the chances for problems because all stakeholders are not on the same page.

Companies that continue to regard adopting traceability as a cost, not an investment in operations and brand security, will most likely do the minimum from both fiscal and regulatory standpoints. This is a strategic mistake, because the benefits of traceability are almost immediate and will only get bigger as consumers continue to demand more transparency and accuracy. Indeed, we should recognize that consumers are the driving force behind these needs.

Being able to gather rich, actionable data is the key to the future. Industry leaders that recognize this and act decisively will gain a competitive advantage; those that wait will find themselves playing catch-up, and they may never regain the positions they’ve lost. We can’t overstate the value of high-quality digitized and standardized data and the end-to-end traceability it fuels. If companies want to achieve full visibility and maximize their access to information across all nodes of their supply chains, they must embrace the available technologies and modernize their data capabilities. By doing so, they will reap the benefits of a proactive and predictive approach to the F&B supply chain.

Cristin Singer, assurance partner at McGladrey LLP

Security Risks, Protecting Reputation Among Concerns of Food & Beverage Companies

By Maria Fontanazza
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Cristin Singer, assurance partner at McGladrey LLP

In a recent survey of food and beverage executives, nearly half of respondents named product quality as a major risk area and cited product recall capabilities as a priority. However, only about one-third of executives expressed confidence in their companies’ current safety and recall strategies.

Cristin Singer, assurance partner at McGladrey LLP
Cristin Singer, assurance partner at McGladrey LLP

“Mitigating [product] risks starts with tone at the top and leadership within a company,” says Cristin Singer, assurance partner with McGladrey, LLP. “Companies have a strong focus on the diligence associated with quality (especially among employees involved in testing) and building long-standing, trusted relationships with suppliers and vendors.”  Many companies are also increasing their testing of imported products and making sure that their partners are familiar with the cultures of the regions from which they import goods as part of their risk mitigation strategy.

The Food and Beverage Industry survey, conducted by McGladrey, involved 179 executives, owners, and decision makers from food and beverage companies with annual revenues between $10 million and $1 billion.

Respondents consisted of retailers (51.1%), manufacturers and processors (34.8%), distributors (26.4%) and growers (6.7%). Figure courtesy of McGladrey.
Respondents consisted of retailers (51.1%), manufacturers and processors (34.8%), distributors (26.4%) and growers (6.7%). Figure courtesy of McGladrey.

Product Recalls. Some companies are basing their product recall strategy on where they actually fall within the supply chain. “I’ve found that when a company feels that they serve as a middle-man distributor, and depending on the contractual relationship with the co-packer, they look to the processor or co-packer to manage the recall process,” says Singer, who is also a member of McGladrey’s national consumer products team.  In addition, Singer sees a focus on due diligence related to co-packers and suppliers to ensure they have proper certification, and processes and procedures in place to manage risks and recalls.

Ability to respond to reputation risks

Wage and Labor. Food and beverage companies are also facing a variety of wage and labor issues. Larger companies expressed concern with increased labor costs and attracting technical talent; smaller companies are more worried about minimum wage legislation labor costs, and retaining skilled labor workers on the shop floor. Executives also cited that minimum wage legislation and the Affordable Care Act could pose challenges over the next year.

Data Security. As more companies adopt platforms that store sensitive data, the security of these systems is important. Yet only about 42% of executives are very confident that their data and systems are secure from authorized access (about 50% are “somewhat confident”). Improving employee security protocols and providing training, involving data security consultants, and conducting due diligence on vendor data security are among the actions that companies are taking to enhance the security of their platforms. “If there’s a data breach, a lot of sensitive information could be put out there, including product formulations, intellectual property, and employee data (social security numbers or healthcare data),” says Singer.  “Initially a lot of companies on the retail side were focusing on data security. Now we’re educating our clients, especially those on the distribution, processing or manufacturing side. All levels of the supply chain are at risk.”

Is Your Document Control System Effective?

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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This article describes eight traits to look for in a good Document Control System, and the overlying benefits that can be reaped from using Document Control to drive compliance in your processes.

Document Control is one of the most common applications in compliance today. It allows an organization to manage the creation, approval, distribution and archiving of all controlled documents and processes. It is an integral part of Quality, Environmental Health and Safety (EHS), or Compliance Management systems. This is because in order to effectively maintain consistency in processes, job descriptions, work instructions, and more, an organization needs to ensure that records are controlled. It also keeps tasks on track and ensures that they are accomplished on time. This article describes eight traits to look for in a good Document Control System, and the overlying benefits that can be reaped from using Document Control to drive compliance in your processes. 

Eight characteristics of an effective Document Control System

1. Workflows for All Document Types: No two document types are alike. There are differences within each that should be taken into consideration. For example, a job description cannot be treated the same as a work instruction or procedure. Each of these types of documents may have separate approvers, managers, and workflows and should be handled in a unique manner. A good Document Control System can automate and manage documents efficiently. A great Document Control System can facilitate dedicated workflows for all document types, each complete with their own routing options.

2. Ability to Configure Metadata: When in the Document Control form, one of the critical aspects is the ability to segment that data and describe the type of document. This is accomplished through metadata, which is essentially a high level description of each document. It assigns a department that the document is associated with, describes priority level, ISO elements, and records specific information. Metadata also helps to categorize and report on data. It helps to search and filter so it can be found in the system and categorized. The key for an organization is to find a system that will allow it to configure metadata based on document type, in a flexible manner. This will allow them to change fields, add categories, keywords, and more. This configurability within Document Control forms is critical to adapt the Document Control System to meet unique business needs.

3. Integration with MS Office Documents: The majority of organizations use Microsoft Office to manage most of their documents and files such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are still the standard for creating documents within businesses today. Therefore, the ability for a Document Control System to work well with MS Office is an important distinction. This way, an organization can preserve the metadata and sync both components. If a change is made in the Document Control form, it is reflected in the Word file, and vice versa. This integration links the two components together, so that one is never inconsistent with the other. 

4. Intelligent Business Rules for Review and Approval: The power of an automated Document Control System lies in its ability to route documents along the workflow. Documents can’t just be checked in or out, there needs to be a process of approval and review as well as document sign off —it has to go through different phases of workflow. This makes flexible routing options a necessity in a Document Control System. A good Document Control System enables organizations to route documents to the next phase in the workflow, but also has intelligent business rules associated. 

5. Integration with Employee Training: A critical component to any Document Control System is that if a new document is created or an existing document is changed, people need to be trained. This is a vital reason for having Document Control process. During revision or creation of a document, the user should be able to specify the type of training associated with it. A bonus is the ability to automatically integrate training. Some companies include a “waiting release” phase. This means that before the document is released, it is out in a holding pattern—this is when training happens. The benefit is that employees can train on the document before it is released to world, so that when the document is released employees are already trained and knowledgeable on it. Some systems automatically have a Training System built into Document Control, which allows them to integrate Training with Document Control and to test their knowledge on that document. Ultimately, when there are changes made to any document, employees need to be apprised of new procedures and specifications and trained on any new revisions that are released. This process should be automated—manual tracking and training processes leave room for error. A Document Control System integrated with the Training application helps to easily define who needs training on each document. It also automatically updates training records for each employee, allows for self training, and automatically updates each employee status upon training completion. 

6. Change Request and Revision Control: Document Control is a continual process. Once documents are created and approved, there will most likely be changes made in the future. Change control and revision control in itself should be a workflow to ensure controlled access of all documents and changes to documents. A good Document Control System will have its own change request workflow that includes revision review and approval. It will also hold the original document until the new document is changed—once the new document is approved, it will take the old document’s place. Sometimes an organization will have changes that affect multiple documents. In this case, the system should be able to make a global change. This allows an organization to make multiple document changes within the same workflow and will show all documents to be changed, all affected areas, and where it will be changed. This is important because when making changes to a document, other documents may be involved or affected. A good Document Control System includes a multi-document change request that will save time and resources for the company. 

7. Reporting: When an organization has a lot of documents and data going into the system, it needs visibility to look at that data in a meaningful way. Using metadata can help by filtering documents by phase, keyword, and more. Having a system to filter data this data is key. Good Document Control has reporting engines built into, or tied to it. This allows the system to quickly and effectively look at data on aggregate level, and run ad hoc reports, scheduled reports, and template reports on the health of the Document Control System. People want to be apprised of where overdue documents so they can take steps to fix them. Reporting provides this visibility.

8. Intuitive Filtering and Data Security: Within any system, the ability to ensure secure data and documents is critical. An organization wants to make sure that appropriate levels can access, approve, review and make necessary revisions to the document. A good Document Control System will have the security in place that will allow the organization to filter each document to appropriate security levels. In multisite, centralized systems, filtering and securing data often becomes a concern. An effective Document Control System lets an organization limit data visibility to only what is necessary to the user. Depending on the access level of the user, the visibility of documents will change. This ensures that an organization can operate in their Document Control System safely and securely.

Summary

The Document Control System is major information hub for the Quality system and sets the foundation for doing business in a compliance context. It sets the policies, the practices and the enforceable regulations that drive the company’s Quality and EHS initiatives. A good Document Control System will intelligently automate the review and approval process. It will link documents and records so that information is easily transferred, and will foster a platform for intelligent business rules and change management. It allows the integration of Document Control with the Change Management System to simplify change requests and allow single revisions; with Employee Training to efficiently train employees on new documents; and with Deviations to ensure that employees are aware of any planned deviations and these are tracked to completion. The eight traits of an effective Document Control System, combined with the overreaching benefits of the quality system, provide a holistic system for managing documents and extending to the other crucial areas of the enterprise. The QMS is the guide to making sure this is done as easily and effectively as possible.

The above article has been adapted from a white paper by EtQ, Inc.