IT for plants where a lost lot record can turn into a recall headache

Food & Beverage Manufacturing IT Services

Food and beverage manufacturers have to know, on short notice, which ingredient lots went into which finished goods and where those goods shipped, and when the ERP or the traceability data is unavailable, that question gets very hard to answer.

Talk to Us About Food & Beverage Manufacturing IT 888.792.8080

SOC 2 Aligned

Responsive Support

20+ Years Experience

At a glance

Your plant runs around the clock with production, sanitation and maintenance shifts, while cold storage sensors, label printers and line HMIs all depend on the same network as the front office.

We manage the IT that holds it together: ERP and traceability systems, plant networks, label and scale stations, food safety records and backups.

Line PLCs and equipment controls stay with your maintenance team and OEMs. We support processors and co-packers in Texas and nationwide.

IT that keeps every lot traceable, lines labeling, coolers on watch.

ERP, traceability, label stations and plant networks for processors who answer to buyers, auditors and the FDA.

Food & beverage manufacturing

Traceability only works if the records survive

Food safety plans, lot genealogy and retailer audits all assume your data is there when you need it. Here's what a plant leans on every shift, how processors usually get caught, what we put in place and what a mock recall feels like when IT is working with you.

01 · The pressure

Lots, labels and logs every shift

Receiving logs ingredient lots and supplier certificates into the ERP. Production consumes those lots, and every case comes off the line with a label printed from the same system. QA records monitoring checks for the food safety plan, cooler temperatures stream from sensors, and sanitation documents its own shift overnight. Retail customers expect accurate ASNs and allergen labeling. If the ERP, label stations or temperature monitoring goes down, product gets held, cases get relabeled by hand and a buyer audit gets harder.

Lot genealogy from receiving to shipping
Label and scale stations on the line
Cooler sensors and food safety logs

02 · How it breaks

Plant PCs nobody owns

Plants accumulate orphaned systems. The label station PC runs an old Windows version because the label software vendor never supported a newer one. The temperature monitoring gateway still uses its default password. A shared QA login is used by three shifts. A packaging line OEM left a remote access tool installed after commissioning. Then a ransomware email lands in purchasing, spreads across a flat network and takes down the ERP mid-week, and nobody can say which lots shipped to which customers.

Unsupported label station PCs
Default passwords on sensor gateways
Flat networks from office to line

03 · What we change

Protected records and a zoned plant

We make the ERP and traceability data recoverable with immutable, offsite backups and timed restore tests. The plant network gets separated into office, production, sensor and guest zones at a managed firewall, with line equipment traffic limited to what it needs. Label stations get isolated, locked down and imaged so a failed PC is replaced quickly. Shared logins become named accounts. OEM remote access moves to logged, time-limited sessions. Changes to line PLCs stay with maintenance and the equipment OEM.

Immutable backups for ERP and lot data
Zoned network for line and sensors
Imaged, isolated label stations

04 · The after

Mock recalls that take minutes

When QA runs a mock recall, the lot data is there and the reports pull. If a server fails, a rehearsed restore brings traceability back before the next shipment. Retail and third-party food safety auditors asking about record controls and access get documentation, not shrugs. The plant manager knows an infected office PC won't stop the lines, and the sanitation crew isn't fighting a frozen tablet at three in the morning because someone finally owns those devices.

Lot reports ready for mock recalls
Record controls documented for auditors
Office incidents kept away from lines

Systems we keep running

Aptean Food & Beverage ERP
SAP Business One
Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform
JustFood ERP
BarTender by Seagull Scientific
SafetyChain
Microsoft 365

Rules we help you meet

FSMA Preventive Controls for Human Food (21 CFR Part 117)
FSMA Food Traceability Rule (21 CFR Part 1, Subpart S)
ISA/IEC 62443 (plant network zoning)

What We Offer

Comprehensive solutions tailored for Houston-area businesses

ERP & Lot Traceability Support

Your ERP holds receiving lots, batch records, finished goods genealogy and shipping data. We keep the servers or cloud connections healthy, coordinate updates with your ERP partner around production schedules, protect logins with MFA, and make sure the data needed for a recall can be restored and reported on quickly.

Label & Scale Station Management

Label printers, scale stations and their PCs decide whether a case ships correctly. We isolate them on the network, lock down what they run, keep standard images so a failed station is replaced fast, and coordinate software updates with your label software vendor so allergen and date coding stay accurate.

Plant Network Zoning

We separate office, production, cold chain sensor and guest traffic at a managed firewall, using ISA/IEC 62443 zone concepts. Line equipment only reaches what it needs, such as MES or the label server. PLC programs, HMI changes and equipment settings stay with your maintenance team and the line OEMs.

Cold Chain Monitoring Network Security

Temperature sensors and gateways often ship with default credentials and cloud dashboards nobody audits. We inventory them, change default passwords, put them on their own network segment and make sure alerts reach the right people. The sensors keep reporting; they just stop being an easy way in.

Food Safety Records Protection

Monitoring logs, supplier certificates, sanitation records, corrective actions and FSMA preventive controls documentation are backed up to immutable storage with access limited to the people who should edit them. When an inspector or auditor asks for records, they're intact and you can show who changed what.

OEM & Integrator Remote Access

Packaging and processing line OEMs often need remote access for support. We remove leftover tools from commissioning and give vendors named, MFA-protected access through a jump host that can be opened for a service window. Sessions are logged so you know who connected to which line.

Why Choose LayerLogix?

Serving businesses throughout the Greater Houston area including Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Atlanta, Nationwide.

Faster Answers in a Recall

Protected, restorable lot data means you can trace ingredients forward and finished goods back without rebuilding records from paper. That speed matters to customers, regulators and your own team when a supplier issues a recall.

Lines Keep Running Through Office Incidents

With the plant network zoned, a phishing email that compromises a purchasing laptop doesn't reach line HMIs or label stations. You deal with the office problem while production keeps packing product. Orders still ship while the office side is cleaned up.

Audit Prep Without the Scramble

Retail buyers and food safety auditors increasingly ask about data access, backups and record integrity. Current documentation and backup evidence mean those questions get answered in the audit, not followed up for weeks. QA spends audit week on food safety, not on IT paperwork.

Alerts That Don't Wait for Morning

Office systems, servers and plant PCs that support agents get managed detection and response with 24/7 SOC monitoring. Our engineers work business hours and respond after hours to active incidents, which matters in a plant that never fully stops.

Our Process

Walk the plant across shifts with QA, production and maintenance to map ERP touchpoints, label stations, sensors and vendor tools.

Trace how lot data moves from receiving through shipping and agree on recovery targets that fit your recall and shipping needs.

Install managed firewalls and separate office, production, sensor and guest networks, planning changes around sanitation windows.

Image and isolate label stations, fix default sensor passwords, and replace shared QA and production logins with named accounts.

Set up immutable backups for ERP, traceability and food safety records, then run a timed restore alongside a mock recall.

Document controls and evidence for buyer and food safety audits, and review access, backups and vendors with you every quarter.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does IT affect FSMA compliance?▼

FSMA itself is about food safety, but much of what it requires lives in records. Preventive controls under 21 CFR Part 117 depend on monitoring, verification and corrective action records, and the Food Traceability Rule requires covered companies to keep key data elements for foods on the Food Traceability List and produce them quickly when FDA asks. If those records sit on an unbacked-up server or a PC anyone can edit, the program is fragile. We protect, back up and control access to that data. Your food safety team and counsel still decide what the rules require for your products.

Can you work on our line PLCs or HMIs?▼

No. Line controls belong to your maintenance team, controls contractor or the equipment OEM, because a wrong change there can affect product safety or worker safety. We handle the network those devices sit on. That means putting them in their own zone, allowing only the traffic they need, controlling and logging vendor remote access and backing up configuration files your maintenance team provides. When an OEM needs to update a filler or packaging line remotely, we open a secure, logged session for that window and close it afterward.

What should we do about label station PCs on old Windows?▼

It's common, because label software or printer drivers sometimes lag behind Windows releases. First, ask the vendor whether a supported version exists, since upgrading is the best fix. If it truly can't be upgraded yet, we isolate those PCs on a restricted network segment, block internet access, remove local admin rights, use application control so only the label software runs, and keep a tested image so a failed or infected station is replaced quickly. That buys time safely while you work with the vendor on an upgrade path.

How do we prepare for a ransomware attack in a food plant?▼

Plan for running blind on IT for a while. Decide ahead of time how you'd hold or release product, print labels and track lots if the ERP is down, and write that into your procedures. On the IT side, keep immutable backups of the ERP and traceability data, rehearse restores, segment the plant so office incidents don't reach the lines, and have an incident response contact ready. If it happens, we isolate systems, preserve evidence and restore in your agreed order. Decisions about notifying customers, regulators or law enforcement belong to you and your legal counsel.

Do co-packers face different IT issues than brand owners?▼

Often, yes. Co-packers handle formulas, specs and labels for several brands, so keeping each customer's data separate matters as much as protecting your own. Brand customers may send security questionnaires or require specific file exchange methods. We set up access so each brand's documents are limited to the people working that account, use controlled sharing with expiring links, and keep records of who downloaded what. Brand owners, meanwhile, often worry more about their co-manufacturers' security, and we can help them build sensible questions for those partners.

Can you support plants outside our local area?▼

Yes. Most help desk, monitoring and engineering work is done remotely by U.S.-based engineers, which works well for plants that run multiple shifts. For on-site work like installing firewalls, replacing a label station or running cable in a washdown area, we either handle it near our offices or direct a vetted local technician while our engineer guides the job. That lets us support food and beverage plants across the country without making every repair wait on travel.

Ready to Get Started?

Contact LayerLogix today for a free consultation. We serve businesses throughout Houston, Dallas, Austin, and the surrounding Greater Houston area.

Schedule Free Consultation Call 888.792.8080