There once was a time when manufacturers decided which products would go to market, and consumer opinion was shaped by marketing, advertising and product trials. Those days are fading. With the upswing in social media all it takes is one loud voice to kill a brand - virtually overnight. A celebrity mentions that they do not care for a type of food and suddenly their entire fan base stops buying it. A blog questioning the safety of an item goes viral and within months plants are closing. The power is shifting, and manufacturers have to stay on top of public perception. One of the key strategies to winning the battle of public perception is by knowing which battles are worth fighting, then staying on the offense and avoiding the defense. If there is even a hint of controversy over a product or ingredient, start the dialogue through education. Talking openly about a possibly suspect item creates a more positive public image and avoids the damage of being caught by surprise with negative press.

Why is it that in the office the systems are connected but in manufacturing each area is its own island?  Shouldn't there be a flow of information between all areas of  your company?

To accomplish this you need a system that integrates formulation, lab, inventory, manufacturing and packaging.  Information from one must feed into the other, and all must have updated information at the same time ... feeding back to administration.

Reviewing batch records - would you like to make this job easier?

The problem with paper batch sheets is it relies on users recording accurate data, then that data being entered back into the system.  This opens you up for multiple errors.  The answer?  Get rid of the paper.

Use a system which pulls data directly from the process.  Scan containers instead of manually recording which one was used.  Pull weight directly from the scales instead of relying on users to write down exact quantities used.  Prompt operators through the manufacturing process electronically, recording data from the equipment.

The more you can pull data directly instead of relying on manual entry, the more accurate your batch records will be - and the easier the review process is!

The ability of the Chemical Management System to prepare a company for audits was recently featured in Innovadex's May 22 industry newsletter! The feature highlighted the ability of the software to track every transaction impacting formulation, inventory and manufacturing, providing a complete audit trail at the touch of a button.

Congratulations to Bill D. of Farmingdale NY for being the winner of the Acer tablet!

It was a great show and we were able to give quite a number of one-on-one demos.

Thanks everybody for stopping by!

Valdata Systems is proud to have been featured in Pharmaceutical Processing's May 14, 2012 e-newsletter along with an article on their website.

CLICK HERE to see the write-up on our Manufacturing Execution System's scale connectivity feature!

Having a great day at the NYSCC Suppliers Day show in Edison! Lots of companies looking for ways to better manage their inventory and update their formulation software.

Wonder how Valdata can guarantee no bad batches and 99.9% accurate inventory? It's all about scale connectivity and bar code license plates. Check out our press releases to read more ...

Valdata Systems is excited to have been selected as the systems provider for the Brisbane Australia facility of Health Focus Manufacturing!

Looking forward to the NYSCC show in May! Tom and I will be doing one-on-one demos of the software right in the booth. And ... we're giving away an Acer 10" Tablet this year! Let's see who the lucky winner will be! Look me up at the show - I'll be at booth 1455! - Susan

On April 5, 2012 Cosmetics Design featured an editorial under their Formulation & Science section about the audit-ready features of Valdata's Chemical Management software. The editorial notes that in the complex and highly regulated chemical manufacturing industry, our software helps companies become more organized and gain control over their processes, providing audit trails of every single transaction.

There are few things more stressful than an audit. They are typically preceded by checking to make sure documentation is in order, records are in place, and there is always the worry that something has been overlooked. With a fully integrated, paperless system like Valdata's CMS which incorporates Warehouse Management, Manufacturing Execution and LIMS, our customers are always audit-ready.

One of the most devastating events that can occur for a manufacturer is a mass recall.  The cost of recalling product and the loss of immediate revenue is just the beginning.  The hit a company takes in public perception is even more damaging. Reduced confidence which translates into reduced sales, necessary increases in marketing and PR expenses, and lost opportunities is often more taxing than the recall itself.

How do you protect yourself?  One way is through proper policing of resource maintenance policies. 

Our Manufacturing Execution System has this built in.  Companies can enforce their maintenance policies and actually prevent production from using equipment which has not been cleaned, sanitized or calibrated prior to use.

Often times MRP software must be overly complex to achieve the desired results.  Perhaps that is why large MRP software companies get such high fees for the design and implementation of their solutions.  Wouldn't it be nice if there were a way to have sophistication with the benefit of simplicity?

CMS does exactly that!

Even though we have sophisticated features like:

* Paperless Control
* Bar Coded / License-Plated Inventory
* Fully Integrated Modules
* Prompt and Police Manufacturing Execution
* ...

much of our focus is on the user experience.  After all, what good is a system if it cannot be operated and navigated by Joe employee?  What do you get with CMS....

Sophisticated Simplicity!

Call us and ask for a demo.  You will see for yourself that we are the most well rounded package when it comes to that balance of functionality and usability.

Today our press release discussing how CEI's Ridgefield facility achieved an amazing 99.9% inventory accuracy using our warehouse management system and manufacturing execution system was published globally.  It has already been picked up by a large number of news media including CBS and Market Watch.  The link to the internet publication of the press release is: http://www.prweb.com/releases/inventory_management/warehouse_management/prweb9186646.htm  or you can download a version on our website on our "Press Releases" Tab. 

Imagine for a moment that you come into your office / cubicle / etc, sit down at your desk, go to turn on your PC and POW....there is no PC.  That's not something that you would put up with, is it?  Why is that?  Well its because there is NO WAY that you are going to hand write a note and hand it to someone instead of sending an email.  There is NO WAY that you are going to hand calculate a series of equations, write them down by hand, and give them to your boss as a presentation.

Its obvious that computers are absolutely essential to being productive.  You have come to count on them for almost everything.

That being the case, why is it that it's OK for office staff to have computers but its not OK to have computers on the shop floor?  Lets face it, office staff are just an expense.  The people on the shop floor are the ones who MAKE your money (salespeople fall somewhere in-between (lol).

Isn't it obvious that shop floor personnel need computer technology as much as office personnel (if not more)?  Why must they hand write everything just to have someone else put it into the computer?  That just doesn't make ANY sense?!?!

I would love to know what you think the main reason is for shop floor personnel not having the same productivity tools as office staff...

There's nothing like a satisfied customer. We often tell our prospective customers about the benefits they can expect to achieve through our systems, but until they actually experience it for themselves they are taking a leap of faith that we will deliver what we have promised. When we get a call like we did from CEI saying they achieved their goal of 99.9% accurate inventory we probably enjoy it almost as much as they do. We love seeing our customers meet their goals using our systems