FDBusiness.com

The latest version of  the Accellos warehouse management system (WMS) from BalloonOne simplifies  traceability for food processors and distributors. The system provides full  visibility of raw material coming into the food warehouse, monitors the movement  of finished goods, and tracks products going through the production and  packaging area.

This removes the difficulty and cost of managing time consuming  paper documentation.

The automatic identification of barcodes on  raw materials and finished products ensures a complete electronic trail that can  be interrogated instantly whenever required. Saving both time and money through  efficiency improvements, the WMS interfaces easily with existing enterprise  resource planning (ERP) systems and order management systems – such as SAP  Business One, sharing the same database and eliminating the need for data  duplication.

Accellos provides comprehensive traceability for food  companies using UK sourced raw material and for business that import food stuffs  from overseas.

Using the system to zone the warehouse allows companies to see  exactly what is happening in each area of the building, eliminating information  black holes.

Although UK Food Standard Agency rules govern all food  companies, no two food warehouses are alike. The WMS has been developed for  maximum flexibility to meet these different, individual requirements and is,  therefore, very flexible and scaleable. It provides batch and serial number  traceability, so that any and all items can be identified quickly back to their  source without the need to search through paper records. This makes it a good  fit for SME businesses in the food industry; 68 per cent of the Food and Drink Federation membership are such companies.

With more than 1000  configuration switches, the WMS can provide a wealth of functionality without  modifying the software. It uses an XML interface to communicate real-time  information from the warehouse to the back office system. Features include  multi-bin, advanced allocation and barcode auto ID using wireless scanners for  accuracy, speed and no unnecessary paperwork.