What’s more? 5 ways for food manufacturing to tackle key challenges

Food manufacturing is a complex and competitive industry that involves many processes and stakeholders. Manufacturers need to ensure quality, efficiency, and customer satisfaction at every stage of the production cycle, from processing raw materials from various suppliers to delivering finished products. 

However, there are many factors that can affect the performance and profitability of food manufacturing businesses: inventory management, quality control, production forecasting, traceability, and customer service.  

Following the thoughts from Alexandru Dorubantu shared in the article on profit.ro (English version), we want to shed more light on how meat producers can fully digitize their business processes. How can food producers benefit from using an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system? Here is what more you need to know: 

Streamlining the supply chain 

Managing the supply chain is one of the biggest challenges. It can be difficult to keep track of every step of the process, as raw materials come from multiple vendors and finished products are shipped to various customers. By giving real-time visibility into inventory levels, supplier performance, and delivery schedules, an enterprise resource planning system can be useful. Making informed decisions about when and how much to order in terms of raw materials will lower the possibility of stockouts or excess inventory.

Optimizing raw materials management 

With perishable ingredients and strict quality standards, it is crucial to keep track of inventory levels and usage rates. The precise tracking of raw material movement from receipt to consumption can be performed by an ERP system. In addition, the data gathered from these operations can be used to optimize ordering and waste reduction.

Improving demand and production planning 

Predicting how customer demand is hard for any company, but it is very crucial for food producers. Overproduction can lead to waste, while stockouts can result in lost sales. Accurate forecasts of customer demand can all be provided by an ERP system. By analyzing historical sales data and incorporating information about current market trends, an ERP system can generate accurate demand forecasts. These forecasts can be used to optimize production schedules and reduce the risk of overproduction or stockouts.

Enhancing warehouse management 

Working with a large stock of products ready for sale must be closely monitored. With strict expiration dates and quality standards, it is essential to keep track of inventory levels and movement that can be provided by a trustworthy ERP system. By following the finished goods from production to delivery, an ERP system can give detailed information about how much inventory there is and how fast it is used. This information can help to improve storage and reduce waste. 

Controlling costs 

In recent years, cost control has been a challenge for any business due to the increasing price of raw materials, production expenditure, and inflation. Moreover, with tight margins and high competition, it is important to keep costs under control. The cost of labor, overhead, and raw materials can all be tracked in detail using an ERP system. This information can be used to identify areas where costs can be reduced.

In conclusion, an ERP system is a powerful tool that can help food manufacturers tackle many of the obstacles they face. The ERP system provides real-time visibility into key areas and ensures efficiency, reduced costs, and increased profitability.

Find more about our solution, designed especially for food manufacturers.