FR
EN
The starting point: time-consuming and fragile quality reporting
In the food and beverage industry, IFS/BRC quality reporting still very often relies on an accumulation of Excel files, shared workbooks and manual data entry. Quality teams spend hours compiling data before each audit or management review.
The most common symptoms:
- Several hours per week spent on data consolidation
- Inconsistencies between files from different departments
- Traceability that is difficult to demonstrate during IFS/BRC audits
- Indicators available too late to take action
On average, a 3-person quality team spends 15 to 25 hours per week on manual data compilation for reporting.
Our approach: automate without replacing everything
The goal is not to replace the existing ERP or quality system, but to connect the data sources to automatically generate the required reports.
Data flow diagnostic
Pipeline construction
Dashboards and alerts
Step 1 — Data flow diagnostic
We map the existing data flows:
- What data is entered, where, and by whom?
- What reports are produced manually?
- Which IFS/BRC standards are concerned?
Step 2 — Pipeline construction
Setting up connectors between the sources (ERP, inspection files, internal databases) and the reporting layer. Data is automatically cleaned, consolidated and historised.
Step 3 — Dashboards and alerts
Deployment of real-time dashboards:
- Non-conformance tracking by line, product, supplier
- HACCP indicators: CCPs, critical limits, corrective actions
- Audit preparation: automatic extraction of required data
- Alerts: notification when thresholds are exceeded
Results achieved at a food and beverage manufacturer
At a client in the cereal sector (an SME with 200 employees), we deployed this approach over 9 months.
| Indicator | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting time | 2 days / week | 15 minutes / week |
| IFS audit non-conformances | 3 minor | 0 major, 0 minor |
| Team adoption | — | 100% within 2 sessions |
| Data availability lead time | D+5 to D+10 | Real-time |
"There is no going back. The time saved on reporting is now reinvested in analysis and continuous improvement."
— Quality Manager, food and beverage manufacturer
Technical architecture deployed
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌────────────┐
│ ERP │───▶│ Python │───▶│ PostgreSQL │───▶│ Power BI │
│ Excel │ │ Airflow │ │ + history │ │ or Metabase│
│ Sensors │ │ + alerts │ │ │ │ │
└─────────┘ └───────────┘ └──────────────┘ └────────────┘
What this means for your organisation
Automating quality reporting is not a standard IT project. It is a business project that requires an in-depth understanding of IFS/BRC standards and shop-floor processes.
That is why we always work in pairs: one technical profile (data engineering) and one business profile (former quality analyst in the food and beverage industry).
Assess your automation potential
Free 30-minute diagnostic to identify your priority areas.
Request a diagnostic →