As the beverage industry continues to grow, integration of the latest technology in bottling systems facilitates more effective production and stock management.
Flow-through sortation is particularly helpful because it utilizes automatic vehicles to ensure that inventory is staged, sorted, and replenished – creating a more efficient system in warehouses and distribution centers, and making it easier to manage beverage inventory.
It’s obvious that manual systems reliant on estimates and partial data do unfortunately end up wasting money. In contrast, automated systems, like flow-through sortation, that offer full visibility, create new business opportunities, ensuring adequate stock levels, while contributing to accurate sales projections, and improving your bottom line.
Beverage bottling has much greater flexibility, modularity, and scalability using the automated storage and retrieval capabilities of flow-through sortation systems.
Wanted: Bottling Systems That Can Dramatically Reduce Waste
A study published by Brunel University London and Ghent University found that human error – caused by a lack of standardized procedures and insufficient training – was the main reason behind extensive food waste. It is responsible for 10.9% of food waste in the manufacturing process – a loss second only to the losses recorded as a result of product changes, which came to 13%.
The study, which involved 47 food manufacturers in Belgium revealed that on average, manufacturers lose the startling sum of 1 ton of food for every 35 tons they produce.
Data for this research came from studying a wide variety of companies, from beverage manufacturers producing nearly 130,000 tons of products per year, to readymade meals manufacturers producing 6,300 tons of food per year.
Dr. Manoj Dora of Brunel Business School, who led the study, identified the problem as a management issue – i.e., a lack of training and standardization of the tasks in the workplace, leading to more errors and a greater amount of waste. Perhaps most surprising was the fact that many manufacturers were completely unaware of how much food they were actually wasting.
Implementation of flow-through sortation cuts out aspects of the manufacturing and bottling system that are most prone to error, and has the potential to dramatically reduce waste in the bottling process, saving you lots of money.
For tips on how to select new technologies check out our eBook
Improving Quality Control in Bottling Systems
Developing consistently high-quality beverage products is more attainable using automated assessment methods that check the quality of raw materials, enforce step-by-step production processes and consistent packaging examinations, and ensure safety by testing for microbiological contaminants.
With manual processes, quality is not as easily tracked; even for those with the best of intentions, it’s not possible to completely eliminate human error.
Flow-through sortation ensures no step is skipped and identifies problems earlier in the bottling process so that the final product is the consistent quality that bottlers strive for.
Maintaining Less Inventory, Freeing Up Capital
Implementing technologically advanced solutions allows beverage manufacturers and bottlers to more accurately track their inventory. The goal is to increase production capacity, reduce waste, and maintain only as much inventory as is necessary to keep the business running smoothly.
With a flow-through sortation system that gives full visibility into stock levels, shelf life, product sales, stock rotation, and more, bottlers can safely reduce inventory while indirectly freeing up capital for other needs.
Maintaining accurate documentation about every aspect of the production process and what stock is available is the key to running a more efficient and profitable beverage plant.
By using an automated solution that provides full inventory control, bottlers can identify a range of important metrics including:
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- Expiration dates
- Unnecessary waste due to shelf life limitations
- Situations with the potential for cross-contamination
- Overstocking
At RC Cola International, We Help Our Bottlers Succeed!
We provide our bottlers with updates and recommendations about technological advancements and cutting-edge solutions such as flow-through sortation to help plants operate most effectively.
Our approach involves insisting on rigorous quality control of water, sweeteners, and product samples. We’re available whenever you need assistance to ensure that your facilities meet all international, national, and local regulations.
RC Cola works in partnership with you to increase bottling productivity and cut costs, while helping to maintain high-quality and providing exceptional support.
