Introduction
Food and drug safety is vital in the supply chain. An ERP system is insufficient to manage your mission-critical business and all aspects of your warehouse operations if you are in the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, or consumer products industries, where food and drug health and safety are of the utmost importance. A single product recall can cost a food or beverage or pharmaceutical business millions of dollars in lost sales earnings and brand reputation.
Food and beverage, pharmaceutical, or consumer products on the other hand, can respond to potential product recall scenarios more quickly by connecting a Warehouse Management System (WMS) to external systems both upstream and downstream in the supply chain. This frequently prevents tainted items from exiting the warehouse, saving you time and money.
How can WMS help you prevent a product recall?
Prevention is always better than the cure. When manufacturers identify issues, or when products are contaminated, a WMS product recall module can identify the affected products, issue a stop issuance order and send automatic notifications to the warehouse so that the product will not be picked nor shipped, preventing the need for a product recall.
Issuing products that are contaminated or harmful, is not only be dangerous to the end consumer but it also put the company in seriously harm financially and reputationally.
A robust WMS product recall module will be able to swiftly identify the tainted products, track, and efficiently stop issuance even before a recall is required. Thereby saving invaluable time, money, and even reputation for the business.
How can WMS help you manage a product recall?
A well-managed product recall process is essential to minimise damage to health and brand reputation. You need to be ready to manage a variety of recall scenarios.
For example – Should the goods be thrown away? Do you need to use special handling? Do the products require quarantine to allow for additional inspection? Exist any special reporting obligations that must be met?
To ensure that the impacted product is handled completely, effectively, and efficiently, many of these steps can be automated within a WMS product recall module to lead people through the process.
By identifying and correcting the actual causes, an integrated WMS product recall module can help you manage these situations. It can also help you quickly identify the batch number, country of origin, the failure, or contamination by providing a high level of product traceability.
Early identification frequently makes it easier to pinpoint the product that must be recalled, potentially narrowing the scope of the recall process and concentrating on the impacted inventory, which can be identified by specific product qualities. By leveraging a WMS product recall module, businesses can manage the product recall effectively and efficiently.
What product recall solutions does Symphony WMS have?
Symphony WMS Product Recall module provides you with a solution to implement a stop issuance and recall orders based on batch tracking and country of origin.
A global 3PL company supporting a food and beverage brand implemented Symphony WMS Product Recall module to ensure hedge against the unfortunate scenario of a product recall.
Previously the customer had to manually review each order allocation in order to reassign the affected batch for fulfilment, which required arduous manual labour from the warehouse operations team.
After implementing the Symphony WMS Product Recall module, the customer can manage all allocations based on criteria and keep track of all impacted products on a single, central screen. The 3PL will be able to guarantee and inform their client, authorities, and end-consumer of the status of all impacted orders. Every impacted product will be located, recalled, and verified. The management and regulation of drug and food safety is therefore upheld through Symphony WMS.
Conclusion
Safety of food and drugs is essential in the supply chain. Food and beverage, pharmaceutical and consumer products manufacturers need to invest and hedge its supply chain with a robust WMS to manage your business and all areas of your warehouse operations. As a result, preventing a product recall saving your company millions of dollars in lost revenue and protecting your brand image.
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