Last month, Harvest Food Solutions joined the baking industry for the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) – the grain-based industry’s largest most comprehensive event.

For many attending (including us!) it was the first such gathering since the pandemic – with face-face meetings with long-time customers and friends in the industry, and it felt good to get back to a semblance of normality. The new building had a steady flow of professionals from the bakery industry throughout the exhibition floor.

It was a meeting of the smartest minds in the industry, and a chance to see the latest innovations that will change how bakeries do business. Some may become mainstream before we gather for the next IBIE!

Our key highlights from the week include:

Our second award winning solution

Harvest Advanced Manufacturing for Bakeries was awarded our second Innovation Showcase Award, the last one being in 2019 for Harvest DSD. We had the opportunity to showcase the software to others in the industry and were heartened by the responses received, further cementing our belief that this was something the industry needed.

Image credit: BakingBusiness.com

Proof of strong partnerships

We’ve always prided ourselves on the strength of our partnerships, and having multiple partners at our booth was proof in the pudding. Visitors to Harvest’s IBIE booth not only saw our solution, but also:

• ACSIS Visibility Solutions for the Extended Supply Chain, with the chance to experience an RFID demo in person
• Honeywell Retail and Productivity Solutions.
• SOTI Mobile Device Management (MDM), and SOTI experts were there to share the benefits of SOTI MobiControl

With our partners’ engaging displays and customer demos, the Harvest booth was teeming with activity, complete with engrossing and informational conversations with existing customers and other attendees. Of course, a key topic of choice was changing industry in the last couple of years and trends we foresee heading our way.

Technology taking center stage

Since the last IBIE, bakery businesses have not only had to deal with the pandemic, but also labor shortages, shipping delays, supply shortages, to name a few. As a result, we noticed attendees and other IBIE vendors show an increased focus on equipment and automation to help their businesses survive and thrive. The importance of data and how to use it to extract valuable information about the business to make informed decisions was also a hot topic. The adoption of AI and several real use cases to improve efficiency in the customers manufacturing processes indicated how the bakery industry can benefit from equipment and automation to help resolve their workforce issues.

Sustainability

Another point of discussion was how the bakery industry can embrace sustainability, including reducing food waste, improved packaging, and sourcing. This was also in line with increasing customer interest in asset management with RFID enabled containers

That’s a wrap!

That’s a wrap on IBIE 2022 from Harvest Food Solutions and our partners! We really valued the opportunity to catch up with so many people from the bakery industry in one place, and the chance to meet old and new faces. IBIE is a great opportunity to put a pulse on the industry, and helps us ensure that we are delivering solutions that meet the needs of today, as well as those of tomorrow.

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