Automating Processes: Tips for NetSuite Food and Beverage Companies

In today’s environment, F&B companies can’t afford to do things manually. Shelf life is short and pricing and availability can change rapidly, making inventory management challenging. By automating manual processes in the warehouse and manufacturing shop floor with an inventory management solution, you can ensure everyone always has up-to-date information to make business critical decisions.

Why mobile technology is critical?

Allergens, contamination concerns, spoilage! Food safety requirements are not something to play around with. Lot traceability, batch and NetSuite serialized inventory tracking are essential to tracing ingredients throughout the supply chain. Keeping record of expiration dates and using FEFO logic can streamline product movement and help reduce waste.

You should be automating:

• Purchase Orders, Transfer Orders, Sales Orders, Work Orders – basically, all orders
• Receiving
• Picking
• Inbound putaways
• Stock counting
• License Plating

By automating these manual processes, you eliminate error-prone manual data entry and the extra logistics between every task that are inherent in paper-driven processes. Your users are able to complete tasks in a fraction of the time. Depending on your shelf life, this time savings can greatly affect your bottom line.

Think Beyond Barcoding

To effectively manage your processes, you will want to leverage advanced mobile tools to further automate your operations:

• Automated Pick Planner: One way to reduce the time spent on administration and paperwork while gaining faster pick times for orders is by planning picking tasks. With tools like RF-SMART’s Pick Planner, you can do this directly in NetSuite for multiple order types (criteria like Tote picking or wave picking). Then, send the tasks to a mobile device instantly to guide your workers on the most efficient route through the warehouse.
  
  
• Location Leveling: Currently, there isn’t a method in NetSuite to view multiple locations and their inventory. This can be problematic during a peak and you find yourself with low inventory levels. A Location Leveling dashboard provides an interactive view of your inventory levels and allows you to transfer inventory between stores – all within NetSuite.
• Easy Automation to Machines: Many F&B companies are investing in machines like picking carousels or conveyors, or need to grab data from machines that record key data about your products (i.e. temperature or weight). Trying to get that data into NetSuite can be cumbersome at best.  RF-SMART Automation uses our proven Built for NetSuite integration to communicate and update NetSuite in real-time with material movement and inventory changes.
  
  
• Work Center Reporting: You want your shop floor workers working quickly and accurately. If tracking metrics like productivity and cost is important, a tool like Work Center Reporting helps your workers easily report labor and quantities using an intuitive touch screen interface or scanning straight from the shop floor.

Food and Beverage Leader

“We know we have a system that will grow with us”

As a manufacturer of yeast for wineries and breweries, keeping track of over 100 different types of yeasts for thousands of different customers was difficult for this NetSuite customer. 

GOAL

Needed to manage growth and consolidate multiple systems and excel sheets into one system of record. Chose NetSuite and RF-SMART for the flexibility, robust functionality and ability to scale with them as they grow.

APPROACH

Implemented RF-SMART with NetSuite to ensure their inventory is correct and manageable. Needed to accommodate multiple locations and be consistent with their processes. Use mobile for sales order picking, transfers and manufacturing of their brewing kits.

RESULTS

Without RF-SMART and NetSuite, they would not be able to manage order fulfillment from different warehouses. They’ve seen time savings using mobile in the warehouse and shop floor. They are also able to create a high-quality product that keeps their customers happy all while scaling their business.

Want to learn more?