Challenge
3V has been making fruit-based beverages, gourmet syrups and mixes since 1941, alongside co-packing and private labelling services. From a 10,000 square foot manufacturing facility and a 25,000 square foot warehouse in Clifton, New Jersey, forty employees handle more than 300 unique ingredients and 45-plus formulations for over 500 customers.
That was being run on multiple paper-based batch and inventory systems. Data was hard to reach, incomplete and often inaccurate — which made consistent quality and process control difficult to guarantee, and made scaling harder still. Demand in this category is seasonal and spikes sharply in warm weather, and customers who experience a short shipment or a stock-out tend to move to a competitor and stay there.
Solution
3V implemented CAI Essentials Mar-Kov in 2015, consolidating onto a single centralised MRP, MES and ERP platform with electronic batch records replacing the paper systems.
Essentials Mar-Kov now covers raw materials and packaging, formulations and processes, and production and delivery scheduling. It tracks the ingredients, bottles and labels required for each order, records production volumes, monitors expiry dates on perishable stock, and locates every SKU within the warehouse. It also enforces the correct formulation and manufacturing protocol on each batch, so steps cannot be skipped or reordered.
Results
- Grew 400% to one million gallons a year in under a decade, supported by the platform
- Paper-based batch and inventory systems replaced by electronic batch records
- A single centralised MRP, MES and ERP platform across the business
- Systematic, consistent quality and process control across every batch
- Company-wide access to accurate, current data — every department working from the same information
- Full traceability from raw ingredient through batch to customer delivery date
- Expiry dates tracked and usage scheduled accordingly, reducing waste and delivery costs
- SKU locations mapped across a 25,000 sq ft warehouse with 26 ft ceilings
- Audit readiness for FDA, SQF and HACCP inspections, with batching records and process data instantly available
The Impact
Key Features Used
- CAI Essentials Mar-Kov — batch control and inventory management across MRP, MES and ERP
- Electronic batch records
- Formulation control and manufacturing protocol enforcement
- Raw material, packaging, bottle and label tracking
- Expiry date tracking and usage scheduling for perishables
- Warehouse SKU location management
- Production volume recording
- Production and delivery scheduling against live customer orders
- Historical reporting and traceability for FDA, SQF and HACCP audits
