Press Release

Tyson Foods, Taylor Farms and Sun World International Honored in Second Annual Specright Spec Awards

Winners selected by Specright for efficiency, innovation, and sustainability results achieved by deploying a spec-first approach

Posted on 
September 27, 2024
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TUSTIN, Calif., Sept. 27, 2024 – Specright, the leader in Specification Management software, today announced the winners of its second annual Spec Awards, honoring the change-makers who have successfully implemented a spec-first approach to drive efficiency, innovation, and sustainability within their organization.

Now in its second year, the Spec Awards encourage Specright customers to  showcase how their adoption of a spec-first approach has driven innovation and advanced their digital transformation. Following a thorough evaluation and panel review of all applications, the winners in each category are:

Efficiency Award: Taylor Farms

Taylor Farms, a leading producer of salads and other healthy fresh foods in North America, is on a mission to nourish America. With 20,000+ employees and numerous product lines, Taylor Farms knew it couldn’t continue to manage critical specification data and processes in spreadsheets in email.

Since implementing Specright’s Specification Data Management (SDM) platform in 2018, Taylor Farms has not only expanded its use of a spec-first approach, but also seen improvements in the following areas:

  • Increased Efficiency: Implemented a Change Management process for tracking over 1,500 product changes. Within one year, Taylor Farms significantly reduced communication emails from upwards of 100 per product change, to just 10-20.
  • Improved Data Management: Linked packaging specs to finished products for accurate BlueBox fee reporting and accessible artwork.
  • Business Impact: Enhanced cross-geography information sharing and reduced time spent chasing documents.

“The biggest business impact we’ve seen by partnering with Specright has been breaking down the data silos across our business,” said Kitty Dowgert, Sr. Manager, Specification Program, Taylor Farms. “Being able to seamlessly share and analyze specs across business units and with the confidence that data is accurate, up-to-date, and comprehensive, has been a game changer for our business.”

Next up,Taylor Farms will be incorporating supplier food safety compliance into an easy-to-visualize scorecard using the Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) feature on information already captured in Specright.  

“It’s taking the data we already have and putting it to work for us,” added Dowgert.

Visionary Award: Sun World International

Sun World International, one of the world’s largest specialty fruit variety breeders and global licensors of premium, proprietary varieties, partnered with Specright to centralize and digitize the specification data for all varieties of its table grapes, stone fruit, cherries and other specialty fruit, which amounted to 150+ varieties, with more than 100 characteristics associated with each variety.

Before Specright, Sun World was challenged with disconnected legacy systems, spreadsheets, documents, and other databases that did not integrate to manage their critical specification data. Each department was using their own system, none of which were connected, leading to inaccurate data being shared and a lack of visibility across the organization.

Since partnering with Specright, Sun World has continued its digital transformation journey, by integrating data spanning fruit varieties, licensee information, quality data, and packaging approvals into one platform. This has led to increased efficiency, communication, and a higher frequency of insight sharing across teams.

“While a technology solution, the Specright platform is helping us change the company culture,” said Dr. Jennifer Sanchez, Vice President, Marketing, Sun World International. “The biggest impact we have realized from the spec-first approach is to help people across the organization see how interconnected each department really is. Up until now we have operated in a way that each department is its own entity, with minimal visibility. We can now walk into internal and customer meetings with details and insights that help drive the conversation, rather than going in blind.”

As it looks to expand its use of Specright, Sun World wants to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) features which could help proactively address seasonal and relevant news events, like a hurricane, into their business planning, avoiding affects on one of the 17 countries where they have licensees growing their varieties.

Industry Innovator Award: Tyson Foods

Tyson Foods, the second-largest processor and marketer of meats in the world, is partnering with Specright to transform their data management strategy and drive innovation.

Since implementing Specright’s SDM platform, the three most notable innovation examples to date are:

  • Streamlining Specs: Developing 4-level parent-child relations for packaging specs, reducing data duplication and improving data accuracy.
  • Automating Calculations: Creating packaging and tooling connections to automate material usage and cost calculations, helping prevent mistakes and manual work previously done in spreadsheets.
  • Aligning with Regulations: Ensuring packaging sustainability compliance, tracking government or customer requirements easily.

Honoring Our 2024 Winners

All award winners will be honored at the 2025 Specification Management Summit hosted in Nashville, Feb. 5-7, 2025. Registration is now open and space is limited. Secure your spot today. Early Bird registration ends Nov. 12, 2024  

For more information on Specright’s patented Specification Data Management™ platform, visit https://specright.com/.

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‍About Specright

Specright is the first purpose-built, patented platform for Specification Management. Whether it’s packaging, raw materials, formulas, products, or machines, Specright helps companies digitize, map, and take action across their supply chain to reduce costs, increase profitability, and drive sustainability. Specright serves customers across industries, including packaging, food and beverage, consumer packaged goods, pharmaceutical, retail, industrials, and more. Recognized as a leader in Specification Management, Specright was named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies for 2023, had three executives honored as Supply & Demand Chain Executive Pros to Know in 2023 and won Food Logistics’ 2022 Top Software & Technology Provider award. For more information, visit: www.specright.com.

For media inquiries, contact:

SHIFT Communications

specright@shiftcomm.com

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