Planning They Are

Cloud’s broad potential

Cloud-based systems are drawing significant interest today from both vendors and customers, in large part because they make it possible to deploy ERP to manage multiple processes and departments across the enterprise, explains Jim Bresler, product management director, food and beverage, for Plex by Rockwell Automation.

“Interconnectivity across enterprise systems and assets—enabled by cloud and IoT (Internet of Things) technologies—makes it possible to deploy supply chain management (SCM) and manufacturing execution system (MES) capabilities in an ERP system that provides a holistic view of supply chain and procurement operations,” Bresler says. “This is critical, especially for large manufacturers and food processors with multiple facilities that need MES and ERP solutions with the ability to integrate production and inventory data with back-end systems. A unified ERP system provides end-to-end visibility across the enterprise.”

Ensuring regulatory compliance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements is a critical aspect of the cloud systems. “As a part of these requirements, manufacturers in the food industry need high levels of track and trace capabilities,” Bresler explains. “While most ERP solutions provide some level of traceability, across inventories or production processes, food and beverage manufacturers need an ERP system that provides very granular levels of track and trace to meet regulatory requirements. This necessitates a cloud-based ERP solution that can integrate with back-end systems, such as MES and quality management systems (QMS), to pull data from across the enterprise and track ingredients and products from the point of origin to their final destination.”

Affordable and speedy cloud deployment, along with proven implementation templates, helps enable small and medium-sized processors to access the same features as larger enterprise manufacturers, according to Bresler. “This configurable system allows manufacturers to customize the workflow according to the company’s specific requirements, enabling smaller processors to avoid spending on unnecessary capabilities.”

These needs typically revolve around essential aspects such as track and trace, FDA compliance, hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP), the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), and production yield and cost management, Bresler adds. “While smaller and medium-sized processors may require less plant floor automation, it is common for them to have some level of automation in place, making integration with an MES system highly advantageous,” he says. “This means smaller processors can establish their minimum entry point to quickly return value, and gradually expand into more advanced enter- prise-grade features if the returns look promising.”

Smaller companies often try to deploy ERP software in-house rather than in the cloud, which can have a negative impact on operational efficiency, according to Stephen Burton, founder and CEO of Icicle Technologies. “There is a lot happening in Big Data and AI, which can only be leveraged when data is shared securely,” he says. “Since legacy on-premise ERP software cannot leverage these advances without significant investments, cloud-based applications can often be more advantageous to manufacturers.”

Data volume is among the most important factors in optimizing the potential benefits from AI, Burton explains. “It doesn’t really work If you don’t have a broad enough database to be able to use AI effectively—to do smart mining of your data, to do things like we do, where we can identify what the biological, chemical, physical hazards are,” he says. “I think we’re only touching the absolute tip of the iceberg at the moment, and there’s going to be enormous advances that we can make on AI. But in order to have an effective deployment of AI technologies, you have to have a significant data volume, and these single one-off on-premise implementations are not going to be able to support that.”

Vertical focus

Many ERP vendors are zeroing in on narrow segment focuses with their software in order to make it more effective than software designed for larger companies and broader purposes. Infor provides ERP support across the entire food and beverage industry, but does so by varying product features according to segment needs, note Marcel Koks and Mikael Bengtsson, food and beverage industry strategists for Infor.

It’s important to be industry-specific out of the box—even on the micro-vertical level—in terms of functionality, content, and reporting. “Equally important is to have an implementation team that understands the industry-specific challenges and how to address them,” Koks says. “At the end of the day, it is about generating real business value. To do that, a one-size-fits-all and never-ending project is not the solution.”

The right capabilities can turn a challenge into a competitive advantage. “It is extremely exciting to