Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for frozen food manufacturers.
A checklist built from how frozen food manufacturers work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Raw material receiving
- Freezer run records
- Glaze and pack weight checks
- Lot coding and best-before dates
- Cold store pallet map
- Oldest-first order picking
- Reefer dispatch records
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For the quality lead
- For line and freezer operators
- For cold store staff
- For the planner
- For dispatch
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Raw lots received with arrival temperature
- Freezer runs that missed core target
- Glaze and net weight results by lot
- Cold store stock by age and aisle
- Pallets within ten days of expiry
- Deliveries with trailer trace attached
- Forward and backward trace for a chosen lot
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- SMS
- Temperature logger feed
- Label printer
- Accounting export
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- How does a freezer run link to raw material?
- Can we hold a pallet that failed a weight check?
- Do we need sensors to use it?
- Can one pallet hold more than one lot?
- What is checked at the dock?
- Can we serve retailers that want their own labels?
- Will it show the oldest stock at a glance?
- What happens before we commit?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Core temperatures stay on the logger
- Raw lots are lost at the line
- Pallet positions live in one head
- Glaze and net weights drift
- Reefer records are left in the cab
Prefer to talk it through? See the frozen food manufacturers page.