(Where there is an additional need to manage manufacturing operations, the full business edition of ProdTrac is more applicable, as it includes modules for Recipe Management; Production Planning; Production Batch Control; Recipe Weighing; and Product Assembly.)

The ProdTrac software system is not a technical program for use by the technical department of a business. It has been deliberately developed so that it is of value and benefit to all areas of the business. While the Technical Manager might be primarily interested in the quality characteristics of a batch of goods (temperature, condition, shelf-life and so on), the Production Manager has alternative interests in that same batch (quantity, pack format), and the Buyer or Accountant wants to know about price, stock value, supplier performance, etc. By sharing all this information in a single batch record, this can be handled and reported in many ways that are of value to all aspects of the business.

Because the program operates on a centralised real-time database, everyone is working with the same information. Each time a transaction occurs - placement of a purchase order, receipt of goods, allocation and despatch of products to customers - the stock levels of relevant batches are automatically adjusted in the database. This means that stock holdings, stock valuations and all associated costings are always current.

There is always a need to trace the origin and destination of products. ProdTrac manages this, including instances where there may have been a change in packaging format or case quantities.

User Restrictions
Every module in the program can be password protected to restrict access by individual users - no access; read only; or full read and update permission. This gives full safety control because, although all users are accessing the same database, only the technical management personnel can control the accessibility of individual batches of ingredients or products. If a batch has not been released as acceptable for use, it cannot be selected in any other menus in the program.

Password protection gives similar constraint over other critical control points such as approved supplier management.

Automation
Used in conjunction with bar code readers and printers, the program can take these controls to another level, and at the same time help the operators to capture data more efficiently.

Data Collection
With any database system, the accuracy and value of the information displayed or reported from it is dependent on the regular entry of routine records. It is important that the business and all users recognise the responsibility that everyone has in this respect. In return, ProdTrac helps in two ways:

• We make data entry as easy as possible. All screens are pre-populated with details direct from the database, leaving only the minimum of information to be entered by a user. Screens are ergonomically designed to be user-friendly, and there are helpful prompts and automatic validation to assist wherever possible.
• We provide valuable reports and screen displays. This is to ensure that however much time might be needed by a user to enter data, that time is saved many times over by the provision of instant results. There is no longer a need for administration or management to spend time entering data into a spreadsheet to calculate information. The answers are all immediately available directly from the database. With the incomparable advantage that the information is always 100% accurate and up-to-the-minute. This is the real value of using a commonly-shared database.

Business Management
As mentioned above, the quality and safety management aspects of the program are integrated with in-built business functions.

• The Purchasing Department can immediately review the status of business with suppliers - what deliveries are outstanding or overdue, what value of goods has been received in acceptable condition, which purchase orders have been fully completed and are due for payment.
• Warehouse or Production Management can review inventory holdings and shelf-life rotation, with accurate real-time stock valuations. And the process of routine regular physical stock checks is automated as much as possible.
• Sales Order Processing is simplified to assist tele-sales operation, and selling prices for individual products to individual customers can be immediately updated at the time of ordering. The program manages the allocation of specific product batches to customers, and the sales order details can then be transferred to automatically create customer delivery notes and invoices.

The fact that all of these details are captured and stored in the database means that valuable reports can be drawn to show, for example, trading histories with suppliers or customers, profit margin values, and material wastage.