• To keep a business "alive", profitable and with an extensive portfolio of quality products, there are two aspects that any manufacturer should consider: process automation and expansion through own store networks, when the business has reached an optimal level, which allows this national or even international development.
automation
Automation is a recommended solution whether the business is just starting out or has a history behind it. In the context the acute lack of personnel that the bakery industry has been facing in recent years, automation replaces or helps the execution of various processes much easier and faster. "At the level of the country, the shortage of personnel is very large, of several thousand, and then such a business can only be maintained and developed by automating the technological processes at large factories, and at small factories by a greater differentiation between the factory price and the price of artisan bakery", says Aurel Popescu, president of ROMPAN.
Considering the popularity of traditional and artisanal bread, the labor force should be oriented towards the manufacture of these types of products, to be sold at a higher price, to be able to support the payment of the employees. And in large companies, where there is high production capacity, “automation could help reduce costs for certain bakery products (eg labor costs). Low-income consumers are thus guaranteed access to good-quality but inexpensive bread and bakery specialties, while labor can be redirected to making popular, artisanal products aimed at higher-income consumers that can generate profit to the company", explains Albert László, general manager of the Harmopan Company. The manufacture of artisanal products cannot be 100% automated, because, for example, in the case of modeling the dough, "what the hand does, the machine does not do", believes Kobai Elek, administrator of the Eldi Bakery in Mureş county. Automating this process would be at the expense of quality, but for other work phases automatic operation is the solution. In other words, "every aspect of the technology must be carefully analyzed so that the quality does not suffer and at the same time we benefit from the advantages of industrial lines and facilities to ease the physical work of the operator. For example, the bread is not any better if the operator carries bags of flour on the back versus automation through silos", says Adina Bugescu, pre-sales manager at Prospero Bakery in Timișoara.
Investing in automatic equipment solves both production and delivery time issues, product volume, and workforce issues. "Because vocational schools and apprenticeships have disappeared, it is increasingly difficult to find craftsmen or young people who want to learn this beautiful profession of baking," emphasizes the administrator of the Eldi Bakery.
Expansion through own store networks
Expansion through own store networks is another way a business can develop. Many Romanian companies took advantage of this opportunity, thus having the possibility to address a larger number of consumers. Administrator Kobai Elek believes that opening own outlets is the best solution, and stores must be "clean, well-lit, with proper furniture and well-trained staff" to really add to the business. Also, the president of ROMPAN believes that, in order to be successful, it is good for the newly opened stores to sell other products complementary to bread. Unfortunately, access to European funds does not allow this, but "our association is fighting for this aspect to be included in the new National Rural Development Plan".
Even if everything seems to make sense on paper or in the minds of the producers and there is also the desire for development, we must recognize that financial resources are essential. Without (enough) money, it is not possible to expand the business through own store networks, as this involves various expenses and expensive purchases: rent/purchase of space, equipping, employees, utilities, etc. Funding sources they are diverse and certainly each entrepreneur has the ability to choose what benefits him better. "A network of own stores does not manage itself, it involves large personnel resources and important associated costs. I think it depends a lot on the local market, on the competition and not least on the development plan of the owners", concludes Adina Bugescu from Prospero.
