In physics, what goes up must come down. And in production, what goes in must come out. That is to say, meticulous records must be kept of all ingredients, both their intake and their output. Considering all the ins and outs of a modern production facility, it benefits everyone to simplify ingredient tracking and allow ease of reformulation along the way.

What does it mean to simplify? Simplification means that all formula trials and production runs are recorded with automatic ingredient pulls and production results. It means that formula and ingredient knowledge is not stored in a handwritten notebook, and it’s not changing at the whim of the R&D team. Let’s face it, making the perfect batch of cookies is hard enough; duplicating and improving the recipe requires a trustworthy tracking system.

Let’s explore a few possible reasons why reformulation is a necessary part of production. First, you might simply want to improve your product — “I think I can make a better cookie!” Second, ingredients become unavailable (or undesirable) all the time — “Due to regulations, we have to eliminate ingredient X from all of our cookies.” And third, nutritional, lifestyle and sustainability trends are constantly changing — “We’re replacing all of our flours to drought-resistant grain crops.” When formulas are altered and reformulated to keep up with these trends, retesting (often with third party labs), resubmitting (to responsible parties or certifying agencies), and relabelling all follow.

Whether reformulation is mandated by something like an ingredient recall or whether you are choosing to tailor your product according to an exciting new health trend, your workflow will benefit from the security of a cloud-based inventory control system. Streamline your warehouse management and production all while setting yourself up for compliance and regulatory success. For more information on Wherefour’s intuitive Production module, click here.