The digital auditing advantage

Auditing and regulations, while essential for ensuring food safety and building consumer confidence, can pose significant challenges for food processors. When using manual or outdated record systems, both internal and external auditing can be daunting, time consuming and prone to human error. Companies that can’t provide comprehensive, transparent audit details to regulatory bodies and supply chain partners within set timeframes risk hefty fines and losing key business opportunities.

Digitalization can be an efficient solution to streamline your auditing process

You already know that at Marel we are enthusiastic about digitalization. We’ve seen first-hand how it can help our customers, in all industry sectors, transform their auditing processes, profit margins, yield and operations. But we also understand that it is a big step to take as a food processor. To help you see the possibilities beyond the talk, we asked a few customers to tell you about how digitalizing has boosted their businesses.

“Having Marel Software has made audits so much easier. We have data as it happens, that shows how product comes into the business, goes through production, and then leaves the business, including where it’s gone. The auditor gives you a barcode and four hours to do a trace, normally we can have it done within about three or four minutes. That kind of speed and accuracy is a relief for an auditor. Anything that speeds up the process and ensures accuracy makes them happy.”

Traceability and operational excellence

Located in Saudi Arabia, poultry processor Arasco Entaj Poultry, navigate a complex landscape, managing food safety regulations, national culture and meeting international standards. Between 2021 and 2024, Arasco more than doubled their processing capacity from 200,000 to 500,000 birds per day. They leverage digital solutions to maintain compliance.

Inspired by a visit to Marel ShowHow Denmark, Michel De Jesus, Senior Production Plant Manager, saw that by increasing the enhanced reporting capabilities of their Marel solutions, Arasco could ensure comprehensive audit trails. “That's a 'must' for us, to have all the data in a few seconds or a few minutes.”

Addressing the audit challenges in meat

Based in South Africa, Morgan Beef is a farm-to-fork producer for the global market. Before installing Marel Software, Morgan Beef faced significant issues with traceability and stock takes. François Smit, Chief Information Officer says, “For me, as an accountant, accurate production figures are crucial, but we struggled with this. The system was easy to manipulate, making it difficult to trust the data.”

In 2022, Morgan Beef implemented Marel Software and achieved unprecedented tracking capabilities. “After implementing the system and getting it fully operational, we had our first FSAC audit. The state vet didn’t believe I could provide a result for a mock recall within the required hour, but just two minutes after he gave me a serial number, I was able to trace it back to the exact farm where the carcass originated.” Smit says their installation of Marel Software has set a new standard for traceability in the South African beef industry.

The process of moving beyond the status quo

Pilgrim’s Europe is a leading European food manufacturer supplying global markets with poultry, lamb and pork.

Presenting at Marel Software KnowHow in Denmark this year, Alastair Boyd, Head of IT & Operations for Pilgrim’s Europe, explained their comprehensive approach to a digital system which supported all elements of the business, including auditing and traceability. Alastair highlighted to the audience that digitalization is a journey, rather than a destination.

“Our goal is to have one cohesive system across the board. We aim to improve our use of reports and dashboards to continually monitor and improve our performance. We don't just want to monitor how our lines are performing at isolated points; we want to see the performance of the entire line in totality."

Alastair sees IT as a crucial enabler in Pilgrim’s Europe’s future: