Clasen Quality Chocolate backs Beacon for cocoa shipments

Clasen Quality Chocolate has invested in Beacon's supply chain software for its global cocoa operations, using the system across the manufacturer's upstream cocoa import lanes.

The Wisconsin-based chocolate and confectionery ingredients producer is replacing a manual process in which staff logged into individual carrier portals and re-entered shipment information into spreadsheets. As a result, sourcing, supply chain, production and finance teams had been working from different sets of data on container locations and estimated arrival times.

Under the new setup, container and ETA information updates automatically in a single workspace, giving teams a shared live view of cocoa shipments moving across Asia-Pacific and Atlantic import routes.

CQC supplies chocolate ingredients to food manufacturers and retailers, including private-label baking chocolate. Its operations span four manufacturing sites, and its cocoa flows involve multiple origins and long-haul ocean routes.

Accurate shipment information is important because even minor delays or data gaps can affect planning for ingredients moving into production. Previously, staff had to spend time collecting information from carrier systems before they could assess daily supply positions.

Casey Johannesen, Cocoa Sourcing Manager at CQC, described the day-to-day impact.

"I've spent ten years in supply chain. Most mornings, before I could even think about the day ahead, I spent an hour chasing data to find out where my supply was. That work is genuinely gone now. Beacon is one place, one picture, and it updates itself. It's the tool I've been waiting for," said Johannesen.

Data visibility

Beacon's software brings together operational information from different sources into one system for supply chain teams. Customers use the platform to consolidate fragmented shipping and logistics data and create a shared operational picture across departments.

For CQC, that means teams responsible for sourcing, logistics, production planning and finance can now view the same shipment information, rather than each function maintaining separate records. The aim is to improve clarity and consistency in decisions tied to cocoa arrivals.

The arrangement reflects pressure on ingredient manufacturers to manage imported raw materials more closely, particularly when supply chains involve several shipping lanes and variable carrier performance. Cocoa shipments often have long lead times, and changes to transit schedules can affect factory planning and customer fulfilment.

Fraser Robinson, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Beacon, said the cocoa trade presents particular operational challenges.

"CQC runs a serious, complex operation and holds itself to a high standard. Cocoa is one of the harder commodities to move - long ocean transits, multiple origins, variable carrier performance - and having one clean, live picture across all of that makes a real difference to how teams plan and respond," said Robinson.

Operational shift

The investment also reflects a broader shift among manufacturers towards systems that reduce reliance on spreadsheets and manual data entry in logistics operations. In many supply chains, shipment updates are still spread across carrier portals, emails and internal files, creating mismatches between what procurement, operations and finance teams believe is happening.

By moving cocoa shipment information into a single workspace, CQC aims to reduce those mismatches and cut the time spent gathering routine updates. The goal is not only to know where containers are, but also to ensure the same information is available across the business when decisions are made.

That is particularly relevant for a producer serving large consumer goods and retail customers, where ingredient availability can affect manufacturing schedules and delivery commitments. A missed or delayed shipment can create knock-on effects across procurement planning, plant operations and customer orders.

Beacon counts several food and consumer products groups among its customers, including Fever-Tree, Tilda Rice and Tata Consumer Products. Its software is designed to combine supply chain data from external partners and internal teams into one shared operating view.

For CQC, the immediate change appears practical rather than strategic: less time spent checking carrier portals, fewer manually updated spreadsheets and a single source of shipment data for the teams handling cocoa imports.