Why ERP Isn’t Enough For Food And Beverage Manufacturers

While some ERP solutions can transform specific components of business, F&B manufacturers cannot depend on them as an end-to-end process solution. It’s simply not what this product was designed to do. Of course, ERP software has value. It provides opportunities for organizations to integrate and automate back office functions — think QuickBooks or reporting. ERP simplifies purchasing, human resources, financial planning, and distribution — mostly day to day work and transactions — but leaves huge gaps in research and development and new recipe creation. Say a recipe-based food manufacturer produces spices, seasonings, and herbs, and they want to use the highest quality ingredients and deliver custom products for retail and commercial use. Product quality, speed to market, and food safety are their biggest challenges. Salt, vinegar, and sugar are included in the recipe for most of their products, but their ERP will not allow them to support the information required to experiment with additional flavors and spices. Your ERP will provide all the material data for your raw ingredients, but it cannot support additional information, like a dry rub made with organic chili peppers, or sustainably sourced oregano and garlic, gluten free meatloaf seasoning, or vegan all-purpose spice mix. No recipe management, no specific food support, no specifications, no recipe development, trials, or simulation data — just the basic materials data. So even with an expensive ERP onboard, you are back to spreadsheets.