Sustainability is vital for the food and beverage industry because of the deep impact it has on the consumer psyche, which prefers companies that improve the planet and its population's health instead of those which pursue profit.
While there are several ways the food and beverage industry can drive sustainability and achieve it, complying with regulatory, societal, financial, and ecological changes is often a challenge. For instance, as the need and preference for organic food increase, product and quality sustainability is becoming the new norm for the food and beverage industry.
For this two-fold sustainability to become an integral part of any food and beverage company's fabric, embracing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions is, arguably, the safest bet. An ERP solution gives a clear-cut competitive upper hand, increases customer satisfaction, and boosts process efficiency. And when it comes to sustainability, there are five key ways an ERP solution particularly designed for the food and beverage industry can make this happen:
Waste Reduction - It is estimated that around 20-30% of the world's food is wasted every year. Food and beverage-specific ERP solutions can help you manage the shelf-life of products, inventory and production planning. Taken care of, these will reduce food wastage, leading to increased efficiency. The idea is to help you calculate how much food is being wasted and locate where the waste is coming from—wrong packing, handling, leakage, carriage or decomposition. An ERP solution can help track where the issue is and how much product is being wasted. Once identified, you can lessen or completely eradicate that process in forthcoming production.
Efficiency – Inefficient processes result in revenue losses. In the food and beverage industry, this statement has profound significance because of the minimal margins that characterize companies in this space. A food and beverage industry-specific ERP, on the other hand, eliminates manual errors and delays to make processes automatic and efficient. An ERP solution, without any human intervention, makes the entire process chain simple by collecting real-time data. The insights an ERP solution's business intelligence provides helps companies make data-driven strategic decisions accurately and quickly.
Forecasting Supply, Demand, Logistics, and Route optimization – A unique characteristic of the food and beverage industry is how on-the-go alterations are made in processes to cater to changing customer requirements. A food and beverage industry-specific ERP solution enables data exchange without human interference. Instead, it automatically makes the changes to the production line and ensures on-time delivery. An ERP solution also helps to automatically detect whether there is any space available for the left load and make sure that specific conditions are fulfilled. Additionally, delivery routes get optimized for speed and efficiency, guaranteeing that trailers do not run empty; waste from spoilage gets reduced, and there's lesser impact on the environment.
Inventory Management - ERP solutions excel at inventory management, speeding up processes, and reducing overhead. Proper inventory management in the food and beverage industry can significantly enhance supply forecasts, order management, and operations on the whole. An ERP solution specially designed for inventory management improves picking, sorting and packing.
Quality Control - One of the world's largest industries, the food and beverage business is characterized by its bulk quantities manufacturing, short product shelf life, and mandatory compliance with safety regulations. Without a food and beverage ERP solution to automate production, quality, consistency and dispatch, ensuring the correct raw materials are consumed, packed and labeled can be problematic. With such a solution, however, wastage and rework can be reduced, and the financial impact of an undelivered or returned product diminished.
ColumbusFood helps you manage, track and maintain quality and consistency across the value chain while prioritizing sustainability. Get ahead of the curve with Columbus leading the way.
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