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Précon at No. 1. When asked which company you prefer to do business with, Précon was mentioned most often in VMT's 'Partner of choice' survey. Good to hear that our way of working appeals to you. We are very proud and of course we will continue our services in the same way. Want to read more about the survey? View survey.
Read the interview below:
The consultancy and training firm Précon advises food and non-food companies in the field of quality management. Managing director Marcel Tijhuis talks about the developments in the field and the challenges facing food companies. The most important advice he can give: "Believe in people, invest in your staff, in training. That is so incredibly important. To recruit and retain people, but also to improve your own processes."
"Our mission focuses on making safe and honest products. Of course we don't do that ourselves, our customers do. We support them in that," begins Tijhuis. "I think the main reason we became Partner of Choice as a result is that at Précon we put quality above all else. The customer is central to this. We are not satisfied until our customer excels. I think customers experience that as well. That we don't do half a job and that our people are professionals. We also invest in that, in hiring the right people and in training and coaching. All with the goal that our customers can excel in safe and honest products. And we've been doing that for almost 30 years."
"Traditionally, preparation for client and certification audits is important to us and to the client. But we do see shifts in the challenges clients are facing and thus the issues on which we are consulted," Tijhuis continued. "For example, the need for detailed food information has increased in recent years. This manifests itself in specification management, management of raw material information, recipe construction and final product specification. Because that product information has become so important, it is also increasingly crucial to have the right IT solutions for that."
"In addition, the need for automation of other quality issues is also increasing, such as digitizing checks and hygiene rounds or monitoring follow-up of deviations. Offering a total solution through a comprehensive automated system has therefore become a significant service for us."
'Because product information has become so important, it is also increasingly crucial to have the right IT solutions for that'
According to Tijhuis, what applies to the food sector actually applies undiminished to non-food. "We have also been serving that sector for a number of years. Many non-food products are imported from outside Europe, but must comply with European legislation. To be able to prove that a product is safe and complies with the law, a dossier must be built up. So then, as with food, it's about compliance with laws and regulations and ultimately also about product specifications and product information on labels." "We are very happy that we did the expansion to non-food at the time. Many retailers are increasingly offering non-food under private label as well. Moreover, food safety also plays a role here in some cases. Just think about food contact materials. These are of course important with food, for example when it comes to packaging, but for non-food products such as crockery or cutlery, it is entirely essential that the materials used are safe. With the world of non-food, our expertise has become even greater. That's a great addition for our customers."
"What is also striking is that there is an increasing focus on food safety culture within companies. Perhaps in part because the new GFSI 2020 benchmark mandates that food safety culture must be included in every certification standard. This topic is now also enshrined in legislation. Companies must be aware of food safety culture and also encourage it in a targeted way. We have now developed a culture measurement model to make food safety culture transparent and bring about demonstrable improvement."
'Companies need to be aware of food safety culture and encourage it in a targeted way'
The food sector, like all other sectors, is making a transition in terms of sustainability and health. "It has to," explains Tijhuis, "if we are going to meet the European targets for this. The industry will have to take even more action, for example when it comes to fewer animal products, biodiversity, reduced CO2 emissions and water consumption, and the fight against the obesity epidemic. In the future, sustainability and health will also be an important issue for quality managers. This may not yet be the case at every company. We hold these topics in high regard and are happy to help companies that want to take steps in this regard!"
Sustainability can also have another positive effect. Tijhuis: "We see that there is currently a great scarcity of quality managers. Young people want to work for companies that make sustainability an important issue. But you can do even more to be more attractive to prospective staff. Show them that they can thrive within your company, that you give them the freedom to develop into a skilled professional. In short, that you believe in the power of your people and put them first. Because ultimately they are the ones who have to do it."
This article is also on the VMT website: https://digimagazine.partnerofchoice.nl/vmt_onderzoek_2021/precon
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