Food and beverage
Twenty-one real cases in fruit and vegetables
Season, export and auditing chains: what actually comes up in a fruit and vegetable business.
A fruit and vegetable business concentrates everything into the season: many people arrive, many growers deliver and a lot of product leaves, often abroad. These are the cases that repeat every year.
Requesting and controlling documents
| The situation | What you build |
|---|---|
| Onboarding 60 seasonal workers in a week | Batch onboarding, with SMS and blocking mandatory items |
| Applicator licences expire and belong to the person | Per-person expiry, 60-day warning |
| New growers have to be approved each season | A reusable onboarding process; only the list changes |
| A customer asks for growers' farm certification | Certificates requested and stored with their expiry |
| Intake delivery notes get lost | They go into the grower's case, with dates |
| A new refrigerated haulier arrives unchecked | The haulier's case, checkable at the bay |
| Outdated plant protection product sheets | An annual request to input suppliers |
Signing
| The situation | What you build |
|---|---|
| Seasonal contracts signed on paper on day one | Signed before starting, from a phone |
| Grower agreements closed verbally | Season contract signed before the first delivery |
| A foreign importer asks for a signed agreement | Signed with a phone code, no travel |
| Image consent for farm photography | Signed consent, withdrawable |
| Quality terms with a distributor | Specifications signed by both parties |
| Mid-season price amendment | One batch send to every grower |
| Sign-off on receipt of a large order | Signed by the recipient, on the spot |
Certifying and proving
| The situation | What you build |
|---|---|
| The field record book is filled in at season end | Monthly certification of the register |
| A claim about product arriving in poor condition | Certified photos at loading |
| A dispute with a grower about what was delivered | Intake record certified that day |
| Proving the temperature of an export container | Journey record certified at close |
| An auditor questions a treatment date | Treatment register certified periodically |
| Evidencing the condition of a rejected consignment | Photos and report certified at the moment of rejection |
| A shipment held at customs over documentation | What was submitted, certified with its date |
Watch out
A field record book filled in at season end is the commonest audit finding and the hardest to defend. Certifying it monthly costs minutes and completely changes how it reads.
Worth knowing
There is no time to build anything during the season. What you build in February is what works in July.
›Can 60 people be onboarded at once?
Yes, with the list and a batch send.
›What about growers who do not use email?
SMS. In this sector it decides delivery.
›Does it serve for a farm certification audit?
Records with trusted dates are exactly what is asked for.
A real case
The situation
A packhouse prepares the season in June and sets up seasonal onboarding two days before it starts.
What you do
- Builds the process in February
- Tests on five people before the season
What you get
In July the 60 onboardings take two days instead of two weeks, and nobody starts without the mandatory items.
The situation
The season starts and nobody knows which suppliers are current.
What you do
- Checks everyone's status before buying
What you get
You buy knowingly rather than reviewing afterwards.
The situation
A retail chain audits with two weeks' notice.
What you do
- Reviews the file before it lands
What you get
The gaps close with time to spare.
The situation
A client asks for the origin of an exported consignment.
What you do
- Checks that shipment's file
What you get
You answer per shipment rather than per packhouse.
The situation
Field treatments are noted on paper.
What you do
- Captures the note at the moment
What you get
The record reaches the packhouse legible.
The situation
Certificates from a hundred growers pile up.
What you do
- Requests and chases automatically
What you get
The season starts with everyone current.
This article answers
- fruit and vegetable use cases
- seasonal farm documentation
- fruit export documentation
- farm certification audit documentation