A CFO for agriculture and food manufacturing
A packing line can run a full shift and still earn less per bin. Fruit grade, packout, crew hours and the date the buyer pays all matter. Apex helps Central Valley growers, packers and food manufacturers connect the plant report to margin, inventory and the cash needed for the next run.
Trace one lot from receiving to sale
At a Fresno-area packinghouse, start with inbound weight, saleable cartons by grade, secondary product, culls and shrink. At a processor, use input batches, finished units and scrap. Pick one unit of measure before comparing facilities. Separate a poor incoming lot from line downtime or an expensive packaging run. The remedy and the person who can act are different.
Illustrative example: the same input, fewer saleable cartons
Suppose 10,000 pounds enter a line and 7,200 pounds meet the target pack grade. That is 72% packout for that grade, or 360 cartons at 20 pounds each. At the planned 80%, the same lot would yield 400 cartons. If the shift and line cost stay the same, those costs now fall on 40 fewer cartons. Price any secondary sales separately before deciding whether to reject the next lot, adjust the run or change the quote.
Compare actual labor hours, packaging use and yield with the standard for that item and pack size. Show volume and grade mix separately from rate or efficiency variances. Reconcile lot counts to inventory, including cold storage, in-transit goods and product awaiting a quality decision. A pallet on hold is inventory you cannot promise to a customer.
Fund the season and test the next investment
Build a weekly calendar of grower advances and settlements under the actual agreement, vendor due dates, payroll and buyer collections. For imported product, add deposit and balance dates, currency exposure, freight, duty where applicable and cold-chain lead time to the landed cost. Test a later arrival and a later buyer payment separately: payroll may come due even when product is still in transit.
Before buying another line, compare an extra shift, outside packing and the proposed equipment at the same saleable volume. Include changeover time, available labor, cold-storage capacity and the cash deposit before installation. Apex can help the plant lead and controller turn those assumptions into a facility budget, a seasonal cash forecast and a decision with a review date. Start with one lot reconciliation and the timing of one grower or supplier payment.