Did you know that 50% waste of all the food you eat occurs during manufacturing, distribution and storage? The creation of opportunities for happiness is urgent. Here's the good news: there are simple steps you can follow to eliminate waste during the production process. This will not only increase your results, but will also help create a more efficient and sustainable operation. Here are some strategies to help minimize food waste outside the manufacturing process:

1. Stock management: Stock management systems guarantee that ingredients and raw materials are properly packaged and used using the FIFO (first in first out) method. This reduces the probability of items expiring or becoming unusable before they are used. Stock management is one of the two most important processes that can be improved by predictive analysis. Too many items in stock can be expensive, and not enough for expected sales can mean losing potential customers. A predictive analysis helps organizations always maintain a certain level of supplies, which generally means lower investment costs and less waste due to overproduction or lack of stock.

2. Accurate demand forecast: Use data analysis and forecasting techniques, such as a time series chart, to accurately forecast customer demand. This allows manufacturers to produce a certain quantity of products, minimizing overproduction and subsequent waste. The objective of predictive analysis of the supply chain is to improve decision making in strategic planning, providing a more precise understanding of future demand, two supplements and other key factors that can affect the supply chain. Thus, companies can proactively manage and optimize their supply chain operations, reducing costs, improving efficiency and increasing customer satisfaction.

3. Process optimization: Simplify manufacturing processes to minimize waste. Perform a thorough analysis of the production line and identify areas where you can make improvements, such as reducing product loss during packaging or optimizing cutting and packaging processes. There are simple tools such as process maps or value flow maps to easily outline a process and provide structure to initiate a process improvement effort. Use data analysis techniques to measure key performance indicators and generate insights into process performance.

4. Quality control: Implement rigorous quality control analyzes to ensure that only products that meet required standards are released for sale. This reduces the chances of waste due to discarding or rejeicing products below the media. Minitab helps companies offer confidence with quality and quality analysis solutions. Our solutions, including time series graphs, control charts, Pareto charts and fish spine diagrams, can help you decide which metrics are essential for quality, verify whether they are being measured accurately and quantify how much they are meeting your objectives.

5. Data monitoring and analysis: Continuously monitor and analyze production data to identify patterns and trends related to food waste, current and past data to discover trends, find and predict patterns, uncover hidden relationships between variables. These information can help identify areas of improvement and guide decision making for waste reduction strategies.

6. Collaboration with suppliers: Involve yourself as suppliers to establish efficient supply chain management practices. Analyze discoveries to make improvements in cycle times, stock management or delivery times and take advantage of prediction power to reduce waste collectively. In this context, predictive analysis emerged as a watershed in this respect, allowing organizations to make decisions based on data.

Know that each manufacturing facility is unique and it is important to adapt these strategies to its specific operations. Solutions such as predictive analysis, regression and statistical process control can greatly help eliminate waste in food manufacturing. By adopting an open approach and involving all stakeholders, you can significantly reduce food waste in the manufacturing process and contribute to a more sustainable food system. 

Content originally posted in: Minitab Blog

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