Premier Foods trials goods tracking system

Improving IT processes at Hovis is a priority for Premier Foods

The UK’s largest food producer, Premier Foods, is introducing automatic identification of goods to support the IT improvements at its Hovis bread division.

Supplier Zetes was hired to provide a system aimed at improving the manufacturing and distribution processes in the division, which produces two million loaves a day.

Work already carried out includes the introduction of a direct link between Premier’s SAP system and mobile or fixed scanning devices to capture, validate and process transactions faster and in a more accurate fashion.

If trials are completed successfully, the firm’s SAP warehouse management platform will be improved with the ability to track and trace goods effectively across its manufacturing and distribution centres.

The scanners have been installed in three Hovis facilities as part of the pilot, which could lead to a full implementation across the firm’s 23 UK sites during 2010.

According to Premier, the traceability system aims to solve “long-standing issues” faced by the company within the supply chain at the bakery division.

Mark Vickery, group IS and change director at Premier Foods, told Computing last month that improving processes at the Hovis division was one of the main IT priorities for the business.