On March 20, Cargill Thailand hosted CMT / CAT Squared Modernization Day, a technology event promoting to their employees the work Cargill Meats Thailand is doing with CAT Squared and SAP. CAT Squared specializes in developing MES (manufacturing executions systems) that manages a company’s plant floor and interfaces production data into ERP systems like SAP ERP.

For industrial-scale food producers, staying compliant with a patchwork of state, federal, and international regulations is challenging. The State of Alabama requires commercial manufacturing operations like Mar-Jac to maintain National Type Evaluation Program (NTEP) certification on their weighing and measuring instruments. Not only do the scales and other hardware devices themselves need to be certified, but the software reading data from these devices must also conform to the standards of the National Conference on Weights and Measures, ensuring the manufacturer’s data is accurate.

CAT Squared is working hard to bring our customers the best manufacturing operations management software available in the industry. We are committed to releasing new functionality to our customers three times each year. As a reminder to our customers, new releases are available in January, May, and September.

In last month's feature, we discussed various categories of data-management software systems used in manufacturing. This month, we’ll continue this conversation by more deeply defining the difference between ERP systems and MOM / MES systems and discussing how ERP integration with MES systems empowers manufacturers with real-time business intelligence to make better decisions.

In July, CAT Squared released an update to their SPC software that empowers plant-floor operators with real-time SPC trending data and charts. Production staff can now make adjustments to their plant-floor processes and immediately see how those adjustments impact the quality of the product.

Information technology has changed the face of traditional manufacturing. Every day, there seems to be a new buzzword defining another software category to help you manage your company’s data. But which kind of software system is best for your company? What software system will give you the best ROI? Do you need an ERP or an MES? Can an ERP function as an MES? What’s the difference? And while we’re asking these questions, can someone please define some of these acronyms?

There's serious money at stake if weights and measures are off, even by a little. During a previous implementation, we found that one of our customers was averaging four ounces of giveaway per case of product. On one of their top-selling items, they were giving away $2 per box and were producing thousands of overweight cases each day. This discovery was possible through a combination of our FSQM software and properly calibrated weighing systems that run off our scale interface software. But how can you trust that this data is accurate?

It's common within family-owned businesses to see intergenerational conflict regarding when and how to adopt new technology. Often, I hear, "The CEO's son is interested in our system, but he’s got to wait for Dad to retire to make a move." This comment tells me that there are many company executives who are (understandably) intimidated by new technology and want to continue operating for as long as they can within their comfort zones. After all, they built the company and know it better than anyone else… Why change?

CAT Squared is proud to announce a new partnership with  AIMMS, an award-winning vendor of Prescriptive Analytics software, and UniSoma, a leading provider of Advanced Planning solutions. The partnership will enable AIMMS, UniSoma and CAT Squared to provision prescriptive analytics applications for food processing and production companies.