We have all seen recent examples of recalls in the news. I just received a voicemail from Costco yesterday about a range of thousands of lot codes from Jif peanut butter being recalled for Salmonella contamination. Sadly, families across the country are struggling to find formula due to a nationwide shortage.
Why is this happening? This is due, in part, to supply chain issues. But also, Abbott, the nation’s largest formula manufacturer, voluntarily closed their plants after 4 children got sick from bacterial infections.
This is not only a recent problem. We have all heard stories from Johnson and Johnson, Firestone, Volkswagen and Takata in which businesses were halted or went under due to this kind of disaster.
Recalls are not just inconvenient – they can be brutal. People get sick, your business’ reputation could be tarnished and small business may not ever recover from the losses. Replacing or fixing products and refunding customers can be extremely expensive and the price for extra manpower to deal with the situation could be astronomical.
Recalls can and will happen whether during a nationwide event or simply during a routine audit. How YOUR company comes through is a question that needs answered.
With my time at Revolution Group, I have seen companies who spend weeks to months in order to get ready for an audit. After going live with Plex, it only takes a few days. With Plex, companies have compliant check sheets and quality data gathering with every transaction. Plex is always working behind the scenes to get you the data you need. Thus, audit preparation is a much easier process.
When the time comes when you need to issue a recall – there is no need to recall tens of thousands of serials/ lots within a time period – you will know which products were contaminated based on what products you received from your suppliers and when.
So, ask yourself the question – whether routine audit or recall disaster – are you prepared?
