Data battle

Digital evolution at the Gebr. Gocksch slaughterhouse in Herford: An ERP system from Winweb ensures a seamless flow of data from delivery through to wholesale.

Around 3,200 pigs are slaughtered and cut each week at Gebr. Gocksch KG in Herford. „To meet the requirements of our industrial customers and digitalize our processes, we have replaced our previous slaughter module with Winweb’s ERP system“, says junior managing director Gordon Gocksch. Upon delivery, the animals for slaughter are entered into the Qualiproof database for each farmer, and the farm’s Salmonella status is checked. Qualiproof then reports the number of samples to be taken and specifies the required quality labels such as QS certification or participation in the Initiative Tierwohl.

In the slaughter hall, each animal is inspected by a veterinarian. If there are any findings, they are assigned directly to the slaughter number at a touch­screen terminal. If the veterinarian wants to examine a pig more closely, it is marked as „provisionally detained“ in the system and diverted from the line. During the subsequent examination, the findings can then be recorded in detail on a tablet connected to winweb-­food.

Big Brother Qualiproof

Next, the grader uses the Fat-O-Meter to determine the animal’s commercial grade and enters it together with the slaughter weight at a touch terminal. Based on the number of samples specified by Qualiproof, winweb-food shows the grader which samples have already been taken and which are still outstanding for each farmer. To do this, the barcoded sample tubes are scanned and linked to the corresponding slaughter number. Each data record is archived digitally and printed out for the state authority at the same time.

Billing by email

If the ERP system detects from a different fattening farm ID that the animals delivered are not those announced, the advance notification is cancelled and resubmitted. The recorded findings together with the accompanying sample data for each animal are then automatically reported to Qualiproof. The number of slaughtered animals bearing the animal welfare label including their slaughter data is also transmitted directly from the system to Initiative Tierwohl once a week. The slaughter report is likewise sent automatically to the state authority every week as a file export. Settlement statements are prepared based on various parameters and can be printed or sent directly to suppliers by email. In addition to individual-animal and summary analyses, the veterinarians’ findings are particularly important for costing. This ensures that an up-to-date analysis is always available for each fattening farm. Because the slaughter facility and inventory management are connected by the ERP system, all data from the delivery of the animals through to retail are recorded for subsequent traceability. “Despite steadily increasing requirements for traceability and automated data exchange between suppliers, customers and various inspection bodies, winweb-food enables us to respond flexibly to customer requirements and continue to satisfy them with our products,” concludes Gordon Gocksch.

www.gocksch.de
www.winweb.de