The Thai Food Processor Association (TFPA) is encouraging local food businesses to use IT, suggesting customer relationship management (CRM) could improve business efficiency.

Kitinon Wangpattanamongkol, TFPA representative and general manager of Hi-Q Food Products, said CRM can help companies keep track of their customer base as well as manage costs more efficiently and provide sales analysis.

"Food businesses can utilise the technology to set up a call centre for emergency calls to serve customers' requirements, as consumer consciousness is higher than ever before," said Kitinon.

Santi Suraratana, a radio frequency identification system (RFID) expert from the Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa) said RFID can play an important role in the industry as it can help track food.

To show the potential of the technology, he said the agency had initiated a pilot project using RFID to help enhance the agricultural supply chain of jasmine rice.

The project was initially conducted in three provinces - Roi Et, Khon Kaen and Maha Sarakham - and should eventually allow vendors and consumers to trace where the rice was actually milled and how it was transferred before being shipped to overseas markets.

To enable the effective application of the technology to jasmine rice production, the agency has been studying the crop's manufacturing process, supply chains, and distribution as well as its logistics cycle.

"This can also support the plan to turn Thailand into the 'kitchen of the world' as the move will help ensure food safety for rice consumers worldwide. It will enhance the reputation of Thai rice as a premium grade product," said Santi.

Large-scale producers of agricultural products, such as the Betagro group, have already adopted Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and electronic tracing to improve its chicken business, according to the company's Information Technology Centre director Nikorn Eamvorasombat.

 The GIS information allows the company to trace the farm the chickens originally came from.

In a drive to improve customer confidence, Nikorn said the firm is now planning to implement a tracing system to allow consumers to track food products purchased from Betagro back to their origin.

Jirapan Boonnoon

The Nation