Five Benefits of One Integrated Solution for the Food Industry
Your food business likely has a goal of being nimble and proactive when it comes to daily operations and fulfilling orders. But no matter how much progress the organization has made toward this goal, you can likely identify processes that still need optimization in order to achieve your ideal level of agility.
So, what does it take to have the ability to react and adapt in real-time? The key is having a singular businesswide system to serve as your “control tower.” With that, you can monitor everything from the big picture to individual product quality, giving you the insight necessary to improve your procedures and shift priorities when the time is right.
Let’s examine five tangible benefits of establishing and embracing a robust unified platform.
1. Better Forecasting and Stock Management
Going back and reviewing past data can be a valuable exercise, but to truly make the most of the opportunities that come your business’s way, you need to have accurate estimates for the future. This is especially true in the fresh produce industry—weather patterns, harvest plans, seasonal trends, consumer preferences and other considerations all need to be taken into account to yield a realistic picture of sales over the next several months.
Herb butter producer LaBan Foods has benefitted greatly in this regard by taking advantage of the real-time information provided by their system, which ties together all aspects of their business in a single enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. The company has been able to use weather analysis to advise production, allowing them to precisely gauge what stock levels will be necessary to satisfy client needs.
Evaluating key performance indicators (KPIs) at the end of a week is a worthwhile process, but if your business only evaluates at set intervals, you may encounter otherwise avoidable mistakes or fail to capitalize on an opening in the market.
2. Continuously Improving Performance Using Scanners and Sensors
Because nearly every food product has a shelf life or period of optimum freshness and many simply can’t be sold at all outside of that window, it’s critical to implement technological solutions for recording and tracking. Why leave all-important batch information collection and interpretation open to human error?
Your business needs the right kind of scanners and sensors for your industry, including temperature, air pressure, light intensity and waste monitoring tools. Those tools also need to be integrated into your system with internet of things (IoT) technology so that the details get relayed to the proper parties in time to avoid shipping defective or expired goods.
Scanners and sensors can also give you a better understanding of which teams and machines aren’t performing as well as they should, allowing you to remedy the situation quickly. Of course, keeping tabs on your products while they’re still in your facilities is only the first step—you also need to stay on top of their status while in transit and at time of delivery.
When the failure of a single truck’s climate control systems could result in a ruined relationship with a buyer, it pays to have total visibility throughout your processes.
3. AI Takes Repetitive Work Off Your Plate
The applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in food business’s operations are many. Consider the example of image recognition—this can be applied in the case of the inevitable customer complaints, as over time the system will learn to recognize in photos the qualities that signify a product has gone bad.
That same technology can also be put to use in your warehouses, where goods rolling down a conveyor belt can be analyzed for shape, color and quality by an intelligent imaging system. And when that’s fully integrated with your ERP platform, you’re able to take the actions necessary to ensure that everything that leaves the floor for order fulfillment is truly high quality.
4. Central Management of Quality Certificates and Documentation
Certificates are a staple of quality assurance procedures these days. Considering how vital it is that your products look and taste their best, your business simply can’t afford to use physical paper records for these documents.
Utilizing blockchain technology with your system to digitally capture and complete these certificates is the way to go. That way, all parties have total transparency when it comes to the status of goods at each stop along the chain.
5. Automate Lucratively and Quickly with Microsoft Power Apps
Think it takes a professional coder to develop the automation tools you need? Thanks to Microsoft Power Apps, just about anyone with working knowledge of Microsoft Excel or PowerPoint can create applications and interfaces to perform tasks specific to your business.
Imagine your employees getting more done with greater accuracy and efficiency than ever before. When your business is empowered to take ownership over its processes with the right tools, this can be your reality.
The ‘Control Tower’ is Key to Optimization
The value of having a single version of the truth can’t be understated, and your business can attain that level of data integrity with the right unified platform. When all of your processes are integrated and reporting occurs in real-time, you can achieve the agility you need to be profitable and grow.
A solution that helps you keep your finger on the pulse of all your operations, make smart decisions and implement plans of action right away—that’s the advantage you need. Contact us today to hear how Aptean’s solutions can serve your food business.
Are You Ready to Learn More?
Interested to see how Aptean Food & Beverage ERP can help you better manage your food company?
Contact us at info@aptean.com or visit www.aptean.com
About Aptean
Aptean is one of the world’s leading providers of industry-specific software. Our enterprise resource planning and supply chain solutions are uniquely designed to meet the needs of specialized manufacturers and distributors, while our compliance solutions serve specific markets such as finance and life sciences. With both cloud and on-premise deployment options, Aptean’s products, services and unmatched expertise help businesses of all sizes, across many industries, to scale and succeed. For more information, visit www.aptean.com.