Stahmann Farms successfully automates quality control

The risk of inadvertently releasing quarantined product to customers is even greater when parts of the business process are manually undertaken and inventory is not linked directly to the Quality Control process. 

This was the situation at Stahmann Farms, a specialist grower of pecan nuts with operations in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia, where quality control for the nut-based products it produces is everything. John Howard, Finance and Administration Manager, says that business growth, shortened customer supply time cycles and inventory management imperatives had increased the business’s risk, and amplified the need for greater visibility of inventory. 

These were key factors in the decision to implement the Greentree Quality solution. Management and staff all required a real-time system that enabled them to quickly ascertain the location and status of inventory at a glance. 

“80 – 90% of the benefits of Greentree integration upfront”

The low visibility of the status of stock and slow inquiry times had become a frustrating process that increased the opportunity for error and predisposed the business to even greater risk. John says staff would often prefer to physically segregate, inspect and mark stock to determine its status, in association with email communication, to determine what product was clear to despatch.

John believes that Stahmann Farms has reaped 80-90% of the benefits of Greentree’s quality control module integration upfront. He says inquiry times have been dramatically reduced, and management and staff now have real-time access to inventory status and availability. This has had a flow-on effect in terms of promoting better business practices. Greentree’s reporting tools have also encouraged better access to information.

Integrated Quality Control enforces a disciplined approach to inventory management 

John says that “now we can’t sell items that haven’t been cleared through our quality control system and this has ultimately reduced our business risk”. Since Greentree’s Quality Control module is an integral part of Inventory Management, the business has achieved a significant milestone.

John explains that some time before the Quality Control module was implemented, Stahmann Farms discussed its specific requirements around its quality control process with Greentree. He says the ideas that came out of this process were implemented in the new quality module, and this has resulted in further improvements to the way Stahmann does things. The most notable changes have been the adoption of a more disciplined approach to Inventory Management, with much quicker track & trace and identification of stock using Greentree’s integrated lot tracking functionality, in association with the new Quality functionality. There is now no need to waste time actually physically inspecting stock to find out its status, or to physically separate quarantined inventory. This has allowed warehouse space management practices to be improved; another core benefit of implementing the system. 

Greentree’s Inventory Management module was also a more cost-effective alternative to a full Laboratory Information Management System. The existing MS Access data base system wasn’t integrated with inventory and didn’t have the same level of reporting and functionality as Greentree can provide. John says they now “have information at their fingertips” with an overall improvement in the business decision-making process across the business. Greentree’s advancement of Stahmann’s key internal control system has further enhanced the new disciplined approach to the way Stahmann goes about business. 

Potential “showstopper” issues dealt with quickly

John describes the implementation process as “sweet” and he says any potential “showstopper” issues were very quickly dealt with by the local Greentree partner. Post-implementation support has been consistent and reliable with very little follow-up required. 

Staff training was quick and effective. Around two hours per person was required and staff have adopted the Greentree Quality module very quickly. John describes the transition as very smooth, given the importance to the business of having this system work effectively from day one. 

John believes that the new Greentree functionality heralds in a new era in quality control and inventory management at Stahmann Farms. It has allowed the business to achieve its goal of greater visibility of inventory across multiple users. Quality Control, together with Lot Tracking is now embedded in the Inventory Management process, forcing a disciplined approach to locating, selecting and releasing product for sale or despatch. He is confident that Stahmann Farms will continue to manage and grow into Greentree for some time to come, and looks forward to developing the quality control module in partnership with Greentree into the future.