Throughout the whole world we are all currently facing obstacles in our daily lives. Much of what was taken for granted at the beginning of this year is no longer valid today due to the pandemic. Due to the closing of borders and enforcing of measures, our daily lives have been turned upside down. Children are schooled at home, and many employees are required to work from home and have virtual access to their work tools, interact with their colleagues via videoconferencing and engage in their company’s daily business through other solutions. Food is a basic commodity, so food establishments are permitted to remain open, and caterers can avoid closure if they follow the correct procedures, which means that adapting their processes and digitising their organisations is essential and plays a key role in tackling the crisis. To attain successful company operations, they were forced to change their methods. Those companies that reacted quickly and adapted appropriately are operating normally or belong to the group of companies that have used the crisis to increase sales and now wish to expand. Others have responded to the crisis by adjusting their business a bit, but are coping with the situation without major problems. The third category of companies includes those that have not adapted their activity to the situation and are therefore failing.
The area in which the company operates does not have to be an excuse for bad business, as any company can adapt with the appropriate systems in place. It is important to include the option of conducting business remotely in our daily lives, and for consumers to embrace online shopping, home delivery, and collection. However, because this is something new for many companies, they have found themselves in trouble. Disruptions in operations have occurred in the procurement of products, materials, raw materials, stock control, in the control of safety and quality, management of performed obligations, food tracking, temperature monitoring, employee education, and more.
Risk management is not just a formality that we rarely deal with, it is a duty that we must monitor daily for the safety of all so that we can respond appropriately to early warnings regarding crisis situations. Let’s be aware that Covid-19 is far from over, and life after the pandemic will no longer be the same. This is a serious reminder that it is high time to introduce changes in areas where the shortcomings of the current food system based on HACCP and other procedures have been revealed, which do not reduce the risks associated with hazards in terms of effectiveness, as digitisation allows. While HACCP only deals with food safety, digital tools are now needed to address all elements of food safety control, i.e. food safety, food quality, food protection, and food fraud. Such tools can be used in combination to develop a stronger and more tailored food protection system for the food industry or organisation. In addition, such a technological system is cheaper and easier to use, especially in the implementation of food safety and communication.
The above is a big reason to consider what changes we need and how we will implement them to keep our business efficiency at a maximum and risks to a minimum. Control of all company processes via a digital platform on which processes can be automated and recorded, and managed via a common platform and application, is essential.
At the same time, this way of running a business provides real-time information and alerts, so you can respond to critical situations when they occur anytime, anywhere. All food safety protocols can be adapted to the already established process and therefore insertion is easy.
We are happy to help you figure out how we can tailor integrated digital management to your company. Just as we have recently done with many different European companies in the food industry, with our professional technological and innovative system, we help with implementation, from adapting to your needs at the beginning of the establishment of the system through to providing support afterwards.
