A new online service launched at the start of April could soon take the hassle out of certification tracking for UK wholesale and import firms.

The website, www.certcheck.co.uk, pictured, aims to eliminate the need for technical managers to devote two or three days a month to chasing and checking the certification records of their produce suppliers.

“Our system has been designed to completely take the pressure off technical managers,” CertCheck’s Phil Callow told FPJ. “The idea is that wholesalers or importers who subscribe to CertCheck provide their suppliers with log-on details, who in turn then upload scanned-in images of their traceability certificates. When certifications are set to expire, we send email notifications to both wholesalers and suppliers so they are aware they need to update. All the information is laid out in an easily accessible format, which can also be printed off.

“What we are essentially aiming to do is cut out the middle man and save a lot of time for companies,” Callow continued. “My background was in this role, and it really was a pain to have to keep constant tabs on suppliers’ certification standards. We hope that CertCheck will take off.”

The company has big plans for the future, the first being to get people signed up the scheme over the next 12 months. “If things go to plan, we hope to create a system called CertCheck Plus, which would offer facilities for online audits.

“We would also like to install an SMS notification system and other services to make life easier for end- users. There are plenty of plans in the pipeline,” Callow added.

RFID IN FIRING LINE

Proposed amendments to EU-wide privacy legislation could limit the ability of companies to collect and use personal data through the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies.

The plan was revealed by the European Commission, which has outlined a strategy for dealing with consumer concerns that companies could use RFID to collect personal information, intruding on their right to privacy.

A European Commission online survey of public attitudes toward the technology aims to analyse the social and economic effects of smart radio tags and other technologies, focusing on privacy, trust and governance. The process would lead to an assessment of policy options through a consultative group, who would look into the need for further legislative steps by the end of 2008.

The group would be created this year to help the commission develop a European policy position on RFID applications. By mid-2007, the commission plans to propose amendments to the e-Privacy Directive, to take RFID applications into account.

INDEX INTO STAPLES

Producer staples has found the ideal IT solution for controlling its numerous production sites, thanks to Index Computer Systems and its Fresh Dynamics scheme.

Staples is a multi-site operation, located across Lincolnshire and the Isle of Wight, as well as using dedicated suppliers in Spain and Portugal. The firm employs some 120 full-time staff and has a growth rate of 20 per cent year-on-year.

Staples owns and manages all factors of production, resulting in complete control of all the stages a product passes from seed through to customer. Direct control enables the company to coordinate traceability, quality assurance, continuity, customer service and cost efficiency and, ultimately, to ensure customers receive a superior product.

However, maintaining such a high level of control requires an advanced technology solution to overview the total process and ensure quality and service does not falter.

With the existing computer system becoming obsolete, Vernon Read, Staples managing director, was on the lookout for an integrated solution that would be easily upgradeable and would provide its 120 staff with the software to be able to perform tasks at the optimum level.

Read narrowed his evaluation of the market down to two Microsoft ERP solutions, Navision and Axapta. Microsoft Dynamics AX (formerly Axapta) became a clear favourite, as it demonstrated full flexibility against competitive offerings and has easy upgrade options to meet Staples’ expectations for growth.

“We were very keen to ensure the solution provider understood our specific business needs,” said Read. “We also wanted a solution that was easy to upgrade for the future of our business. We found both of these requirements in Index and its Fresh Dynamics solution.”

The industry-specific functionality required to understand and handle fresh produce stock, provided by Index’s 17 years’ experience in the sector, was key to gaining the confidence of the Staples management team.

Fresh Dynamics uses the flexibility and scalability of Dynamics AX with the addition of modules specifically designed for the fresh produce industry. Additional modules covering all aspects of fresh produce farming and distribution include batch consignments, growers’ payments, spray records, stock control, sales order processing, procurement, packhouse, imported product, traceability reporting, account sales and retrospective rebates.

Fresh Dynamics, Staples believes, provides full management and operational control of all factors of production, as well as integrated quality control. Additionally, according to Index, it offers customers the ability to take full advantage of the latest mobile technology to ensure staff have full access to all aspects of the ERP solution at their fingertips, whether out in the fields or in the office.

“It is important to us that the solution worked over different telecoms such as VPN and Wireless, so that we could track consignments and have full information as to how long the product had been in the field, on the lorry and at quality control,” said Read.

“This way, we can ensure that we continue to provide the best quality produce to our customers at the optimum time.”

Implementation of Fresh Dynamics has given Staples all the best ERP technology that will grow and adapt with the company, according to Index.

SYSTEM UP FOR SCOTS

Complete packhouse solutions from Marco have been ordered in unprecedented numbers by some of the biggest names in the soft-fruit growing and packing industry in Scotland.

The factory floor systems, with both hardware and software being manufactured at the Marco facilities in Sussex, Leicestershire and Holland, consist of varying numbers of LineMasters, multiple-tier conveyor lines, inkjet printers and label applicators.

The LineMaster stations, which communicate with the central PC via a secure radio frequency wireless interface, are fully mobile and the frames have lockable castors.

The LineMaster scales feature the Marco Automatic Optimisation (AO) software as part of the Trac-IT MES operating suite, and have been specifically developed for high-speed manual packing and portion control.

In a typical application, as the pre-packed punnets pass down the line, they are placed one by one on the scales. The simple, locally mounted

16-segment coloured bar graph on the LineMaster immediately gives a clear indication of whether the pack is over, under or within weight tolerance. Operators then add or remove fruits to achieve the correct target weight. The system is also language transparent, making it ideal for multi-national operators.

Marco md Murray Hillborne is delighted with the latest successes in Scotland. “We have built an enviable reputation within the soft-fruit industry and these latest installations endorse our close working relationships with companies in this sector,” he said. “Our systems, which are designed around the user, provide rapid return on investment and allow firms to improve their operations.”

SHAREPOINT: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PRODUCE TO SHINE

SharePoint Portal is about to get a makeover, thanks to the imminent release of its updated version. David Hurley, managing director of Anglia Business Solutions, explains how the system could revolutionise information integration and sharing for fresh produce companies.

In last month’s article, we looked at the arrival of Windows Vista and its possible impact on the PC and server infrastructure within a business. The conclusion was that the release of this version of Windows was an important step in the evolution of the operating system. This month, we look at a technology that is often overlooked by the fresh produce sector.

One of the key challenges facing most management teams is how to integrate the various sources of information within a business. In an ideal world, you would visit a single data source to find out what is happening with your products, growers or customers. However, drawing together this constantly changing information across the enterprise, even when it is in electronic format, has proved challenging in the past. The holy grail of a single version of the truth has been parked in the “too difficult” bay for far too long.

Imagine being able to log on to a portal through which all of your customer and product information can be easily accessed. Supposing that it was also easy to retrieve any document relating to any transaction? How about sharing this dynamically updated information with your customers and growers? In such a scenario, are you more or less likely to gain a competitive advantage by offering improved client service while reducing administration?

The reality is that the technology to do this has been around for some time, in the form of SharePoint Portal. However, with the imminent release of SharePoint 2007, it is about to get much better. SharePoint 2007 features workflow, forms automation, business intelligence and document management. SharePoint will be a dynamic platform for filling the white space between ERP enterprise systems within organisations and the expectations of business users. It will be a launching point for access to key data and information within organisations and will provide the organisation’s single-source version of the truth.

SharePoint will allow organisations to create applications for focused audiences that are either not available within existing ERP systems or are too clumsy to arrange. These applications will be put together in portable, manageable components called “web parts”, which can be commercially purchased or custom built.

The power of SharePoint is that it efficiently ties workgroups and office-users into business-user communities. It allows users to join forces to rapidly aggregate, organise, pinpoint and securely share relevant business information. The technology empowers end-users and department personnel to easily self-manage their content and messaging, allowing organisations to consistently market and communicate relevant information.

SharePoint also seamlessly integrates with the most popular productivity software, MS Office. It is a flexible, web-based platform, allowing end-users to be free to roam and allowing organisations to put computing in the hands of today’s mobile business user. It can also be comfortably and securely extended to customers and partners to expand the reach and efficiency of existing collaboration practices.

This is another key launch for Microsoft, facilitating strong inter-operability between Microsoft products, ranging from Microsoft Office to the popular Microsoft business management solutions.

It also presents an opportunity to explore how senior management can have rapid access to dynamic business information. Business intelligence has been identified as one of the key reasons why chief executives will invest in new technology. In a fast-moving, low-margin industry like the fresh produce sector, such information will become a vital aid to competitiveness in a rapidly changing environment.