3PL
Abbreviation; see Third Party Logistics Provider.
Advanced Shipment Notification
This is an electronic notification of a shipment in EDI. It is commonly referred to as an 856 document. Typically, the data that is transmitted includes the products’ description and quantities, lot data, customer purchase reference information, carrier, and configuration of shipment. ASNs are frequently required by large trading partners such as Walmart, and inaccuracies in the transmitted data subject the vendor to fines and other charges.
ASN
Abbreviation; see Advanced Shipment Notification.
Batch
Batch is used in many different ways in food and nutraceuticals. Historically, the term “batch” referred to all components or products that are completed at a workstation before being moved to the next one. Mixing is a commonly understood batch determinant, as it involves the creation of a single “batch” from multiple product inputs (ingredients). Because the outputting of separate production batches presents a logical point for lot assignment, it has become increasingly common for the term “batch” to be synonymous with “lot,” implying a unique identifiable output. Depending upon the organization, the terms “batch” and “lot” may be interchangeable, mean different things depending upon context or use, or may always be defined differently.
Bill of Materials
Bill of materials is the term used to identify the various raw materials, intermediate products, components and packaging needed to manufacture an end item (finished good). All bills of materials represent a list of components in a hierarchical manner, with the finished product at the top. Manufacturing bills of materials are commonly used in food and nutraceuticals and may be referred to as “formulas,” “recipes,” or “ingredients lists,” and each may behave differently in terms of the production planning and execution process.
BOM
Abbreviation; see Bill of Materials.
Break Bulk
The process of breaking apart a container (such as a pallet) down into the individual units (such as cases, boxes, or bags) that were stored within it. Break bulk may be performed intentionally as part of a loading or unloading process. It may also be necessary to record unintended break bulk activities.
Certificate of Analysis
A document issued by a manufacturer, vendor, exporter, importer, or accredited firm or individual (such as an independent laboratory or testing organization) that certifies the quality, purity, and/or adherence to specifications of an accompanying product. It is sometimes known as a Certificate of Inspection in some organizations.
CGMP or cGMP
Abbreviation; see Current Good Manufacturing Practice.
COA or CofA
Abbreviation; see Certificate of Analysis.
Containment Units
Any type of container that directly touches a food product for interim storage, processing, handling, transporting, or storage. Containment units are generally not, however, the units that are used for packaging. Examples include bins, barrels, trays, boxes, etc. As used in this document, a containment unit exists as a “touch point” for traceability purposes, but is usually not included as part of the final product.
COOL
Abbreviation; see Country of Origin Labeling.
Country of Origin
The originating country for a consumer food product. As regulated by the USDA, packers and processors that supply certain covered commodities to their retail customers must provide Country of Origin Labeling data to those retailers. This information can be supplied in a number of ways, such as including the information on invoices or other transaction documents, providing the labels to the retailer, or labeling the product directly.
Country of Origin Labeling
The labeling of consumer food products with the country of origin. Labeling can be either voluntary or mandatory, depending upon the item/commodity. See also Country of Origin for additional information.
Current Good Manufacturing Practice
This refers to the Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulations of the FDA, which require that manufacturers, processors, and packagers of various food and drug products take specific steps to ensure that their products are safe, pure, and effective. Regulations include recordkeeping, personnel qualifications, sanitation and cleanliness practices, equipment, processing, and complaint validation.
Custody
The person, organization, or entity that has the food product under their direct physical control.
EDI
Abbreviation; see Electronic Data Interchange.
Electronic Data Interchange
The structured transmission of data between organizations by electronic means. Generally used to transmit specific electronic documents, such as a purchase order or invoice, between one trading partner and another. The goal of EDI is to eliminate the use of physical documents and the resultant need for re-entry of data or other data manipulation. As such, it requires a structured set of data in order for multiple systems to understand the information; in North America, the ANSI X.12 standard is used, while the UN/EDIFACT is the international standard.
FEFO
Abbreviation; see First Expired, First Out.
First Expired, First Out
A picking methodology in which product with an earlier expiration date is picked for inclusion on a shipment, as part of a production activity, or any other sort of usage ahead of identical products that expire at a later time. FEFO picking is common in environments that deal primarily with perishable products, such as food, as it ensures that items are used before they expire.
Formula
A formula is a bill of materials that defines the relationship of each ingredient as a percentage of the BOM as a whole. Because key attributes of a given ingredient may vary on a lot-by-lot basis, a formula-based BOM system must have the ability to dynamically change an ingredient’s percentage based on user-defined rules.
HACCP
Abbreviation; see Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point.
Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point
A process established by the FDA/USDA for pharmaceutical and food processing in order to prevent foodborne illnesses. HACCP is used in the food industry to identify potential food safety hazards so that key actions, known as Critical Control Points (CCPs), can be taken to reduce or eliminate the risk of the hazard realization.
Hold
Any type of action that prevents a product or product lot from moving from one processing stage to the next. Common reasons for placing a product on hold include inspection, testing, re-processing, or quality failure.
Integrated System
An enterprise-wide information structure that includes all of the functional processes within the context of a single system. This may include multiple programs, but is characterized by the sharing of common data, no re-entry of information from one application to another, and consistent data in all modules of the application.
Lot
A lot is a set of product units that have been produced, processed, or packaged under similar circumstances. A lot may be measured as a single unit of product, but is oftentimes comprised of multiple units. The identification of a lot is established beforehand by organizations using a consistent and documented method of determining the lot numbering or coding system. A lot code refers to a unique series of letters, numbers, or a combination of both, by which any food or drug can be traced in manufacturing and identified in distribution.
Machine Center
Machine centers are the lowest level of a facility in the production hierarchy and represent a machine, a group of machines with identical characteristics, a person, or a group of people. The extent to which machine centers need to be defined can be determined by the user, but usually only those resources that need to be monitored, or tend to be bottlenecks, are designated as machine centers. When a production order is scheduled to a machine center, it consumes that machine center’s capacity, reducing availability. A machine center is measured only in terms of its own capacity, since there are no facilities beneath it in the production hierarchy. Multiple machine centers can comprise a work center (see Work Center). Overhead and other production-related costs can be applied through the machine center. Additionally, as used in bcFood, a machine center allows for the definition and recording of capacity, queues, setup, wait and move times, scrap amounts, min/max process times, and more advanced scheduling functions. A machine center is often a data collection point for traceability or HACCP purposes.
Material Handling Unit
In bcFood, a material handling unit represents product(s) aggregated in such a way as to facilitate physical handling and tracking. A typical aggregation is the palletizing of product, in which products are grouped together on a pallet. The contents of the pallet must be tracked within the four walls of the organization, but the pallet and its contents do not constitute a selling, production, or costing unit of measure. As a result, it necessary to utilize a material handling unit for the purpose of recording physical movements. Every material handling unit must be uniquely identified, as the contents of the unit may have individual product/lot identities. The material handling unit represents a convenient way to accurately track product without having to take extra steps.
MHU
Abbreviation; see Material Handling Unit.
PLC
Abbreviation; see Programmable Logic Controller.
Primary or First Stage Food Processor
As used in this document, a primary or first stage food processor is one who handles or processes food that has come directly from the farm, field, ranch, or other growing environment. The end product of this processing may be either a retail or end-user package or an intermediate package that is used in some other type of food processing by another entity (see Secondary or Second Stage Food Processor). Primary food processors often have more traceability issues due to seasonality, volume, and equipment factors.
Programmable Logic Controller
A form of computer used to automate electromechanical processes on machines in production environments. These typically connect to sensors or actuators which can provide electronic data to the production software, such as bcFood, for tracking values such as input, output, temperature, flow, and machine cycles. PLC vendors typically provide the software needed to interface their equipment with enterprise software. Third party vendors also provide interface software that can interact with multiple PLC devices.
QA
Abbreviation; see Quality Assurance.
Quality Assurance
Quality assurance is a systematic process designed to ensure that manufactured products meet or exceed customer and regulatory requirements. Depending upon the product(s), quality assurance may include testing, inspection, and statistical control. In an automated environment, quality assurance can be defined as a number of checkpoints in the production process that represent “pass/fail” points, based upon the inputted results of testing and inspection.
Recipe
A recipe is a bill of materials that is similar to a formula in how it is used in food processing. The formula concepts may or may not apply to a recipe. The typical difference between a formula-based and a recipe-based production process is that a formula lists the necessary ingredients and their quantities, while a recipe provides this ingredient information along with a set of preparation and processing instructions.
Routing
A routing specifies the sequence of operations needed to manufacture a product. Each operation can be performed at a work center or at a machine center (also referred to as capacities or facilities). Manufacturing companies use routings to manage the production process. Routings should always include any procedures performed by outside parties in which the custody of the product changes hands (such as sterilization or packaging), as these represent traceability control points, and the related data must be available for required documentation.
Secondary or Second Stage Food Processor
As used in this document, a secondary or second stage food processor is one that uses food products processed by others (i.e. ingredients), and produces another product that is typically packed for retail or end-user use. A food processor may be both a primary and a secondary processor.
Testing
As used in this document, this term refers to all types of testing, including measurement, sampling, chemical and biological testing (whether performed in-house or by third parties), data collection (either manual or though PLC interfaces), and destructive testing. The resulting data can be attached to the specific stage of the production process at which testing occurred and automatically related to the lot and traceability data.
Third Party Logistics Provider
An organization that provides outsourced supply chain services of various types. Typical services in the food and nutraceutical industries include warehousing, order fulfillment, and transportation.
Traceability
Traceability is the recording of product movements at every step of the production and distribution process, along with any data related to instances where an issue of contamination arises and a recall may be required. Good traceability capabilities make it possible to identify, by precise date and location, which goods must be recalled, and which are safe, potentially saving millions of dollars in the recall process. Traceability within the food processing industry is also utilized to identify key high production and quality areas of a business versus those of low return, as well as which points in the production process may be improved. Traceability both up and down the supply chain is required by law and regulation. The bcFood application provides users with an instantaneous 360° view of all levels of product.
Work Center
Work centers are specific locations in which work can be performed. Work centers might be set up for machines, groups of machines, or groups of people. Work centers are used in production routing and capacity planning. Production orders are scheduled to work centers through routings (described above). Work centers may also include machine centers on a discrete basis, or roll up the machine centers when determining availability. Typically, the machines or people within a work center perform similar tasks. A work center is often a data collection point for traceability and HAACP purposes. As used in bcFood, a work center can also be used to apply overhead, define capacity, apply a work calendar, and establish queue times.