Since 1937, Deardorff Family Farms has been providing customers with the freshest, best-tasting fruits and vegetables available while following honest and ethical business practices. Deardorff is committed to engaging in sustainable business practices that balance economic, environmental, and social outcomes. This involves implementing business and farming practices that conserve natural resources and energy, protect the environment, and enhance relationships with employees and local communities.
When Deardorff Family Farms moved to their new, larger, state-of-the-art facility in Oxnard, CA, they increased their space and quickly increased their product throughput. Their cold storage space doubled, increasing their pallet storage capacity by 75%. Deardorff also doubled their shipping volume, which led to a 20% increase in employee hours. With all these factors combined, the need for more efficient tracking of product lines and inventory management at Deardorff became increasingly apparent.
The former paper-based pick-ticket system allowed for multiple errors and paperwork, so it was no longer viable.
“Fulfilling orders with handheld devices instead of pick tickets created invaluable operational efficiencies,” said Scott Deardorff, Vice President of Deardorff Farms. “Not only did it cut down on paperwork but increased accuracy for loading, essentially eliminating misloads.”
Deardorff Farms needed a system that allowed for visibility into the efficiency of their workforce. The ability to better understand which workers and what machines were being efficient and where would mean better deployment of people and machinery for optimal performance. Also, achieving PTI compliance was a significant milestone for Deardorff Farms, reinforcing their commitment to executing consumer-conscious farming business practices.
Before implementing a modern inventory management and data collection system, they were concerned that an automated inventory and shipping system would be difficult and costly. They needed a solution that would be easy to implement and manage.
Deardorff Farms values food safety, so it wanted to implement a system that enabled PTI compliance to support its mission of implementing consumer-conscious farming business practices.
After evaluating many solutions from other vendors, Deardorff selected RedLine Solutions for its advanced produce traceability and inventory control solutions. Deardorff felt confident about the RedLine Solutions team because of our 17-year history of providing traceability solutions and because RedLine had been chosen by over 150+ growers, packers, and shippers.
In addition, RedLine’s unique integration with Famous, the grower accounting system already being used by Deardoff Farms, was a key requirement. This integration made training and implementation of the new system fast and easy. The system was configured to Deardorff’s needs; no customization was needed. RedLine’s user-friendly mobile scanners enable location tracking at a granular level, allowing workers to know exactly where the product is in their dense environment. Redline helped redesign Deardorff’s pallet tags, making them easier to read and more functional. RedLine also provided a new level of food-safety tracking, giving complete visibility into the data for the entire process from when a pallet is packed through all storage locations and shipping.
Since Deardorff Family Farms deployed RedLine Solutions, they have experienced a significant increase in their operational efficiencies.
“RedLine Solutions has allowed us to track and measure employee performance and resource allocation. We now operate at a whole new level of efficiency that saves time and money. With RedLine Solutions products, Deardorff Family Farms is a more efficient and profitable company.” Scott Deardorff, Vice President of Deardorff Farms
For 27 years, RedLine Solutions has been the trusted partner in inventory and traceability for fresh produce stakeholders across North America. Serving a myriad of commodities, we tailor solutions to your workflow. Our offerings, from hardware to software, coupled with deep expertise, ensure your produce operations management is in the best hands.
