Frequently Asked Questions

Ingredient #ABCD1234 is out of stock at plant 5, how can I reformulate the products at this plant excluding this ingredient, without having to remove it from all Product Specifications?

Ingredient #EFGH5678 is in-stock but I do not want it used in Product #A, nor do I want to delete it from the product specifications. Is there a means to handle this?

How sensitive is my broiler-starter diet to a 5% increase in the minimum protein requirement, in increments of 0.25 %? How will this change affect the formula cost, and how does the least cost formula vary in ingredient usage at each increment?

Some of my formulas are “fixed” and are seldom changed. How does the system handle fixed formulas?

I have many formulas that are intermediate feeds (i.e. premixes) that are to be used as an ingredient in yet other formulas. How does the CFC Formulation system maintain the linkage between these ingredients and formulas?

Can I search my entire product file for usage of certain ingredients?

Least cost formulas are invaluable to me, but I need to anticipate an adequate supply of ingredients to support projected manufacturing tonnages. Often, I get requests for an ingredient usage projection for specific products and tonnages. Is there a quick way to project my requirements?

Often I have found least cost formulas containing one or more ingredients at less than practical levels. Can this problem be avoided in Concept5?

I have many formulas to review to determine which trial formulas to release to production. Can Concept5 simplify this time-consuming task?

How do I maintain variations such as drug or ingredient additions in formulas?

Some of my feeds are custom-designed and contain combinations of more than one product and/or ingredient. In order to make one final formula, I have to "take apart" and combine products with others. This is a very tedious process. Can Concept5 help in this process?

What are "Browse" Features and why are these important?

Our company needs to link corporate, field and regional systems; production formulation; accounting, billing, inventory and mixing systems. Can CFC assist with these projects?

I do not want certain ingredients to change in use more than a certain amount when I reformulate a product. Can these changes be controlled in Concept5?

Ingredient #ABCD1234 is out of stock at plant 5, how can I reformulate the products at this plant excluding this ingredient, without having to remove it from all Product Specifications?

This may be accomplished by using the "Out-Of-Stock" setting for the ingredient (in this case ingredient #ABCD1234). Each ingredient is marked as either "IN" or "OUT" of stock by plant (in this case plant 5). After marking ingredient #ABCD1234 as "Out-Of-Stock" at plant 5, any product that is re-formulated will not use this ingredient. The ingredient will not be allowed in any formula in plant 5 even though it may still be included as a candidate ingredient with min and/or max specifications. The "Batch Formulation" feature may be used to facilitate this process.

Ingredient #EFGH5678 is in-stock but I do not want it used in Product #A, nor do I want to delete it from the product specifications. Is there a means to handle this?

Yes, on the “Buffered Formulation” screen, simply flag the ingredient as “Suppressed” and re-formulate. The ingredient will remain in the specifications, but will not be allowed for use in the formula.

On the “Buffered Formulation” screen, select the “Nutrients” tab, click the protein minimum value, then select “Parametrics”. This is just one of many parametrics options available on both the Single Product and Multiple Product Formulation screens.

Some of my formulas are “fixed” and are seldom changed. How does the system handle fixed formulas?

On the “General” tab of the Product Maintenance screen, check “No” to the question “Allow Least Cost?” All formula changes must then be made by selecting either “Trial” or “Production” formula View/Modify.

On the Ingredient Maintenance screen, check “Yes” to the question “Is Ingredient Also a Formula?”, then enter the Plant and Product code for the corresponding "intermediate feed" formula. On the Product Maintenance screen of the intermediate feed, check “Yes” to the question “Save Production Formula as an Ingredient?”, then enter the Ingredient code. Once this linkage is established, any changes to the formula will result in an immediate update of the nutrient content and cost of the linked ingredient.

Can I search my entire product file for usage of certain ingredients?

Yes, select “Search Functions” from the Main Menu, followed by “Ingredient Search”.

Yes. Select “Product String Maintenance” from the Main Menu, then add (or modify) a group (“String”) containing a list of product codes and required tonnages to reflect the specific products desired. Then select “Requirements Projection” from the Main Menu. When the “Product Selection Option” frame appears, select “Group” (String) of Products”and select the desired product string.

Often I have found least cost formulas containing one or more ingredients at less than practical levels. Can this problem be avoided in Concept5?

These “practical levels” in Concept5 are referred to as “Production Minimums”. For various reasons, certain ingredients must be at or above a designated minimum amount when used in a product. Assigning minimum restrictions for these ingredients in each formula is one solution but it may not be the most economical approach.

The "Resolve Ingredient Production Minimums" feature allows the user to tie a minimum amount restriction (by weight) directly to an ingredient, and if a least-cost solution prefers an amount less than the specified minimum, the product is re-formulated two more times: first, at the ingredient minimum and, second, with the ingredient suppressed. The most economical formula of the two is chosen as the desired solution.

This feature can be activated for Batch Formulation, Buffered Least Cost Formulation and the Multiple Product Optimization (optional module).

I have many formulas to review to determine which trial formulas to release to production. Can Concept5 simplify this time-consuming task?

Yes. Select “Batch Formulation” from the Main Menu, and specify which products you wish to reformulate. Following the formulation run, a “Worklist” will appear on the screen. The worklist shows all the products requested in the batch formulation run. The New Form column displays the ingredient cost of the new run. The Prod'n Form column displays the ingredient cost of the stored production formula (a red number in this column indicates a violation between the current specifications and the stored production formula). The Savings column is the production formula cost minus the new formula cost. If desired, you may save the worklist for recall at a later time. An individual formula may be viewed and/or modified in the "Buffered Formulation" screen by highlighting it and selecting the "View Formula" button.

How do I maintain variations such as drug or ingredient additions in formulas?

Use the Derivative Formula feature of Concept5. This saves time by avoiding the maintenance of separate specifications for formulas that are only slightly different from others. Products can be created as “Derivatives” allowing the definition of base/derivative relationships. This permits the formulation of one base product, with the automatic generation of one or more additional formulas with specified additions and/or deletions of medications or other ingredients.

Yes, select “Formula Combine” from the “Tools” menu item at the top of the Main Menu.

What are "Browse" Features and why are these important?

Browse/Edit is a utility that allows you to view and/or change a specific data element associated with Ingredients or Products.

Our company needs to link corporate, field and regional systems; production formulation; accounting, billing, inventory and mixing systems. Can CFC assist with these projects?

Check out the “Data Exchange” feature of Concept5. Any or all data may be exported to ASCII files.

I do not want certain ingredients to change in use more than a certain amount when I reformulate a product. Can these changes be controlled in Concept5?

Yes, on the “Ingredient” Tab, in the Buffered Formulation Screen, enter the maximum change allowed in the ‘Max Chg' column.