Dakota WMS for Food Distribution
Purpose-Built for Food Safety and Freshness
Dakota WMS has served food distributors for over 25 years. Our system understands expiration dates, lot tracking, catch weights, and HACCP compliance—because that's what we were built for.
Food Distribution Capabilities
Expiration Date Management
Dakota enforces date rules at every step. When product arrives, the system checks distributor days and end-user days against your customer's requirements. Yellow and red warnings prevent short-dated product from entering inventory without manager approval.
Date Validation Features:
- Configurable distributor day requirements per customer
- Configurable end-user day requirements per customer
- Visual warnings (yellow, red) at receiving
- Manager override with audit trail
- FEFO (First Expired, First Out) pick logic
Lot Tracking and Recall Support
Every case, pallet, and shipment is traceable. When a recall hits, you can identify affected inventory and customers in minutes, not hours.
Traceability Features:
- Lot capture at receiving
- Lot preserved through putaway, pick, and ship
- Recall query by lot, date range, or vendor
- Customer notification lists
- Regulatory reporting support
Catch Weight Handling
Meat, poultry, seafood, and produce are sold by weight but ordered by count. Dakota manages both, calculating extended weights at receiving and allocating by weight at shipping.
Catch Weight Features:
- Capture weight at receiving
- Average weight calculation
- Weight-based allocation
- Tolerance checking
- Label printing with actual weights
Temperature Monitoring
For cold chain compliance, Dakota can log temperature readings at receiving and integrate with facility monitoring systems.
Compliance Support
FSMA and HACCP
The FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act requires traceability and documentation. Dakota provides:
- Complete chain of custody records
- Receiving inspection logging
- Temperature documentation
- Supplier verification support
- Audit-ready reports
Customer Audits
When your customers audit your operation, Dakota provides the documentation they need:
- Lot traceability reports
- Date compliance reports
- Receiving inspection records
- Pick accuracy metrics
- On-time shipping performance
Core Workflows
Receiving
- GS1-128 barcode scanning extracts lot and date automatically
- Date validation against customer-specific rules
- Catch weight capture for variable-weight items
- Damage and shortage documentation
- Putaway label generation
Inventory
- FEFO rotation enforcement
- Lot status management (hold, release, quarantine)
- Expiration alerts and reports
- Cycle counting with lot verification
- Adjustment tracking with reason codes
Order Fulfillment
- FEFO allocation ensures oldest-first rotation
- Catch weight allocation by requested weight
- Substitution rules for out-of-stock items
- Customer-specific labeling requirements
- Stop-sequence loading for multi-stop routes
Shipping
- Weight manifests for delivery verification
- Temperature documentation for cold chain
- Proof of delivery capture
- Returns processing with lot tracking
Why Food Distributors Choose Dakota
| Challenge | Dakota Solution |
|---|---|
| Short-dated product reaching customers | Date validation with visual warnings at receiving |
| Recall response takes too long | Lot traceability queries return results in minutes |
| Catch weight inaccuracies | Weight capture and tolerance checking |
| Failed customer audits | Comprehensive documentation and reports |
| FIFO/FEFO compliance | Enforced at allocation, not just suggested |
Customer Success
Dakota serves food distributors across:
- Produce and perishables
- Meat and poultry
- Dairy and frozen
- Beverage distribution
- Foodservice distribution
- Grocery and retail
Our customers range from regional distributors to national food companies, processing millions of cases per week.
Implementation Approach
Assessment: We review your current operation, customer requirements, and compliance needs.
Configuration: Dakota is configured for your date rules, lot requirements, and catch weight items—no custom programming required.
Data Migration: Item masters, customer files, and vendor records are migrated with validation.
Training: Your receiving clerks, pickers, and supervisors learn the system with role-based training.
Go-Live Support: Our team is on-site for your first week of live operation.
Contact
Ready to see how Dakota handles food distribution?
Email: sales@dakotawms.com Phone: 1-800-DAKOTA-WMS Web: www.dakotawms.com/food
Dakota WMS - Built for Food Safety