Quickfire application provides added visibility in private label auditing and helps protect consumers against food-borne contamination.
Alexandria, VA - Jan. 15, 2007 – Agentrics, a leading provider of sourcing, collaboration and product lifecycle management solutions for the world’s largest retailers and their trading partners, today announced a strategic partnership with U.K.-based Muddy Boots Software to improve the retail industry’s ability to develop private label food products and more effectively respond to urgent quality and safety issues. The Muddy Boots Quickfire mobile auditing and quality assurance solution will be available to retailers as part of the Agentrics GenNovation private label management suite. Muddy Boots is the world’s leading provider of food traceability and quality assurance solutions for the agricultural and food industry.
“Most private-labels foods compare favorably with the national brands, however, one area where retailers still lag in comparison to major manufacturers is in the ability to accurately track the source of an ingredient and react quickly to critical food safety issues,” said Kieran Forsey, Agentrics vice president for product lifecycle management solutions. “By offering Muddy Boots Quickfire as part of our private label solution, retailers can now incorporate a higher level of audit control and responsiveness into the product development and launch process.”
Agentrics GenNovation features a comprehensive and customizable set of modules that guide each stage of the product development lifecycle from collaborative project management and artwork design to product introduction, auditing and issues management. The addition of Muddy Boots Quickfire to the Agentrics GenNovation suite allows retailers to better manage their private label ingredients, reduce risks associated with food quality and more effectively address important consumer safety issues.
“With Agentrics GenNovation, we can develop or re-launch more than 4,000 private label products each year,” said David Gregory, head of food technical for U.K.-based retailer Marks & Spencer. “The integrity of the Marks & Spencer brand depends on the quality of each and every one of these products. With Muddy Boots Quickfire supporting our ‘Field to Fork’ initiative, we can better audit our primary producers to ensure the highest standards. This is an essential step to meet our corporate and social responsibility goals for 2007.”
“Retailers cannot take auditing lightly,” said Jonathan Evans, managing director for Muddy Boots. “Outbreaks such as the 2006 E. coli issue in the U.S. demonstrate the need for this level of control in the quality process, as retailers must be able to quickly respond when their store brands might be affected.”
About Muddy Boots
Muddy Boots Software is a leading provider of risk management, quality assurance and food traceability solutions for the global food industry. Muddy Boots has unrivalled experience in developing intelligent, mobile data capture and process auditing software. These systems act as building blocks to help deliver integrated compliance management solutions for the entire supply chain from growers through food processors to the retailer. Muddy Boots serves many top customers in the U.K. and Europe, including Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Unilever and Compass Food service.
About Agentrics
Agentrics serves as the trusted agent for the retail and consumer goods industry by assisting retailers, manufacturers and their trading partners with optimizing shared business processes to more effectively serve the consumer. Our customers rely on Agentrics’ product offerings, unique practical forums and deep domain expertise to drive real business results. In the last six years, Agentrics has generated more than $5 billion in cost savings for our customers by partnering with them on the development and effective use of our technology and services.
Agentrics serves over 250 customers, including 17 of the world’s top 25 retailers, in sourcing, supply chain collaboration, global data synchronization and product lifecycle management. Agentrics customers include Aeon, Ahold USA, Alcampo, Auchan, Best Buy, Canadian Tire, Carrefour, Casino, Chedraui, Coles Myer, Coop Italia, Coop Switzerland, CVS/pharmacy, Dairy Farm, Dansk Supermarked Gruppen, Delhaize Group, Diageo, El Corte Ingles, Food Lion, GlaxoSmithKline, Izumiya, KarstadtQuelle, Kesa, Kesko Food Ltd., Kingfisher, Kroger, Lotte, Makro Asia, Makro S.A., Manor, Markant, Marks & Spencer, Metro Group, Migros, Modelo Continente Hipermercados, S.A., Panasonic, PPR, Publix, REWE Group, Royal Ahold, Safeway, Sainsbury’s, SCA Hygiene Products, Sears Canada, Sears Holdings Corp., Shopko, Smart and Final, Tesco, and Walgreen’s.
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