Case studies / Food Ingredients and Specialty Chemicals
Case studyCertificates of analysis on time for an ingredients producer
A food ingredients and specialty chemicals producer issued certificates of analysis with every shipment, controlled formulations across three sites and found products priced below true cost.
Overview
A mid-sized producer of emulsifiers, specialty esters and flavour carriers for food, cosmetics and industrial customers, with sites in the Netherlands, Poland and Malaysia.
Scale. About 900 products made to controlled formulations, several co-product streams from the same processes, and more than 25,000 customer documents a year, delivered as a phased, multi-location programme.
The challenge
Customers waited for documents. Food manufacturers and cosmetics brands will not release an ingredient into production without its certificate of analysis, and many require it before goods are even unloaded. The quality team typed certificates from laboratory printouts into templates, often days after shipment, and customer service fielded a steady stream of chasers.
Formulations were controlled differently at each site. Recipes lived in local spreadsheets and paper binders, and changes were not always reflected everywhere at once. Safety data sheets for the same product sometimes differed between sites, a regulatory risk as well as an embarrassment when a customer noticed.
Costing was another blind spot. Several processes produced a main product and one or more co-products from the same reaction. Costs were allocated by convention rather than by any defensible method, so the finance director suspected that some products were subsidising others but could not say which. Price negotiations with large customers were therefore conducted on margins nobody fully trusted, and the sales team had no firm ground for resisting discount requests.
The solution
Each product has one controlled formulation, versioned and approved, used by every site. Production orders draw ingredients and quantities from it directly, and any change follows a formal approval that updates all sites at once.
Laboratory results are recorded against each batch and checked against both the internal specification and the customer's own requirements. When a batch ships, its certificate of analysis is generated automatically from the tested values and sent to the customer with the dispatch notice. Safety data sheets are maintained centrally and issued automatically with a customer's first order and after any revision.
Co-products are costed using the agreed allocation method, so each product carries a defensible share of raw material, energy and processing cost. Shared master data for products, specifications and customers connects the three sites, and group reporting shows margin by product and customer.
The engagement
- Eight months
- Six specialists, with quality, regulatory, production and finance leads
- Process mapping, formulation control, laboratory-driven certificates of analysis, safety data sheets, co-product costing, shared master data, pilot and phased rollout.
Integrations
- Laboratory and quality systems
- Customer ordering and document portals
- Warehouse and shipping systems
- Group reporting
How we delivered it
- 01
Map the work with the people who do it
Six weeks
We followed orders from formulation to shipment at each site with chemists, laboratory analysts, regulatory specialists, production supervisors and cost accountants. With the leadership team we agreed the scope: formulation control, certificates and safety documents, and co-product costing.
- 02
Design common processes and integrations
Twelve weeks
Chemists agreed one controlled formulation record for each product, with versioning and approval. Laboratory results were connected to batches so certificates could be generated from tested values against customer-specific specifications. Finance agreed a co-product allocation method based on relative value and process yield.
- 03
Pilot in one site
Seven weeks
The Dutch site piloted with its emulsifier range. The pilot exposed customer specifications held only in email and test methods named differently between laboratories. Both were cleaned up while the scope was still small.
- 04
Roll out in waves and track results
Twelve weeks
Poland and Malaysia followed. Leadership reviewed document turnaround, deviations and product margins monthly.
Results
- Certificates of analysis issued with every shipment
- Formulations controlled consistently across sites
- Safety data sheets current and consistent
- Co-product cost allocated correctly and products re-priced
Documents are produced faster. Certificates now leave with the shipment instead of days later, and customer chasers have almost stopped. Two large food customers moved the company to a reduced-inspection status because its documentation had become reliable.
Formulation deviations fell as every site worked from the same controlled recipe. Safety data sheets are consistent across sites, removing a regulatory exposure the board had been concerned about.
With co-product cost allocated properly, finance found a group of products priced below their true cost and others carrying more than their share. The commercial team re-priced the loss-makers at the next contract round. Teams across all three sites work from the same data, and leadership reviews results monthly.
Customers notice when the certificate arrives with the goods. Internally, the bigger surprise was learning which of our products were really profitable.
What made the difference
The producer allocated co-product cost correctly and re-priced. A small pilot exposed problems, such as specifications held only in email, while they were cheap to fix.
