# Food & Drink Manufacturing > ERP for food and drink manufacturers - batch traceability, shelf life, allergens, yields and recall readiness that survives an audit. **URL:** https://cubeerp.co.uk/industries/food-drink Full traceability produced by doing the job, not by keeping a second set of records for the auditor. Food and drink manufacturing carries obligations that most sectors do not: batch traceability in both directions, allergen control, shelf life, and the ability to answer a recall question in minutes rather than days. Those obligations are usually met with a great deal of paper. CubeERP captures the same information by scanning at the point the work happens, so the audit trail is a by-product of production rather than an administrative task performed alongside it. ## Figures - **Minutes** From recall question to answer - **Enforced** FEFO picking on the scanner - **Per batch** Yield variance actually measured ## Common problems in this sector - **Recall drills that take days:** Cross-referencing paper goods-in records, production sheets and despatch notes is slow. It usually passes the audit, and the time taken gets written up regardless. - **Shelf life managed by eye:** Without enforced first-expired-first-out picking, older stock is passed over and written off while newer stock ships. The loss is real and rarely quantified. - **Yield variance nobody explains:** Recipe yields differ from theory. Without capture at the batch, the difference is absorbed into standard cost and the underlying cause is never identified. - **Allergen control on trust:** Changeover and cleaning regimes depend on people knowing the sequence. A system that does not understand allergen groups cannot stop a bad scheduling decision. - **Retailer requirements as chargebacks:** Label formats, despatch advices and delivery windows vary by customer. Getting them wrong is expensive and the cost is usually accepted rather than fixed. ## What CubeERP does about it - **Batch genealogy both ways:** From a raw material batch forward to every customer, and from a finished code backward to every ingredient, operator and line - as a query, not an investigation. - **Shelf life and FEFO:** Use-by and best-before dates enforced at picking, with quarantine, positive release and remaining-life rules per customer where contracts demand it. - **Recipes and yields:** Recipes with tolerances, actual versus theoretical yield captured per batch, and variance reported by product, line and shift. - **Allergen and quality control:** Allergen groups held against items, with changeover rules in scheduling, plus goods-in inspection, non-conformance and concession records. - **Specifications and certificates:** Supplier specifications, certificates of analysis and test results held against the batch and reissued automatically with despatch documentation. - **Retailer despatch:** Customer-specific labels, despatch advices and EDI messaging so delivery paperwork matches what each retailer requires. ## Use cases ### A mock recall that took two days **Scenario:** A manufacturer passed its mock recall by manually cross-referencing three sets of paper records. The auditor noted the elapsed time as an observation. **Outcome:** Traceability is captured by scanning during production. The next drill produced a complete affected-customer list, with certificates, in under ten minutes. ### Write-offs at the back of the chiller **Scenario:** Picking was by convenience rather than date. Short-dated stock was regularly written off while newer product of the same line shipped. **Outcome:** FEFO picking is enforced on the scanner and cannot be overridden without a reason. Date-related write-off fell to a fraction of its previous level. ## Implementation 1. **Discovery:** A structured session mapping how you work now - the systems, the spreadsheets and the bits held together by one person’s memory. We come back with what the platform covers as standard, what needs configuration, and what needs building. 2. **Configuration:** Your sites, warehouses, price lists, approval limits, document templates, workflows and permissions set up to match the business - not a demo tenant with your logo dropped on it. 3. **Data migration:** Customers, suppliers, parts, bills of materials, price lists, open orders and stock balances brought across and reconciled. We migrate, you check the numbers against the old system, and only then do we cut over. 4. **Training & rollout:** Role-based training so the order desk learns the order desk and the warehouse learns the warehouse, with a pilot group first where it makes sense. Documentation and short screen recordings left behind for new starters. 5. **Ongoing support:** UK support from the people who built the platform, with a named contact, agreed response times, and a product roadmap you can influence. ## Frequently asked questions **Is this suitable for BRC or SALSA audit?** The traceability, quality and audit-trail capability is built for that level of scrutiny, and customers use it as evidence. It does not replace your quality management system - it evidences the process you have defined. **Can it handle catch weight?** Yes. Items can be stocked, priced and invoiced by weight as well as by unit, with actual weights captured at pack and despatch and used in invoicing. **Do you support positive release?** Yes. Batches remain in quarantine until test results are recorded and the release is authorised, and quarantined stock cannot be picked. **How do you handle recipe scaling?** Recipes scale to batch size with tolerances, and actual quantities issued are captured against the batch so yield variance is measured rather than assumed. **Will it work with our weighing and labelling equipment?** Scales, checkweighers and label printers integrate through the API or standard drivers. Where equipment is older, we will be straight with you in discovery about what is realistic. ## Relevant solution pages - **Barcode & Traceability Software** - Batch and serial traceability from goods-in to despatch, with certificates attached and a recall answered in minutes. https://cubeerp.co.uk/software/barcode-traceability-software - **Manufacturing Software** - Bills of materials, works orders, routings, shop-floor booking and real job costing - for businesses that make things to order. https://cubeerp.co.uk/software/manufacturing-software - **Stock Control Software** - Multi-location stock with bin locations, barcode scanning, batch and serial traceability, and figures that are right first time. https://cubeerp.co.uk/software/stock-control-software - **Production Planning Software** - Schedule works orders against real capacity - people, machines and shifts - and see the effect of a rush job before you accept it. https://cubeerp.co.uk/software/production-planning-software ## Related industries - **Chemicals, Coatings & Formulated Products** - ERP for formulators and blenders - recipes, batch traceability, yields, hazardous stock and compliance documentation. https://cubeerp.co.uk/industries/chemicals-coatings - **Print & Packaging** - ERP for printers and packaging converters - estimating that reflects make-ready, substrate stock, artwork approval and waste that is measured. https://cubeerp.co.uk/industries/print-packaging - **Wholesale & Distribution** - ERP for wholesalers, importers and distributors - trade pricing, multi-warehouse stock, fast order entry and integrated despatch. https://cubeerp.co.uk/industries/wholesale-distribution ## Contact - **Product:** CubeERP - **Trading name of:** Cube Systems Limited (company number 17220899, ICO registration number ZC216972) - **Email:** hello@cubeerp.co.uk - **Sales:** sales@cubeerp.co.uk - **Support:** support@cubeerp.co.uk - **Telephone:** 01234 672 617 (+441234672617) - **Address:** Unit 11, Olney Business Park, Osier Way, Olney, Buckinghamshire, MK46 5FP - **Opening hours:** Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm - **Part of:** Crushed Ice Group (https://crushedicegroup.co.uk)