An Integrative Food Handling System for managing inventory information in food warehouses

In today´s competitive business environment, gathering inventory information is an extremely important practice for logistics parties. This is because this information is essential for managers who have to decide long term and short term resource allocation plans. Proper management of inventory is especially important in the Food Industry because food which can easily deteriorate, is in great demand and relies on a quick response and on a fast supply chain. However, the existing resource management approaches adopted in food warehouses is not satisfactory. A limited number of companies have applied systematic ways to manage inventory information, so, a lot of food deteriorates and stock is sometimes kept in storage after the expiration of its use-by date. The aim of this paper is to provide an Integrative Food Handling System (IFHS) for managing inventory information in food warehouses. It is an inventory information management system, which contains a notification mechanism, and a facilities allocation and stock picking decision support system. The notification mechanism can help control the variations of the storage environment by informing staff when variations occur. The decision support system can help minimize loss of inventory caused by deterioration, contamination and expiry. With the introduction of IFHS, the Food Industry can utilize inventory information, and manage the food handling process, more effectively.