New Features: Production Forecasting, Global Inventory View & More

We are pleased to announce a new series of features for Icicle this summer (or winter for our users in the Southern hemisphere) that will help our users maximize the efficiency of their operations through new Production Forecasting and Production Status interfaces, a Global Inventory View, and new Meetings interfaces.

Production Forecasting & Status

When was it released? July 6, 2017

What does this feature do? Icicle now has three interfaces that are fully integrated for production management: production forecasting, production run, and production status. First, users now have the ability to create a production forecast for a facility. You can bring up a list of all products produced at a facility and set production targets for any time period you choose (the default setting is per week).

Secondly, you can now check your production status through another new interface, which checks your forecast against the actual yields from production runs, which record what you are already producing. With these new interfaces, Icicle users can easily see when production is lagging behind and take corrective action, instead of missing deadlines and losing sales and efficiency.

Ultimately, the more you use Icicle, the closer we get toward building predictive suggestions based on your production records, making it easier to order ingredients and schedule productions with little to no waste.

Where did this idea come from? Thanks to Chris from Ontario Pride Eggs for sparking the idea!

Global Inventory View

When was this feature released? June 25, 2017

What does this feature do? Previously, if you had ten inventory locations, you would have to go to each location to see what you had in stock according to Icicle’s robust inventory control feature. Icicle now has a new Global Inventory View that lets users see all their inventory (all products in all locations) on one simple screen, with the ability to sort and filter the list according to their needs.

A global view prevents interruptions to production so you are never surprised by low stock of products, ingredients, materials, parts, or packaging. The global view can also be used to check stock against incoming purchase orders, easily allowing sales staff to be able to gauge the capacity of the facility to fulfil orders, and other staff to check if stock of finished products is low. The old inventory interface (that includes the ability to move inventory between locations) has been relabeled, Inventory Locations, and now lives under the facilities tab.

Where did this idea come from? Thanks to Terry and Sandra from FreeYumm for their feedback, leading to this great feature!

Meetings Interface

When was this feature released? July 29, 2017

What does this feature do? Like them or not, meetings are an important part of any facility’s operations. In fact, GFSI requires that companies keep track of their food safety meetings, and it’s not only the food safety regulators who are looking for these records. Occupational health and safety regulations also often require that companies hold and maintain records on health and safety meetings as well.

Icicle now gives users the ability to define a meeting, set an agenda, indicate who has been invited, indicate who actually attended, keep a record of the meeting minutes and resolutions, and assign tasks based on the meeting. Minutes can also be attached to specific agenda items for easy reference.

The meeting interface is integrated with Icicle’s task management and notification infrastructure. Once tasks are assigned, users are notified. If the deadline passes before the task is completed, notifications can go out to supervisors to notify them of the delay. If a user indicates that a task is complete, the person responsibile for oversight can verify that it is so.

Where did this idea come from? Thanks to Sandra from Food Safety and Quality Models International Consulting Services for this one!

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