The company’s newly released CyBake 2.0 builds on previously existing software solutions for order processing, delivery notes, invoicing, recipe costing and stock control, and adds additional features, such as customer relationship management (CRM), complaint management, improved reporting, and a postcode look-up function to enhance traceability.
"Bakers in the UK face a double whammy," said Jane Tyler, managing director of RedBlack. "The soaring cost of raw materials is well documented, but bakers are also trying to track and manage those costs with IT systems that can be pretty antiquated and which suffer from low-levels of support from their original designers."
A reliance on old systems puts the bakers at risk of not only poor support, but also struggling to keep up with growing demands for traceability, suggested RedBlack.
"CyBake 2.0 now handles more than what you could call 'traditional' functions such as sales order processing, recipe costing and stock management," said Tyler. "In the 2.0 version we have included modules for customer relationship management and, most importantly, the kind of enhanced traceability and compliance functions all British bakers now need."
A spokesperson for the company told BakeryAndSnacks.com that an annual one-seat licence is priced just under £1000 (€1,262), while an “average bakery would expect to spend around £7,000 or €8,833”, he added.
Traceability benefits
A survey from market analyst Aberdeen group found that traceability compliance represents just a small percentage of the total benefits for manufacturers.
Other benefits include improved information on inventory status, better tracking and management of assets, improved responsiveness and customer service and improved tracking of shipping containers.
The central point the Aberdeen report makes is that manufacturers will not realise these improvements until they incorporate traceability into every aspect of their operations.
New features
RedBlack’s new software functions include: CRM; PDF storage of invoices; fast order entry; instant access to full order history; on-screen sales breakdowns by product and by customer; storage of customer-related in-going and out-going emails; streamlined stock-control with on-screen alerts; workflow management; and a postcode look-up function.
The company has also worked on improving its training services programme with the intention of creating in-house “power-users” who then train other staff members.
"We have found that a 'train the trainer' approach works very well as this helps develop a CyBake 'power user' who is able to train other members of staff and thus keep our customers' training costs down,” said Tyler.