Food & Process Manufacturing
Contain the bad lot and the late ingredient before they cost you the batch.
Lab results and supplier delays arrive by email and PDF before the ERP batch schedule knows. LevelOneAI connects each one to the batches, lots and shipments it affects, so QA and planning act before it turns into a dump, a recall or an idle line.
Where the work gets stuck
A COA fails spec, and nobody knows which batches already used the lot
QA digs through emails, lab reports and batch records to trace a single lot
An ingredient is ten days late, and the line is staged before anyone finds out
Short-shelf-life ingredients expire while the batch waits for a late one
Quality Exception & Batch Impact Workflow
Contain a bad lot in minutes, not a day.
When a COA fails a spec, a retest comes back out of range or a supplier sends a contamination notice, QA spends hours working out which batches used the lot and what's already shipped. It maps the whole blast radius as soon as the result arrives.
Doesn't the LIMS or QMS handle this? They hold the test results and procedures, while LevelOneAI connects a result to the batches, inventory and shipments it affects and follows each one until it's contained.
Raw lot 9021 · Lecithin · Northfield Ingredients · out of spec
Batch ticket 10492 · Vessel 3 · 10,000 gal sauce cook
Hold requiredPlace quality holdSupplier COA (PDF)
Moisture 14.2% · spec max 12%
ERP batch record
Lot 9021 charged at 7:40 AM
Raw lot 9021 · Warehouse A · 40 drums
QuarantineQuarantine the lotLab email · retest
Confirms out of spec
ERP inventory
Status: available
Finished lot 8810 · packed yesterday
Shipment blockBlock the shipmentERP lot trace
Made with lot 9021
Shipping schedule
Leaves today, 2 PM
Batch 10492 · rework or dump?
QA decidesRework
6 hours · about $3,800
Dump (ERP batch cost)
About $42,000
1 batch, 1 lot and 1 shipment affected
Approve containmentIllustrative example · sample company and data
What comes in
- Supplier certificates of analysis (PDF)
- Lab test results by email
- Supplier quality alerts
What it does
- Reads the lot code, the failing parameter and the expiry
- Traces every batch, staged lot and shipment that used it
- Shows rework against dump cost, for QA to decide
What goes into the ERP, after approval
- Quality hold on the batch ticket
- Lot status changed to quarantined
- Supplier non-conformance report drafted for the debit
What it changes
How the work changes
Measured in the pilot
Failed COA to hold decision
4–24 hours → Within the hour
Lot traced to batches and shipments
3–5 days → Minutes
Containment owned to a close
Calls and spreadsheets → Every lot, with an owner
The business results it drives
Which way each one moves, from where it typically is today
- LowerBatch scrap and dumpstoday 2–5% of volume
- HigherBatches saved by reworktoday About 30%
- LowerTime to trace a lot for recalltoday Days
Illustrative ranges, not results: business results also depend on your team acting on what it finds. The pilot measures both against your own baseline.
What's at stake: a $50M plant
- $50Mannual revenue, a food, beverage or chemical plant
- $1.5Ma year in batch scrap and dumps at 3% of production
- $450,000of it from quality exceptions contained too late, if that's 30%
- ~$45,000a year for every 10% of those contained in time
In sales terms · at a 5% margin
That $450,000 is the profit you would make on $9M of new sales. Every 10% you contain in time is worth about $900,000 in sales, with no new inventory or customers to win.
Example assumptions, not results, so use your own numbers. A pilot measures the change against your baseline.
For the QA director, plant manager and VP of Operations. Holds, quarantines and supplier reports happen only after approval, and rework decisions stay with QA.
Ingredient & Material Disruption Workflow
Know which batch will stall, before the line is staged.
A supplier emails that the lecithin is ten days late, but the ERP schedule doesn't change, so the team stages the line and finds out halfway through. It reads supplier updates, checks them against the batch schedule and shelf life, and recommends a fix before the line sits idle.
Doesn't MRP do this? MRP plans on the dates in the ERP, while the delay sits in the buyer's email for days.
Disruption queue · this week
Organic lecithin · Harlan Ingredients
Batch will stallAdvance Batch 3045 (all ingredients in stock)Supplier email
Delayed 10 days
ERP PO 5502
Due Friday
Batch schedule
Batch 3021 cooks Monday · needs 500 kg
Glycerin · PO 5518 · Calder Chemical
PartialRe-sequence Line 2Delivery ticket
200 gal, not 1,000
ERP PO
1,000 gal due Oct 22
Batch schedule
Batches 3030–3033 need 900 gal
Strawberry purée · lot 7740
Spoilage riskPull Batch 3040 forwardERP inventory
Expires Oct 31
Batch schedule
Batch 3040 moved to Nov 2
3 batches at risk
Approve fixesIllustrative example · sample company and data
What comes in
- Supplier acknowledgments and delay notes (email, PDF)
- Partial delivery tickets
- Revised delivery dates for raw ingredients
What it does
- Reads the ingredient, quantity and new arrival date
- Checks it against the batch schedule and shelf life
- Recommends a fix, like advancing a batch that has everything in stock
What goes into the ERP, after approval
- Batch sequence changed on the dispatch board
- PO dates and expected inventory updated
- Request to suppliers for unconfirmed shipments
What it changes
How the work changes
Measured in the pilot
Shortage matched to the runs it affects
When the line is short → Same day
Runs checked per change
Hit or miss → Every one
Risks ranked by dollars at stake
By who shouts loudest → By runs and orders exposed
The business results it drives
Which way each one moves, from where it typically is today
- LowerUnplanned downtimetoday 8–14% of hours
- HigherOn-time in-fulltoday 78–85%
- LowerEmergency sourcingtoday $100K–$350K a year
Illustrative ranges, not results: business results also depend on your team acting on what it finds. The pilot measures both against your own baseline.
What's at stake: a $50M plant
- $50Mannual revenue, about $8M a year in raw ingredients
- $200,000a year in emergency sourcing and rush freight
- 10%of operating hours lost to unplanned downtime
- ~$20,000a year for every 10% of the sourcing premium avoided, before counting downtime
In sales terms · at a 5% margin
That $200,000 in emergency sourcing is the profit you would make on $4M of new sales. Every 10% you avoid is worth about $400,000 in sales.
Example assumptions, not results, so use your own numbers. A pilot measures the change against your baseline.
For the plant scheduler, supply chain manager and VP of Operations. Schedule changes, PO updates and supplier requests happen only after approval.
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