McLain Farms is one of the largest producers of sweet onions in the country. After installing and using several other systems that claimed to provide complete traceability and product labeling, Rusty McLain came to Dynamic Systems with a wish list. He needed a system that would comply with the new Produce Traceability Initiative requirements for barcode labeling that would be efficient to use in his packing facility. He’d been looking for such a system for over 2 years when he came to Dynamic Systems.
SIMBA is designed for food growers/packers who need fast and accurate information. SIMBA tracks, labels and ships an unlimited number of products and records their specific characteristics (type, size, grade, weight, etc). The system automatically generates bills of lading and verifies shipments which eliminate charge-backs. And SIMBA does all of this on the production floor using current touchscreen and barcode technology.
The system was configured for McLain to use 3 label printers from one touch-screen on the packing floor. From that screen they are able to print the bin label, the case label or the pallet label. The equipment is housed on a rolling cart on the packing floor that can be moved to whichever production line is active.
A simple touch of the screen determines the contents of the label and how many to print. SIMBA quickly and automatically collects production information—lot numbers, product attributes, weight and quantity of cartons packed—and provides inventory and traceability reports.
The label information is then stored in the SIMBA inventory database which provides data for inventory management, traceability and shipping. The cartons may be accumulated onto a pallet and tracked with a single pallet identifier.
Key results for McLain from implementing SIMBA include increased production speed; the ability to get real-time, accurate production reports; fulfill traceability requirements; provide accurate real time inventory; print professional looking carton and pallet labels; and expedited van loading.
“I’ve used different systems in the past, and managing inventory and traceability has never been as easy as with SIMBA”, Stated Randy McLain. Dynamic Systems was able to provide a turnkey all inclusive system, including all equipment and labels that is scalable and customizable.
Source: Dynamic Systems