Not only is it no sweat whatsoever, but the Boxtac system that FarSoft implemented over a period of four months at Ideafruit has improved pallet accuracy to the max.

It works like this: the Boxtac device is strapped to the operators’ wrists and every box or bag is scanned with a flick of the wrist in real time while building pallets. In the past, the boxes were only scanned when about 20 pallets were full. And only then could the operators identify which boxes were allocated to the wrong pallet.

FarSoft’s Gerhard Nel outlined the system’s other highlights. “Data is captured earlier in the process and thus accuracy is higher. There’s better traceability seeing that each box or bag has a unique serial number generated by Appsource’s carton management system. This in effect means that should a retailer have a problem with the box, the relevant orchard or packer can be identified instantly.

“The Boxtac process essentially is an early warning system when the wrong grade or size of fruit is packed on a particular pallet. This in itself is a major time saver in a packhouse’s chaotic environment. Not forgetting that the early warning system of identifying issues is extremely useful when packing for finicky markets.”

Wessel Fourie, Ideafruit’s system manager, said that pack instructions had become so complex that acquiring the Boxtac system was a no-brainer. “Apart from the obvious security benefit, we love the fact that it has speeded up the capture of pallet information and upped accuracy tremendously.”

He confirmed that Ideafruit had integrated the scanning information into its financial systems as well. “In this instance too, we’re extremely pleased about the information accuracy and speed of pallet registration.”

CAPTION: FarSoft’s Mariska Cubitt joins Ideafruit’s Elvin Linders and Wessel Fourie.