3 main challenges food manufacturers face

Diane Harvey
Updated on

There are 3 main challenges food manufacturers face; ensuring quality, reducing costs and meeting consumer demand. In this article we will look at each in more detail and suggest ways in which you can overcome these challenges.

As a Food manufacturer, you are constantly looking for ways to get best-in-class goods to market more quickly while driving down costs. Your business continues to grapple with increasing pressures and regulations that can make it difficult to meet your customers’ growing expectations. you must be able to assure higher quality while controlling costs, because every penny spent directly impacts the bottom line.

The challenges food manufacturers face can be described as nature’s bumps and bruises. They’re a natural part of the development cycle. You face challenges every day as you create new products, process data and continually monitor your performance. Workers face challenges every day as they assemble or process raw materials like ingredients, food products and packaging materials as well as lab test samples. All are working towards some common goals: ensuring products are safe, effective, and creating an overall quality product which meets the needs of consumers.

Ensure quality

As a food manufacturer, you are very aware of the importance of quality. In the end, it’s all about creating trust with consumers. Consumers want high quality products and a solid reputation from their supplier. That’s why as a food manufacturer, you must have consistency and accuracy in product testing. Failure to maintain proper food safety standards or high quality could quickly lead to consumer distrust and loss of business.

Reduce costs

The potential costs associated with mislabelling, inaccurate dating and incorrect weights range from fines to recalls, but the biggest financial threat can take shape in the form of lost revenue. If a product is delayed because of production changes, out-of-stock issues, or a variety of other reasons, you’re missing out on sales and profits.

Profit margins in the food and beverage manufacturing industry have been under immense pressure due to factors such as high supply chain costs, raw material prices, and competition from manufacturers in other countries. Today, food manufacturers must find ways to stay competitive by cutting costs wherever possible.

Meet consumer demand

We live in an age where customers want to know where their food products come from. They want to see the packaging they buy to ensure it meets international sustainability standards. They want to meet farmers face-to-face. But as more consumers make these demands, the challenge arises to meet them. The most sustainable solution is visibility throughout the entire supply chain – from farm to fork – enabling customers to see where their raw materials come from and providing producers with all of the tools, they need for managing their commodities from farm to consumer.

When it comes to food and beverage manufacturers, the requirements for regulatory compliance, food safety, and high quality are non-negotiable. But despite the importance of these standards, regulatory compliance costs money.

Investing in technology can provide the tools needed to overcome the challenges food manufacturers face as you need to not only ensure food safety and high quality to consumers but also cut costs.

Today’s technology allows you to track and trace each of your products as they move from raw ingredients to finished products. This reduces the risk of unexpected problems, such as quality and safety issues or expiration dates, and ensures consumables ship and arrive on time- saving you time and money!

For many businesses, overcoming the challenges food manufacturers face is now increasingly becoming easier and more cost-effective thanks to ERP (enterprise resource planning) solutions such as SAP Business One.

SAP Business One is an integrated business application that helps you get control of the operational side of your business. Designed to manage the movement and storage of material from the moment it arrives at your facility until it lands as a finished product in the hands of your distributors and customers. SAP Business One offers deep visibility into supply chain activities and provides tools specifically designed to improve product quality, reduce costs throughout the supply chain, and keep up with customer demand

SAP Business One helps you make sense of your data by providing real-time visibility which gives you the ability to understand which products are in demand and stock the ingredients you need – while cutting down on those you don’t. You can track expiration dates and ensure all ingredients are used before they’re no longer good, reducing food waste.

Challenges Food Manufacturers Face: Overcoming Obstacles for Success

Explore effective strategies and innovative solutions to tackle the challenges food manufacturers face, paving the way for growth and excellence in the industry. SAP Business One helps food manufacturers succeed. It makes your business run faster and more profitably than ever before.

To learn more, download the latest SAP Business One solution brief here and learn how to overcome challenges food manufacturers like you face.

Don’t fall behind on the latest industry trends and SAP news! Join us on LinkedIn to connect with our dynamic community of professionals. Gain access to game-changing insights into the ever-evolving realms of business and technology. Be part of the conversation with exclusive content, thought leadership articles, and exciting updates. Embrace the opportunity to expand your industry knowledge by following us on LinkedIn today!

Search

Get a free system audit

Provide your contact details and one of our experts will get in touch to arrange your free system audit and health check.

Let's talk business

Provide your contact details and one of our team will be in touch to arrange a chat with one of our industry experts.