When a food and beverage company sets out to select a new ERP system, they usually know it’s a choice they’ll have to live with for a long time. The system not only has to support current operations, but it also has to be flexible enough to support changes that may not even be predictable, including growth, compliance regulations and changing competition. To top it all off, it seems as though every department and employee has his or her own idea about what the system needs to do and what it should look like.
It's often recommended for companies to make extensive lists of every possible feature they might need, rank them by importance and then run several vendors through their paces in order to check off the most items. This method is expensive, time consuming, complicated and error prone—and at the end of the process, there is no guarantee that the ERP system with the most check marks is actually the right one for your company. Instead, there is a better way to go about selecting an ERP system.
Industry Focus
The first step should be to ensure that any ERP system included in your evaluation has a focus on the food and beverage industry. The ERP vendor should be able to point to multiple reference accounts in your industry, because those companies will have faced and resolved issues similar to yours. In addition, a company with a food and beverage industry focus is likely to have people on staff that come from your industry background and who speak your language. The last thing you want is to discover that you must educate your implementation consultant on the ins and outs of food and beverage manufacturing before you can even begin the implementation process.
In addition, if an ERP system focuses on the food and beverage industry, they are likely to have the necessary functionality for your business. Start by ensuring they have a satisfactory solution for these key areas:
Strong & Flexible Lot Control
Food and beverage manufacturers are subject to strict Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations—in addition to other federal, state and local requirements. These regulations cover everything from ingredient storage and handling to packaging and labeling. An ERP system designed for the food and beverage industry must include full lot and serial tracking and product genealogy capabilities that enable splitting and combining lots while still maintaining the ability to track and trace materials. You don't want to be put in the situation where you have to recall more product than you otherwise should have just because you don't know which components went into your contaminated product.
Recall Management
To prepare for actual recalls, many food and beverage manufacturers are required to conduct test recalls. If you don't have an automated way to do this, a test recall can be a very paper-intensive and time-consuming process. An ERP system that includes sophisticated recall management capabilities, including the ability to conduct mock recalls, will save you a great deal of time and energy.
Expiry Date Support & Monitoring
Look for an ERP solution that support expiry date monitoring and warning as dates approach. This will help your company improve inventory rotation and minimize waste.
Architecture for Innovation & Growth
As companies grow, they often find they need more features to support processes such as customer relationship management or advanced reporting. That’s why it’s important to ensure that you future-proof your ERP selection. Look for a system that supports not only additional users but also a range of expansion capabilites that meet a variety of business needs.
Rather than focus on thousands of functional details, most of which won’t vary from ERP to ERP, the best choice for food and beverage companies is to focus on the above key areas to ensure you choose the best ERP system for your company.
