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Cattle Shortage and Processor Pressure: What the Market Is Demanding and How to Respond

Across Ireland and much of Europe, beef processors are facing increased pressure to secure livestock while maintaining efficiency in operations. With tighter supply chains and shifting dynamics, the need for reliable animal payments software has never been greater.

At the same time, cattle prices continue to climb. Some Irish processors are offering more than €8 per kilo for certain categories. Producers are no longer just suppliers. They are business partners who expect speed, flexibility and transparency in return for their loyalty.

While some plants are adapting quickly, many still face internal friction that makes it harder to keep up. And when delays affect critical relationships, the consequences can be costly.

A Shift in Power and Expectation

Recent news stories reflect this changing landscape. Reports highlight how factories are offering more flexibility to secure cattle. In some cases, a price gap of up to €200 per head is driving livestock north for slaughter. Other headlines note how marts are attracting producers with faster turnarounds and stronger prices.

This is not isolated. It is a pattern. Producers are making decisions quickly and expect the same from processors.

But when internal systems are outdated, everything slows down. Manual payment processes, delayed reconciliations and unclear supplier statements can erode trust over time. These are not just inefficiencies. They are risks. And in a supply-constrained market, every delay can mean losing a load of cattle to a competitor.

The Role of Technology in a High-Pressure Market

For processors navigating this new reality, technology needs to do more than automate. It needs to provide clarity. It needs to inspire trust. And it needs to integrate seamlessly into daily operations, especially where payments and producer relationships are concerned.

At Emydex, we work closely with some of the largest food processors around the world. That experience has shaped the way we build our systems, always focused on what matters most in practice. Our Animal Payments System is designed specifically to help plants manage livestock payments with greater efficiency and transparency.

The system supports multiple species and payment models, with flexible rule configurations and detailed supplier statements. It integrates with existing ERP and finance systems, supports both EFT and cheque payments, and ensures full audit compliance from end to end. The result is a process that runs faster and more accurately, with fewer disputes and stronger producer relationships.

Why the Right Animal Payments Software Matters

When supply is tight and prices are rising, maintaining trust with producers becomes essential. And that trust is built on reliability. Fast, accurate payments show suppliers that a processor values the relationship and is ready to do business with clarity and professionalism.

This is no longer just a finance issue. It is a strategic one.

Processors who continue relying on manual processes risk falling behind. Those who modernise their systems will be better prepared to move quickly, respond to market changes, and maintain a steady intake of quality livestock.

Emydex helps make that possible. To see how our Animal Payments System supports processors in high-pressure environments, visit our page.

To learn more, contact Emydex at any of our global market offices in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Africa or North America.

Request a Demo

Emydex CEO Update – Reflections on 2024 & Expansion Plans for 2025

2024 Highlights

Global Expansion and BAADER Partnership

In this Emydex CEO Update, reflecting on 2024, Emydex has continued its global expansion, driven by BAADER’s acquisition of a majority shareholding in July 2023. Headquartered in Luebeck, Germany, BAADER is a global manufacturer and supplier of food processing machinery and solutions, with 30 subsidiaries across Europe, the USA, China, South America, Africa, and Asia. BAADER employs 1,650 people in more than 100 countries worldwide. 

Emydex is collaborating with BAADER on several significant opportunities with meat processors in new Emydex markets, including Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines, and the Middle East.  

New Markets and Customer Growth

In January 2024 and 2025, Emydex exhibited on the BAADER booth at the IPPE trade show in Atlanta, USA, the world’s largest annual poultry, meat, and animal food industry event. Since then, Emydex has expanded beyond its traditional core markets of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, securing new customers such as Murray’s Chicken in New York and Sustainable Beef in Nebraska, USA. New Emydex hires have also been onboarded at BAADER’s Kansas City, Missouri, factory base. 

System Implementations in New Zealand

In New Zealand, following successful implementations of the Emydex factory floor MES system in its primary beef processing plants in Belfast, Dargaville, and Hawera, Silver Fern Farms went live with Emydex in their fourth beef primal processing plant in Te Aroha, North Island. Two more plants, Finegand and Pacific, are scheduled to go live before Summer 2025, bringing the total to six primary beef plants operating Emydex. The project’s next phase will see Emydex expand into Silver Ferns’ venison plants in New Zealand. 

Irish Projects and Partnerships

Closer to home in Ireland, where Emydex’s headquarters is based, Ireland’s largest primary Lamb processor, Irish Country Meats, went live in December 2024, with Emydex in their main plant in Camolin, Co. Wexford. 

Company Achievements

Emydex celebrated twenty years in business in April 2024, achieving the accolade of being one of Ireland’s Best Places to Work in 2025 for the first time. This recognition has led to several former Emydex employees rejoining the company after leaving for a change of scene post-COVID. 

The Emydex team of meat industry experts have also grown over the past year, with additional Meat Industry Business Analysts appointed in Ireland, Slovakia, and New Zealand. 

The Emydex Quality Management System (EQMS) continued its rollout at Dawn Meats, now operating in fourteen of its plants across Ireland and the UK. Emydex customers also adopted the Emydex Quality Management System in Australia, Canada, and the USA. 

Looking Ahead to 2025

Looking ahead, 2025 promises to be a busy year for Emydex. Eight new factory installations are scheduled to go live in Ireland, the USA, Australia, and New Zealand in the first half of the year. 

If you want to learn more – contact Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, or North America offices

Request a Demo

Forresters Chicken Celebrates a Decade of Quality Management with Emydex

A Decade of Quality Management Excellence​

Over the past ten years, Forresters Chicken has leveraged Emydex’s Quality Management system to enhance accuracy, reduce human error, gain real-time insights into quality data, and improve traceability. This collaboration has significantly transformed Forresters Chicken’s operations, ensuring the highest standards of quality and efficiency in their processes.

Meet the Client

Established in 1972, Forresters is one of the largest suppliers of cooked, raw, and coated poultry in the United Kingdom. Based in Cheshire, the company provides retailers, food services, pub retailers, manufacturers, and catering butchers with frozen, chilled branded, and own-label chicken products. To maintain its reputation for high-quality standards, Forresters set out to enhance its quality management processes.

The Opportunity

With a growing client base and increasing production demands, Forresters required a more streamlined and robust approach to quality management. Existing manual quality checks were resource-intensive and prone to human error, especially as production volumes rose. Furthermore, limited real-time access to quality data hindered swift decision-making and posed challenges in meeting regulatory standards.

Forresters needed a comprehensive Quality Management System (QMS) that could automate quality workflows, provide real-time data, and integrate with their ERP system for seamless traceability and compliance tracking. Forresters had been operating an Emydex factory floor MES (Manufacturing Execution System) for production control, yield management and traceability reporting for many years, so it was a straightforward decision to extend our Emydex software footprint to include all of our Quality, Compliance and Food Safety Management processes.

What We Did

Working closely with Forrester’s management, our team worked with Emydex to develop and implement a customised QMS solution that aligned with Forrester’s operational goals. The implementation process was structured in two main phases:

1. Phase One – Digitalising Quality Checks
Forresters began by introducing automated digital checklists across the production floor, replacing paper logs and allowing quality checks to be completed via tablets at each workstation. Data is now collected on tablets running the Emydex Quality system in real-time, and any deviations from standards trigger instant alerts, allowing issues to be addressed immediately.

2. Phase Two – Comprehensive Quality Dashboard
In the next phase, Forresters deployed an Emydex quality system dashboard for management and supervisors, providing a centralised view of quality metrics across production. The dashboard consolidates data on batch compliance, audit trails, incident reporting, and corrective actions. Fully integrated with Forrester’s ERP system, it links directly to purchasing and inventory data, ensuring traceability from raw materials to finished products.

3. Automated Audit and Compliance Reporting
A key feature of the Emydex EQMS is its automated compliance reporting. The system generates real-time, auditable compliance reports accessible from any device, dramatically reducing the time required for internal and external audits. Issues are flagged and assigned for resolution, enhancing accountability across departments.

The Results

Since implementing the Emydex Quality Management system, Forresters has significantly improved operational efficiency and quality compliance.

Enhanced Accuracy and Reduced Human Error: Automated digital checklists have replaced manual entries, reduced errors and ensured consistency in quality checks across all lines.

Real-Time Quality Insights: Managers and supervisors can now view quality metrics instantly, enabling quick decision-making and proactive quality control.

Efficient Compliance Audits: Compliance reporting, which previously required days of preparation, is now generated instantly by Emydex, saving time and resources. Audit readiness has also improved, as records are automatically archived and easily accessible.

Improved Traceability: The QMS enables complete traceability from raw material intake to finished product distribution, facilitating stock rotation and maintaining quality at every stage.

Feedback from Key Stakeholders

Dwayne Chin, Head of Technical at Forresters, noted, “The Emydex QMS has been transformative for our business. Our team no longer spends hours sorting through paper logs; we can spot and address issues immediately. Compliance reporting that once took days is now ready in minutes, giving us more control over quality and peace of mind.”

John Acornley, Finance Director, added, “With the Emydex Quality system in place, Forresters have significantly reduced errors and improved our response times. The Emydex automated alerts keep our team informed, and the dashboard makes it easy to stay on top of production quality. It’s been a huge upgrade.”

Summary

The Emydex Quality Management System implemented at Forresters has streamlined operations and reinforced its commitment to delivering high-quality products to its clients. By enhancing workflows, improving traceability, and enabling instant access to quality data, the QMS has empowered Forresters to meet regulatory standards and confidently scale its operations.

Don’t wait! Embrace the future of quality management with Emydex’s Electronic Quality Management Software (EQMS).

If you want to learn more – contact Emydex in any of our global market offices in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, or North America

Request a Demo

A new Dawn for Quality systems

Dawn Meats Group, one of Europe’s leading meat processing companies, sought to streamline its factory-floor Quality Management System with Emydex.

 

Meet the client

Dawn Meats Group is a family-owned business established in 1980 in Waterford, Ireland. The company has grown to become one of the largest and most important beef and sheep processing groups in the industry. The group employs over 8,000 people across twelve countries, including ten sites in Ireland and thirteen in the UK, and exports to over 50 countries worldwide.

Every year, Dawn Meats Group processes over 1 million cattle and 3.5 million sheep, generating more than €2.5 billion in turnover for the company and contributing over €1.67 billion to rural economies through 30,000 farms in Ireland and the UK.

The numbers are staggering, and so is their success.

 

The Opportunity

Dawn Meats developed its own in-house quality management system, which largely relied on manual, paper-based checks throughout its factory floors.

While this was rigorous and helped to maintain the company’s highest quality products, it was inefficient, creating delays, tons of paper, and hours of data entry. The old manual way of working involved lengthy printing, handing out, filling in, returning, checking, countersigning, and storing paper records. On top of that, files had to be physically retrieved in the event of an audit or to trend data.

For the past decade (since 2013), Emydex has been developing an Electronic Quality Management System (EQMS) capable of being used in single plants as well as across multi-plant group processors like Dawn Meats Group

Emydex’s Quality Management System is a software system that allows food processors carry out their factory and food safety quality and audit checks on tablets, reporting instantly in the back-office, replacing all paper-based quality check sheets on the factory floor.

A perfect fit for Dawn Meats Group.

“​We selected Emydex, a long-standing partner of ours, due to Emydex’s understanding of our food production facilities, their excellent software development ability and personal project management delivery,” said Julia Hewerdine, Group Food Safety & Quality Project Manager in Dawn Meats Group.

 

There were several drivers behind Dawn Meats Group’s decision to select Emydex:

 

One System

The first was Emydex gave Dawn Meats Group one single system, with Emydex’s quality module sitting alongside all other Emydex factory floor MES, Production and Warehouse Management modules on one common platform.

“We have worked with Emydex over the past decade on the production and traceability side, so we trust them”, commented John Coleman, Dawn Group Food Safety and Quality Manager.

 

Cloud or On-Premises

The EQMS system can be installed on-premises or in the cloud. Emydex doesn’t force its customers to operate their QMS out of the cloud; they can install it on-prem if necessary.

“Emydex has had a tremendous impact on our shop floor quality data collection on site, as well as safeguarding completion of checks in a scheduled and timely manner.  Its reliability and speed have ensured that workflows carried out have been given full attention, and no corners are cut.” said Alan McCormack, Dawn Meats Technical Team

 

Online and Offline Mode

Another key differentiator is that the system can work offline as well as online for all compatible mobile devices, using local databases. This means operators can switch to offline mode when capturing quality data in areas with poor or zero Wi-Fi coverage.

“Our QA’s like the systems’ ability to save checks within the factory, without needing to return the checks to folders which would previously have occurred. The system’s speed and performance has allowed for more thorough and detailed checks on the line, as well as increasing their time available to carry out additional checks, without needing to carry out tedious admin tasks.”, commented Alan McCormack, Dawn Meats Technical Team.

 

Flexibility

Finally, the system is very configurable in-house including an easy-to-use quality workflow builder tool. This function allows in-house QC personnel (non-IT people) to design and build their own Quality workflows in-house, including QC surveys, QC check-sheets and quality audits.

“I like how their QMS system is flexible, and how we can configure it to how we wanted to work – not something you get with an out-of-the-box solution. This flexibility means we can build our own workflows ourselves, not involving Emydex nor internal IT.” added John Coleman, Dawn Meats Group, Food Safety and Quality Manager.

 

Going Live

The Emydex Quality Management System has been operating in Dawn Meats Group’s Irish & UK facilities for over five years now. Having first gone live in two Irish plants in 2019, today the system is operating in Dawn Meat’s seven primal processing plants in Ireland, as well as a further seven group primal processing plants in the UK, fourteen plants so far, with further roll-outs underway, including three retail processing plants in the UK.

At this point Dawn’s group technical QC team have configured internally almost 500 separate QC workflows in Emydex including for example, Abattoir and Boning Hall pre-op checks, GMP audits, metal detector checks, glass and hard plastic, knife register, and attendance checks etc. Once built centrally, such workflows can then be used across all the group’s sites.

 

The Results

Emydex EQMS helps Dawn Meats Group streamline the QMS processes across its factories and ensure they are working to the most effective QMS system. Standardising the QMS and FSM systems across the group improves compliance and shares best practices throughout all the facilities.

“External auditors have had a positive outlook on the Emydex quality system, frequently commenting on its benefits of generating reports, assigning close-outs, and collating data at a click of a button.” said Alan McCormack, Dawn Meats Technical Team

 

Using the Document Management System included within the system, sites can share generic documents and processes and tailor the specifics to the site. This reduces time lost in writing up documents and figuring out procedures and risk assessments.

The system creates actions, alerts, notifications and alarms in real-time and automatically tells them when they are out of compliance, forcing the immediate implementation of corrective actions.

“The less obvious savings are evident too – less time and effort, fewer mistakes and corrections, reduced hold-ups, etc. I can see if people are making the required quality checks and if they are making them at exactly the right times.” John Coleman, Dawn Group Technical Manager in Ireland

 

It improves compliance and reduces issues in announced and unannounced audits, reducing risk with defective product, product recalls and customer satisfaction.

The Emydex system frees up resources to drive product quality improvements and frees up archive space and storage. It will give central management a holistic view through instant visibility of all factories in one centralised system, making KPI reporting easier and maximising safety, quality and compliance.

“The result is that resources have been freed up. Less paperwork, collection is instant, no errors, less time, no printing, archive space has been freed up, we have instant and easy retrieval of documents – everything has improved and is more accurate.” commented John Coleman, Dawn Group Technical Manager in Ireland

 

Finally, this accurate QMS data can drive operational processes and business decisions, helping continuous improvement by providing instant effect data.

“The Emydex Quality System is an innovative, adaptable software solution which fulfils the needs of Dawn Meats Group and continues to evolve through more areas of our factories, making them fit for the future.”
Julia Hewerdine, Group Food Safety & Quality Project Manager in Dawn Meats Group

 

Don’t wait! Embrace the future of quality management with electronic quality management
software.

If you want to learn more – contact Emydex in any of our global market offices in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, or North America

Request a Demo

Global Impact: How Emydex Software is Transforming the Pork Processing Industry

Emydex Technology has been a cornerstone in the pork processing industry, providing Pork Processing Software solutions that enhance operational efficiency and traceability for pork processors worldwide.

With over 100 years of collective experience supplying factory-floor Traceability and production control software systems to Pork Processors in primal, secondary, and value-added Pork processing plants operating across Ireland, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, Emydex has established itself as a leader in the field.

Here are some highlights of Emydex’s successful partnerships over the past 20 years:

Dawn Pork & Bacon

  • Location: Co. Waterford, Ireland
  • Activity: Primal Pork Processor
  • Emydex Customer Since: 2006
  • Duration: 18 years
  • Achievements: Utilises Emydex software for packing, warehousing, dispatch, sales order processing, and yield reporting. Customised yield reports for specific requirements.
  • Testimonial:
    “The Emydex suite of software plays an integral part in the day-to-day running of our business. The user-friendly system allows production staff to engage fully with it. As a result, the information the system produces is extremely reliable, enabling us to maintain tight control of our yields, stock management, and supply chain.”
    – Billy Leslie, Financial Controller, Dawn Pork & Bacon
    read full story

Mallon’s Foods

  • Location: Monaghan, Ireland
  • Activity: Value-Added Pork Processor
  • Emydex Customer Since: 2012
  • Duration: 12 years
  • Achievements: Implemented a scalable and flexible production management system covering order control, stock control, recipe formulation, traceability, quality control, and yield control.
  • Testimonial:
    “The key point about Emydex software is the standard module offerings are very comprehensive and cover almost everything we need, and if they don’t have specifically what we need, it’s not a major hassle to change it. With the software and the excellent backup and service from all the staff in Emydex, we feel we have the complete package.”
    – Paul Kearney, Mallon’s Foods
    read full story

Oliver Carty

  • Location: Co. Athlone, Ireland
  • Activity: Value-Added Pork & Bacon Processor
  • Emydex Customer Since: 2011
  • Duration: 13 years
  • Achievements: Implemented Emydex’s Warehouse Management System covering Goods Intake, Dispatch, and Stock Control. Fully integrated with Scanvaegt production lines and financial systems for real-time sales order processing.
  • Testimonial:
    “Emydex’s software development team has an in-depth understanding of real-life production issues and continues to offer innovative solutions to Oliver Carty.”
    – Justin Lennon, IT Manager at Oliver Carty and Family
    read full story

Rosderra Irish Meats Group

  • Location: 4 plants in Ireland
  • Activity: Primal Pork Processor (2 plants) and Value-Added Pork Processor
  • Emydex Customer Since: 2014
  • Duration: 10 years
  • Achievements: Implemented Emydex’s Warehouse Management System in three phases, covering Kill line, Boning Hall, Packing, and Dispatch. Fully integrated with their ERP System.
  • Testimonial:
    “Emydex has demonstrated reliability, consistently meeting deadlines and delivering results that have had a tangible impact on our business. Their customer support team is knowledgeable, responsive, and proactive.”
    – Louis Ennis, Group Financial Accountant at Rosderra Irish Meats
    read full story

Staunton Foods

  • Location: Co. Waterford, Ireland
  • Activity: Primal Pork Processor
  • Emydex Customer Since: 2013
  • Duration: 11 years
  • Achievements: Implemented Emydex’s Pig Kill Line and livestock payments system. Significant business growth attributed to Emydex’s support and expertise.
  • Testimonial:
    “During the last 10-year period, we have seen our business grow substantially… this growth would not have been possible without the help and support of Emydex. The team at Emydex were always available to lend their support and expertise to ensure the end goals were met.”
    – John O’Regan, Sales Manager at Staunton Foods Ltd
    read full story

Sunpork

  • Location: Kingaroy, Queensland, Australia
  • Activity: Primal Pork Processor
  • Emydex Customer Since: 2019
  • Duration: 5 years
  • Achievements: Developed a state-of-the-art, fully automated kill line system. Integrated RFID tracking for real-time carcass identification and traceability.
  • Testimonial:
    “The new pork kill line system is significantly more efficient, reducing manpower and doubling output. We have more data capture points on the factory floor to collect real-time manufacturing information, and we have replaced many manual tasks such as populating spreadsheets.”
    – Geoff Miller, Group CFO and Company Secretary, Sunpork Group
    read full story

Wilson Hellaby Ltd

  • Location: Ruakura, New Zealand
  • Activity: Primal Pork Processor
  • Emydex Customer Since: 2022
  • Duration: 2 years
  • Achievements: Delivered customised solutions for mission-critical areas, integrating seamlessly with hardware and software from other providers.
  • Testimonial:
    “Emydex’s innovative approach to software development has solved challenges within our industry where off-the-shelf solutions just don’t exist. Building solutions that cleanly interface and cooperate with hardware and software from other providers is a forte of the Emydex team. We’re looking forward to working with them in the future to improve our business capabilities.”
    – Justin Lee, Chief Financial Officer, Wilson Hellaby Ltd
    read full story

Emydex’s commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction has made them a trusted partner for pork processing companies globally, driving growth and success. 

In 2024, Emydex is proud to share that our Pork Processing customers have an accumulated 103 years of collective tenure, working with Emydex in over 20 plants around the world. This is a testament to the strong relationships we have built and the trust our customers have in our products and services. We are grateful for their continued support.

 

Company
Industry
Plants
Location
Emydex
Customer
Years
Rosderra
Irish Meats		 Pork Primal
Processor		 4 4 plants in Ireland 2014 – 2024  10
Dawn Pork
& Bacon		 Pork Primal
Processor 		 1 Waterford, Ireland  2006 – 2024 18
Staunton Foods Pork Primal
Processor 		 1 Cork, Ireland  2013 – 2024 11
Kepak McCarren Pork Primal
Processor 		 1 Cavan, Ireland 2016 – 2024 8
Cranswick Plc  Pork Primal
Processor 		 1 Ballymena, UK 2016 – 2024  8
Sunpork
Group		 Pork Primal
Processor 		 1 Queensland,
Australia		 2019 – 2024  5
Pork Processor  Pork Primal
Processor 		 4 4 plants in Canada 2016 – 2024 8
Ruakura Meat
Processors		 Pork Primal
Processor 		 2 Auckland,
New Zealand 		 2022 – 2024 2
Oliver Carty Value Added
Pork Processor		 2 Athlone, Ireland  2011 – 2024 13
Arthur Mallon   Value Added
Pork Processor		 1 Monaghan, Ireland 2012 – 2024 12
O’Brien Fine Foods  Value Added
Pork Processor		 2 Rathowen & Timahoe,
Ireland		 2016 – 2024 8

If you want to learn more – contact Emydex in any of our global market offices in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, or North America

Request a Demo

Ditch the Paperwork with Emydex Quality Management

Meat, Fish, and Food Processors Rejoice!
Ditch the Paperwork with Emydex Quality Management

Gone are the days of mountains of paper checklists and spreadsheets! For meat, fish, and food processors seeking a streamlined, efficient, and data-driven approach to quality management, a revolutionary solution has arrived: Emydex’s electronic quality management software (EQMS) system.

This innovative software eliminates the hassle of manual record-keeping, transforming the way you handle quality surveys and workflows.

Here’s how it elevates your operations:

  • Effortless Data Collection: Say goodbye to handwritten forms & excel. Capture quality data electronically on mobile devices, tablets, or computers, saving time and reducing errors.
  • Real-time visibility & notifications: Gain immediate access to quality data across your entire operation. Identify trends, pinpoint potential issues, and make informed decisions faster. Get notified when issues occur in production.
  • Enhanced Compliance: Ensure adherence to food safety regulations and industry standards with pre-built templates and automated workflows. Reduced Paperwork: Reduce paperwork by up to 90%, save storage space, and go green with a paperless system.
  • Improved Collaboration: Share quality data seamlessly between teams, fostering better communication and transparency.
  • Data-Driven Insights: Generate comprehensive reports and analyse trends to identify areas for improvement and optimize your quality control processes.

Realise the benefits:

  • Reduced Costs: Save time and money spent on managing paper-based systems.
  • Improved Productivity: Streamline workflows and free up valuable employee time.
  • Enhanced Food Safety: Proactively identify and address potential risks, ensuring
    the highest quality products.
  • Increased Customer Confidence: Demonstrate your commitment to quality with a
    robust and transparent system.

Meet the customer:

Dawn Meats is a family-owned business established in Co. Waterford, Ireland in 1980, and has grown to become one of the largest and most important beef and sheep processing groups in the industry. The group employs over 8,000 people in dozens of countries, including 10 sites in Ireland and 13 in the UK, exporting to over 50 countries worldwide.

Every year, Dawn Meats processes over 1 million cattle and 3.5 million sheep, generating more than €2.5 billion in turnover for the company and contributing over €1.67 billion to rural
economies through 30,000 farms in Ireland and the UK. The numbers are staggering, and so is their success.

When Dawn Meats wanted to streamline its quality management system operating on its factory floors, it turned to Emydex. Five years later, Dawn Meats in Ireland and its UK division, Dunbia, operate Emydex’s EQMS system in 15 manufacturing plants, across 13 sites.

What’s Unique?

What is unique about the Emdyex EQMS system is its ability to operate across multiple plants, divisions, and geographies. The Emdyex EQMS system is ideally suited for larger, group-type meat, fish and food processors, those like Dawn Meats operating multiple plants, potentially across multiple countries.

For example, the group technical manager for Dawn Meats has a real-time view of quality across the entire organisation from their laptop. The Technical Manager for Ireland has a view of their plants operating Emydex EQMS in Ireland, and the same for their UK technical manager. Equally, each plant technical manager has a view of their plant QC data. Even though the system has been designed with multi-plant processors front of mind, this Quality system is suitable for single-plant/stand-alone food processors also.

In their words!

“Seeking a solution for collecting quality data in an effective, sustainable manner and utilising this data efficiently, Dawn Meats Group partnered with Emydex to deliver an electronic quality management system for the betterment of food safety & quality in our factories.

We selected Emydex, a long-standing partner of ours, due to Emydex’s understanding of our food production facilities, their excellent software development ability and personal project management delivery.

The Electronic Quality Management System is an innovative, adaptable software solution which fulfils our needs and continues to evolve through more areas of our factories, making them fit for the future. I would like to congratulate Emydex on the success of this project and look forward to our continued partnership in the future.”

Julia Hewerdine, Group Food Safety & Quality Project Manager with Dunbia & Dawn Meats Group

 

“The result is that resources have been freed up, saving cost. Less paperwork, collection is instant, no errors, less time, no printing, archive space has been freed up, we have instant and easy retrieval of documents – everything has improved and is more accurate.

We got what we wanted which is improved collection, visibility and use of our data. That instant visibility means we have real-time situation reports. The tangible savings are obvious- less paper and less ink, for example. The less obvious savings are evident too – less time and effort, fewer mistakes and corrections, reduced hold-ups, etc. I can see if people are making the required quality checks and if they are making them at exactly the right times.

Working with Emydex has been great – they understand their system and have been very helpful. Emydex created a system for support that includes excellent on-going communication. We have worked with them over the past decade on traceability, and so we trusted them. I like how their QMS system is so flexible, and how they could configure it to how we wanted to work – not something you get with an out-of-the-box solution. That flexibility meant that we were given artistic license as to how to develop our own workflows.”

John Coleman, Dawn Group Technical Manager in Ireland

 

“The Emydex Quality Management System offers Dawn Meats plants the ability to instantly deliver quality data during customer audits, easing what once before would have been a page-flicking exercise. Auditors have had a positive outlook on the system, frequently commenting on its benefits of generating reports, assigning close-outs, and collating data at the click of a button.

The paperless system has improved its usability, as users often remark how much quicker it is to find specific paperwork. The system’s simplistic layout has also been beneficial for training, as the checks are easily found under Scheduled and Manual Start Action.

The Emydex Electronic Quality Management System has had a tremendous impact on our data collection on site, as well as safeguarding the completion of checks in a scheduled and timely manner.  Its reliability and speed have ensured that workflows carried out have been given full attention, and no corners are cut.

The system, post workflow completion, offers users the opportunity to view data instantly, and if any issues occur, they can be investigated immediately. The Client extends a library of data to be trended, which in an audit, is a useful tool to safeguard compliance with customer standards.

Easing away from paper-based checks, the system has allowed users to access checks timelier, with the ability for the data to be instantly trended for various stakeholders.  Users, especially QA’s, are fond of the ability to save various checks within the factory, without needing to return the checks to allocated folders, which would previously have occurred. Thus, the systems speed and performance has allowed for advancements in thorough checks on the line, as well as increasing their time to carry out additional daily checks, without needing to carry out tedious admin tasks.”

Alan McCormack, Technical at Dawn Meats Group

 

Don’t wait! Embrace the future of quality management with electronic quality management software.

If you want to learn more – contact Emydex in any of our global market offices in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, or North America

Request a Demo