What is a Food Industry ERP?
“ERP” stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. ERP is a software system that helps food businesses like yours automate and manage core business processes for optimal performance.
More simply, ERP software is the core program used by many businesses to manage all the varied necessary information it needs to keep track of. The goal of an ERP system is to provide a solution to manage all the core functions a business needs to perform, bringing them together into one live, integrated program. The result? Duplicate entry prevention, error reduction, and information consolidation. This powerful trifecta drives real time reporting so that your managers have the information they need to make informed business decisions.
Companies of all sizes have adopted ERPs to help drive improve efficiency through the use of a consolidated solution.
The components of an ERP system depend on your specific functionality, but for most food businesses, it typically includes accounting, purchasing/receiving, order entry, inventory control, shipping and invoicing, and reporting to bring it all together.
In the food industry, industry-specific functionality in ERP systems can include traceability, expiration date, QC, sometimes EDI, and more. Going even further, many food specific ERP systems have moved beyond the office to include handheld warehouse management systems (WMS) so scanners can be used for product movement and scale functionality to make it easier to deplete raw materials and to create interim or finished goods so they are recorded in the ERP as the transactions take place. More recently business intelligence (BI) and dashboards have also been added to supplement the typical reporting functionality. Remember– most successful ERP implementations start in one area and grow over time… so when considering an ERP look at how they can grow with you.
Typically, businesses go searching for ERP software as they experience growth. As smaller companies grow, they tend to add different programs to manage specific needs. For example, you may have an accounting program, a label generation program, a series of spreadsheets for calculating costs or tracking inventory, and a variety of manual logs or other task specific programs. That’s a lot of systems!
In a circumstance like that, you’ll eventually find yourself too spread out! This instance requires duplicate entry, which can result in increased errors. They may have trouble truly understanding their costs if their raw material prices change frequently. Trying to bring together customer specific pricing with changing costs can make monitoring profitability across your items and customers very challenging.
ERP systems exist to take all of the moving pieces of your business and bundle them into one, more accurate, streamlined process that allows for business fluidity and growth.
If you’re ready to be matched to food industry-specific ERP, book time with one of our specialists to get pointed in the right direction.