Initial training during the onboarding phase (pre-Go-Live)
Refresher trainings after major releases or process changes
Optional advanced training for BI, reporting, or integrations
Ongoing support
Remote support (phone, email, ticket portal) with defined SLAs
On-site support as needed, especially during critical go-live periods
Knowledge base and self-service portal with FAQs and troubleshooting guides
Training for new hires as part of your standard onboarding
Security Measures
Access control and identity management
Role-based access control (RBAC) with least privilege principles
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) options
Granular permissions for sensitive data (recipes, pricing, financials)
Data protection
Encryption at rest and in transit (TLS in transit, AES-256 at rest or equivalent)
Secure key management for encryption keys
Data masking for sensitive fields in non-prod environments
Compliance and governance
Support for industry standards relevant to bakeries (FSMA/HACCP traceability, SQF, etc.)
Audit trails for data changes, user activity, and configuration changes
Change control processes for software updates and configuration changes
Data residency and privacy
Options for data residency or regional data centers (if cloud-based)
Privacy features to handle personal data per region ( GDPR/CCPA where applicable)
Security operations
Regular vulnerability scanning and patching cadence
Intrusion detection/log monitoring (SIEM) and incident response procedures
Backup and disaster recovery planning with RPO/RTO definitions
Vendors and third-party risk
Third-party risk assessments for integrations (ERP, WMS, eCommerce)
Secure API practices and access management for integrations
Updates
Update cadence
Public releases typically occur on a quarterly to biannual basis, with smaller security patches as needed
Major version upgrades may be scheduled annually or biannually, depending on the vendor
Types of releases
Security patches and bug fixes (urgent as needed)
Feature updates and enhancements (user-requested or roadmap-driven)
Regulatory/compliance updates to support new standards
Performance and reliability improvements
Release management process
Staging/test environment provided for validation before production
Release notes with new features, changes, and potential impact
Backward compatibility considerations and deprecation timelines
Optional or controlled upgrade windows to minimize production disruption
Deployment approach
Cloud/SaaS: automatic or controlled-rollout with maintenance windows; customer can often choose maintenance windows
On-premises: vendor-led or partner-led upgrade services with a formal project plan
Data Ownership and Portability
Data ownership
Confirm that your organization owns all data you input into the system, including production data, inventory, recipes, customer data, and transactional records.
Check who owns data backups and archived data, and how ownership is handled during vendor transitions.
Data access and export rights
Ensure you have ongoing access to your data in a machine-readable format (e.g., CSV, JSON, XML) during the contract term and after termination.
Clarify the formats, data schemas, and any data transformation required for export.
Data portability timeline
Define a clear window for data export at contract end (e.g., 30/60/90 days).
Confirm whether ongoing data export is available during the wind-down period and any associated costs.
Data retention and deletion
Specify retention periods for different data types (e.g., production records, audit logs).
Define secure data deletion processes and verification (certificate of data destruction, if applicable).
Scaling Up / Down
Flexibility in licensing and capacity
Define how licenses scale (per user, per production line, per site) and whether scale changes can be made mid-term.
Clarify lead times and any minimum/maximum term constraints when scaling.
Price and contract impact
Provide transparent pricing implications for scaling up (new seats, new sites, additional modules) and downsizing (cancellation of licenses, data retention charges).
Include provisioning timelines for new users or sites (e.g., 2–6 weeks)
Data and system impact
Ensure scalability changes do not disrupt ongoing operations; confirm whether downtime is required for license changes.
Address migration of new modules or integrations when expanding.
Service levels during scale changes
Confirm whether Support SLAs remain the same during scale-up/down or if there are adjustments.
Renewal and mid-term amendments
State whether scaling is allowed only at renewal or also as a mid-term amendment, with corresponding pricing.
The terms & conditions for contract renewal and cancellation
Renewal structure
Auto-renewal vs. opt-in renewal, renewal notification periods, and any price escalation clauses.
Length of renewal terms (monthly, yearly, multi-year) and any discounting for longer commitments.
Termination rights
Termination for convenience vs. for cause: notice periods, qualifying events (breach, insolvency, material failure).
Early termination penalties, if any, and how unused licenses or services are charged.
Data return and deletion on termination
Timing and method of data export upon termination.
Post-termination data access window and any ongoing data hosting or archived data handling.
Transfer and transition assistance
Availability of data migration services to a successor system or vendor and any transition Support.
Fees and refunds
Proration for partial terminations, any termination fees, and refund eligibility.
Service levels during wind-down
Continued support levels during transition, any restricted access, or SLA changes.
Intellectual property and customizations
Ownership of custom configurations, reports, or integrations developed during the contract, and rights to continue using them after termination.
Compliance
SOC 2 Type II reports or other independent security attestations.
Encryption standards for data at rest and in transit (e.g., AES-256, TLS 1.2+).
Industry-specific compliance
Alignment with FSMA, HACCP, SQF, GFSI, or other global/local food safety and traceability standards.
Support for lot/batch traceability, allergen management, recall readiness, and audit trails.
Privacy regulations
GDPR/UK GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, and other regional data protection requirements if you operate in those regions.
Data subject rights handling (access, rectification, erasure) and related operational processes.
Data residency and sovereignty
Data storage location options and any geo-restrictions.
Requirements for data backups, DR sites, and cross-region replication.
Availability and resilience
Uptime commitments (SLA), RTO (recovery time objective), RPO (recovery point objective).
Business continuity plans and disaster recovery testing cadence.
Incident response
Time-to-detect and time-to-respond commitments, notification timelines, and cooperation with your incident response team.
