Business Benefits Through a Food and Beverage ERP

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a software suite that integrates business information including finance/accounting, customer relationship management, procurement, human resources, budgeting, sales order entry, materials, and manufacturing processes. Its goal is to seamlessly flow accurate, real-time data through the various business functions to streamline processes, improve decision making abilities, increase visibility, and provide greater control and visibility throughout an organization.

This is especially helpful for process manufacturers in the food and beverage industry for a number of reasons. Due to strict requirements and regulations in the industry, as well as increasing consumer expectations and tough competition, companies must provide better service in less time at a lower cost. A great solution to answer those challenges is with a comprehensive ERP system that is specifically designed for manufacturers in the food and beverage industry.

Compliance

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversee any food and beverage products manufactured or sold in the United States, and sets requirements that those products must meet to be legally sold. Legislation in 2011 provided a greater level of authority to the organization with increased enforcement abilities to achieve higher compliance rates than any other changes to food safety law in the history of our country. While this is a measure enacted to protect the consumer, it has added a new level of considerations that food and beverage manufacturers must manage. These requirements come with expenses to the manufacturers through slower processing capabilities, higher quality assurance measures, and increased payroll expenses.

Implementing an ERP solution can help manage these increased regulations in several ways. Quality control can be more easily monitored, has the capability to increase required parameters, and can house extensive historical data to identify common issues and improve your products. This also allows for easier reporting and auditing. Having an ERP in place can monitor and immediately adjust all changes, lot numbers, expiration dates, and other pertinent information at any point in the production process. At any moment, an ERP provides the ability to access information on any specific product with a full lot history including testing results, and can catch any non-compliance issues before they become a major problem.

Reduce Expenses

As it can be expected, the increased regulations also increase expenses. By implementing an ERP, you can reduce costs in the areas of manufacturing, distribution, and shipping. Planning, production, and inventory management costs are reduced through streamlined information access. The increased visibility into your operations that is provided by an ERP can help reduce waste and monitor perishable raw materials. Equally important, an ERP positively affects processes such as batch and continuous flow processing, formula and recipe management, allergen designation, shelf-life management, labeling, and many others. All of this translates into a very favorable return on investment and is why and ERP solution for food and beverage manufacturers can help companies develop, create, and distribute better quality products at a lower price than competitors.

Not All ERP’s Are Created Equal

Every ERP has a basic framework with the intention of streamlining processes, increasing productivity, and improving business operational management. However finding a provider of ERP systems that are specially designed for your specific industry makes a huge difference in the level of benefits it will provide. There are so many variables that differ across industries, and it is important that the ERP provider you choose has the skill and experience to meet the unique needs of your field and your individual business alike.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Kathryn_McDowell/1908194