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In the latest episode of Beyond the Shelf, hosted by Laura Foti, we had the pleasure of hearing from Kitty Dowgert, Senior Manager of Specification Program at Taylor Farms. With a diverse career spanning technical sales in agriculture, restaurant ownership, and staff management in an international law firm, Kitty brings a unique perspective to streamlining business operations. Currently, she is deploying a unified specification system across Taylor Farms' multiple user groups and manufacturing plants in the US and internationally, emphasizing the importance of multi-level data visibility.
Below are some highlights from the conversation – you can listen to the full audio on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Soundcloud. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to get the latest episodes as soon as they drop.
Taylor Farms’ Mission
Taylor Farms' mission is simple - to be North America's favorite salads and healthy fresh food maker. Kitty emphasized that Taylor Farms has a significant market presence, noting that one out of every three salads consumed in the US and Canada comes from Taylor Farms products. This impressive statistic underscores their influence in the industry and commitment to providing fresh and innovative products. At their roots, Taylor Farms was founded by farmers who treat their products with immense care. Due to their history, Taylor Farms leverages their agricultural roots for innovation, product variety, and opportunities that aren’t as obvious to companies that solely outsource materials.
Importance of Specifications
In today’s market, specification management has risen in importance. Kitty highlighted that clear specifications are crucial for controlling costs, ensuring production quality, and meeting regulatory requirements. While most consumers don’t think twice about how much packaging is used in their salad kits, Taylor Farms uses lots of little pieces of packaging to keep their ingredients fresh and separated properly. Each piece of packaging adds up when it comes to EPR regulations and packaging taxes. Due to these complexities and others that have been accumulated through different acquisitions, having a strong foundation for specifications is essential for maintaining consistency across various regions and divisions.
Data Management for Sustainability
Kitty discussed how managing data dynamically is critical for their sustainability efforts. With the natural progression of both consumers and governments being smarter, you need to be aware of your environmental impact. You can’t manage what you can’t measure. Thus, accurate data collection allows companies to measure their impact accurately and identify areas for improvement. For instance, lifecycle management tools can help analyze packaging materials' environmental impact and make informed decisions about resource conservation without compromising product freshness.
Technology's Role in Streamlining Processes
Technology plays a pivotal role in streamlining data collection and sharing information across supply chains. Kitty mentioned how tools like Specright facilitate seamless interaction with suppliers and customers while ensuring rigorous data validation processes. This technological integration helps maintain high-quality standards and improves operational efficiency.
Sustainability and Resource Conservation Strategies
Taylor Farms' priority is freshness first, no matter what they do in terms of sustainability. As a result, their sustainability strategy is a comprehensive approach that spans beyond packaging innovations. In addition to packaging optimizations, they prioritize resource reduction and conservation.
Their strategies include:
- Energy independence initiatives
- Waste diversion practices achieving a 92% average diversion rate company-wide
- Soil health investments with 64% organic operations
- Zero waste policies in plants
These efforts collectively contribute to significant environmental benefits equivalent to removing over 30 thousand cars off the road each year.
Advice When Starting Your Specification Management Journey
For those just embarking on their specification management journey, Kitty recommended starting by identifying primary pain points. Then, more robust solutions can be implemented incrementally rather than attempting large-scale changes all at once. Starting small allows companies to find their own time-tested methods tailored specifically towards addressing initial challenges before expanding into more sophisticated data journeys.
Conclusion
Kitty Dowgert provided valuable insights into how effective specification management can help drive innovation and tackle sustainability initiatives. With a global organization like Taylor Farms, technological advancements are crucial for streamlining processes, improving accuracy, and ultimately leading to better decision-making capabilities. Thanks to their centralized data, Taylor Farms can continue operating at the highest level while having confidence about the quality and environmental impact of their products.
Listen to the full podcast episode here for more valuable insights, and connect with Kitty Dowgert on LinkedIn here.
To listen to more episodes of Beyond the Shelf, click here.
