Like most other companies beginning a digital transformation journey, Fonterra—a multinational dairy processor—kept much of its manufacturing data on paper and in several electronic systems. According to Rockwell Automation, which is helping Fonterra digitalize its systems globally, Fonterra data at times could be incomplete or only understood by specific operators familiar with their systems. Data couldn’t be easily contextualized, nor could it be shared with other Fonterra facilities or management. There wasn’t a centralized management process, and version control issues abounded.^[1]

Sound familiar? Some processors are upgrading their existing software systems that have been in place for years with more modern systems capable of taking batch process data to a new level. But they don’t go it alone. Continental Mills sought help from Bachelor Controls Inc. (BCI) to convert its old batch systems supporting single-purpose recipes to data-driven, multipurpose recipes that could provide a significant time savings for recipe development and checkout. And in this case, changeover and implementation took place in a single weekend.