Recipes, silosand prices in step.
In feed production, recipes are adjusted continuously in line with raw material prices – and in a recall what counts is which version was actually run in which batch. If recipes sit in spreadsheets and laboratory results sit beside them, that answer becomes reconstruction work. fabular brings recipe versioning, batch management, silo stocks and pricing together in one system. An analysis of a plant's carry-over history takes shape the same way, described to fabAI on the same batch data – instead of being rebuilt from production logs before every audit.
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- Recipe versioning
- IoT silo control
- Dynamic pricing
- IoT
- Silo integration
- 100 %
- Traceability
- 25+
- years of experience
- 1
- recipe for every stage
Three places where it gets expensive
Recipes sit in Excel
Variant-rich recipes are managed in spreadsheets: no versioning, no link to production. Which version was run when cannot be stated reliably after the fact.
Central recipe management with versioning and a link to the batch.
Laboratory analysis with no connection
Results are recorded separately and have to be transferred into approval processes by hand. That costs time and creates transfer errors.
Laboratory results feed automatically into the approval, with batch evidence.
Prices lag behind the raw materials
Prices for bulk and bagged goods are adjusted manually. Movements in raw material prices reach the costing too late.
Automatic price adjustment based on current raw material prices.
This page is for compound feed businesses and feed producers that run variant-rich recipes, deliver bulk and bagged goods and have to prove their traceability to certifiers and customers.
What is genuinely difficult in feed production
A mix is quickly run. The effort lies in everything that has to make it provable later – and in the order in which it comes about.
- Recipes are adjusted continuously according to raw material price and availability. Which version was actually run has to stay traceable back to the batch.
- Carry-over is not an exception: after a feed containing additives, the production sequence and the flushing batch decide whether the next product may be placed on the market.
- A mix consists of many individual components, each with its own batch. Traceability leads from one bag of finished feed to twenty incoming deliveries.
- Bulk goods in the silo tanker and bagged goods on pallets are the same product, but different stocks, containers, prices and delivery routes.
- Farming customers order at short notice and expect delivery within a few days – with limited capacity on the mixing plant.
- Certification schemes such as GMP+ require documented traceability, supplier assessment and a documented recall process, not just an established practice.
The problem is not the recipe, it is the version
Recipes kept in spreadsheets can be changed quickly, but not dated. When a question comes back, that is exactly what counts: which state was run on which day in which batch.
Carry-over arises in the sequence
Sequence, flushing batches and cleaning cycles are the actual protective measure. If you do not plan and document them, in an audit you can only describe what is usually done.
A recall is a matter of minutes
Both directions are needed: forwards, which customers are affected, and backwards, which incoming delivery was the cause. From batch lists in separate systems that takes hours.
How fabular handles it
Recipe & production
- 1.Multi-stage recipes with a version status.
- 2.Mixing processes with material consumption per batch.
- 3.Carry-over and cleaning cycles documented.
- 4.Every version that was run stays traceable.
When a question comes back, what counts is which version was actually run.
Silo & packaging
- 1.Fill levels via IoT in real time.
- 2.Bulk and bagged goods in one stock ledger.
- 3.Packaging units with their own prices and containers.
- 4.Automatic reorder alerts.
Quality & price
- 1.Laboratory results per batch, linked to the approval.
- 2.Quality records in line with feed law.
- 3.Price rules based on raw material quotations.
- 4.Customer terms and volume scales applied automatically.
From raw material to delivery
Five stations, at each of which it is decided whether the later traceability holds up or has to be reconstructed.
- Step 01
Raw material intake and approval
Weighbridge and laboratory
Deliveries are weighed, sampled and assigned to a batch. Only with the approval does the lot become available for production; blocked goods do not.
- Step 02
Recipe approval and production order
Feeding advice and work preparation
The recipe is approved in a defined version status. The production order records which version is run and plans the sequence on the mixing plant.
- Step 03
Mixing and batch creation
Mixing plant
Material consumption is posted per component and source batch. Cleaning and flushing batches are part of the production flow and are documented with it, not noted on the side.
- Step 04
Filling, silo loading and bagged goods
Packaging and loading
From the same batch come bulk goods for the silo tanker and bagged goods for the pallet. Both stocks carry the same batch number, but their own containers, prices and labels.
- Step 05
Delivery and invoicing
Dispatch and accounting
Delivery note and invoice arise from the quantity delivered and the customer terms. Which batch went to which business stays documented and is the basis of every later traceability.
What feed businesses ask us
How do we establish which recipe version was run in a batch?
Recipes are kept under version control, and the production order records the version status that was run. The question can therefore be answered after the fact, without anyone having to reconstruct when which adjustment took effect. For recipes that are changed several times a year in line with raw material prices, that is the difference between an answer you can prove and an answer you remember.
How is carry-over documented?
The production sequence, flushing batches and cleaning cycles are part of the production flow in the system and are documented against the batch. In an audit you can therefore show what actually happened instead of describing what is usual. Which sequence rules apply in your business, in particular for feeds containing additives, is set up during configuration.
How quickly is traceability across all components possible?
Because every component is posted into the mix with its source batch, the batch trail is created during production and not only when a query arrives. The analysis runs forwards from the raw material batch to the customers supplied and backwards from the finished feed to the incoming delivery. In practice the only thing that stays laborious is whatever was posted outside the system.
Does fabular support the requirements from GMP+?
fabular is not a certification; it supplies the records such a scheme calls for: documented traceability across all components, batch management, supplier data on the transaction and a traceable approval and blocking process. Test reports and certificates can be stored audit-proof on the record. Which records your certification scheme requires in detail is something we look at together during the project.
How are bulk and bagged goods held in the same stock?
Both come from the same production batch and keep its batch number, but they are held as separate stocks with their own containers, prices and labels. That way both the traceability and the stock ledger per packaging unit are correct. Reorder alerts and silo monitoring draw on the same data, so bulk and bagged goods do not have to be planned separately.
Does the EU Deforestation Regulation affect us as a feed producer?
Soya is among the raw materials covered by the EUDR, together with the products made from it. For compound feed producers it is therefore usually relevant. fabular has a dedicated module for this: reference numbers are recorded on the contract or on the stock movement and travel through to the batch – including when several source batches come together during mixing.
Companies working with fab4minds
A selection from our customer base – businesses with comparable requirements for traceability, batch management and reporting obligations.
- RWA
- BayWa
- NÖ Saatbaugenossenschaft
- Waldland
Before the next audit comes round
A consulting engagement clarifies in advance which records genuinely come out of the system today and which are gathered together again every time. The result is a document you can work with internally – even without fab4minds.
Digitalisation consulting for feed businesses
For businesses whose recipes and batch data are spread across spreadsheets, plant control and ERP. We record the chain from raw material intake to delivery and show where the chain of evidence breaks.
- Check recipe maintenance and version control for traceability per batch
- Go through production sequence, flushing batches and cleaning documentation
- Play traceability through forwards and backwards on a real case
- Set the planning of bulk and bagged goods against the capacity of the mixing plant
Let us talk about your recipes
Take a recipe that is adjusted frequently. On it we show how versioning and the batch link work together. For our consulting engagements the same applies: if the result does not help you, we refund the fee.