Background

With products shipping globally and customer demand surging, Shepherd Foods recognized the importance of maintaining high food safety standards. They earned their SQF certification, a key industry benchmark for food safety, but as audits and compliance requirements increased in complexity, they needed a smarter way to manage documentation and ongoing tasks.

Founder Chad Shepherd knew that the company’s manual file handling system wasn’t scalable for the pace and scope of their operations.

The Challenge

• File Recall Difficulties: Locating documents during audits or customer reviews was time-consuming and disorganized.

• Manual Task Management: Team members lacked a structured system for keeping up with regular SQF tasks and records.

• Growing Compliance Demands: The company needed a platform that could scale with its audit and documentation needs.

• Audit Readiness Pressure: Customers and auditors expected instant access to logs, reports, and procedural records.

The Solution

Shepherd Foods implemented NORMEX to digitize and simplify their entire food safety documentation process:

• Automated Task Reminders: The platform alerts the team when specific compliance actions or record updates are due.

• Centralized Document Storage: All SQF-related files are stored, organized, and easily retrievable in seconds.

• Audit-Ready Anytime: Whether it’s a scheduled audit or a surprise customer visit, documentation is always ready.

• Supportive Partnership: Chad emphasized the friendly, knowledgeable, and SQF-experienced NORMEX team as a major benefit.

The Results

•  Streamlined file management, making audits smoother and faster
•  Improved accountability for recurring food safety tasks
•  SQF compliance maintained with confidence and efficiency
•  Responsive support team, making the system both user-friendly and reliable
• Affordability that aligns with operational goals without sacrificing quality

Conclusion

For Chad Shepard and his team, NORMEX isn’t just software - it’s a reliable partner in maintaining the highest food safety standards while focusing on what they do best: building, freeze-drying, and packing world-class products.

“It helps us manage the whole system. It alerts us when we need to do certain tasks and keeps all those records organized... I’d recommend NORMEX because the people behind the scenes are knowledgeable, customer-oriented, and affordable.” - Chad Shepherd, Founder, Shepherd Foods