How Can SAP tackles Challenges Faced by Food Industry

  • 01 July 2015
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When food is mentioned, one word automatically gets associated with it to judge its quality – freshness. Whether it’s a restaurant or market or local produce, food has to be fresh and healthy so that it can be consumed. Lack in quality can put the health of consumers at great risk. So it makes it all the more important for food and beverage industries to maintain strict hygiene standards in all its processes.

Food and beverage industry has unique challenges as compared to other manufacturing companies. SAP B1 partners list out some of them and talk about how SAP solution can undertake such challenges efficiently.

Tricky Challenges Faced by Food Industry:

1. Maintaining food regulatory compliance

Right from raw materials/produce to the packaged products, everything has to fall within the rules set by the food regulatory bodies.If any rule is overlooked, there are chances of the product getting spoilt or unfit for consumption. Other industries have to ensure that their end products comply all the set standards, whereas food industry has to maintain compliance standards even during manufacturing, packaging and storing stages.

2. Catering to different packaging needs as per the product’s requirement

Every food product needs a different type of packaging based on its nature, chemical composition and shelf life. Some can be packaged in plastic containers, while other would perish without a tin, paper/cardboard or glass packaging. SAP Business One implementation partners in India say that by implementing SAP solution, one can maintain records of which food product requires what kind of packaging. This is different from other industries as they have a similar packaging for all their products. Food industry can have different packaging requirements within the same category of food! SAP ensures that different processes are integrated with inventory department so that all packaging materials are available when required so that food is not processed in the absence of its packaging.

3. Different requirements in Inventory management

Managing inventory in a food industry is not a mean task. Different food products have different shelf lives, different storage conditions, and different perishable rates – both for raw materials and final products. Even the thought of trying to manage the inventory manually can get scary and overwhelming. Imagine mixing up the data of two food products and storing them inappropriately. It would result in massive food and financial loss. Companies can store all inventory/storage data in minute details making it possible to achieve high degree of accuracy and efficiency.

4. Better management of waste

In any food and beverage industry, waste has to be dealt with precaution. Since there may be perishable waste items, they need to be disposed off appropriately so that they don’t affect the fresh products or attract insects/bugs. SAP B1 partners assert that waste can be efficiently managed through SAP solution. Additionally, not every food product can be disposed in the same manner. It ensures proper disposal of every waste product in the manner deemed right for different products.

5. Automation simplifies processes and speeds them up

When perishable products are in the equation, pace at which processes are carried out becomes important. Manual processes will either put a limit on the quantity it can produce before the raw materials start decaying or face troubles in inventory management, storage or other stages. SAP automates all processes, eliminating every instance of manual error. It optimizes production capacity, thus lifting the limitations set by manual labor. Data, information and finances can be accessed and handled in the real time. Duplication or wrong inputs will be a thing of the past. SAP solution also helps in planning the resources efficiently and supports manufacturing of multiple recipes at the same time.

SAP Business One implementation partners in India suggest every food and beverage company to implement SAP in its organizational processes to improve the level of performance and its quality. Higher level of transparency and visibility is gained, assisting smoother functioning. With so many benefits, it would be tragic not to have SAP in your company.

Nidhi Batra

About the author

Nidhi Batra is a marketing and brand communication professional with 10 years of experience working in the dynamic B2B marketing environment. She strategizes, writes, reviews a variety of content for demand generation and sales support activities. Having a Master’s in English from Delhi University, she knows how to navigate her readers on insightful journeys with her SAP published blogs and thought leadership content.