ERP IN FOOD AND BEVERAGE PACKAGING

Multitudes of packaging preferences exist in today’s consumer- dominated society. Food and beverage packaging design that flaunts catchwords such as GMO-free, organic, cholesterol-free, or gluten-free attract customers a lot. Handy, yet economic packaging is in demand. Labeling criteria imposed by different regional governments undergoes modification from time to time. The prevailing financial crisis has endowed local food branding over the well established brand names.

Many such conditions have made the food and beverage industry to seek fresh techniques of food packaging designing. But the numerous obstacles in the packaging sector make it difficult for the food and beverage manufacturers to match- up with the demands and survive in the advanced marketplace. Here comes the role of ERP or the Enterprise Resource Planning system. This system has generated numerous advantages for the packaging sector.

It is a well known fact that the creativity connected with the food and beverage packaging design cannot be calculated as data. Since the ERP system is a data centered system, one may wonder in what way it may help in packaging. Foremost, let us take in to consideration the importance of local brands. Specific regions have specific demands. Packaging for these regions can be quite a difficult task. Variations such as dissimilarities in the population, the dissimilarities in the inclination towards certain products over others, and the dissimilarities in their needs, should be taken into consideration. Now, the question is, how can the manufacturers get to evaluate the products needed to be packaged for different areas? How to maintain tabs in order to remove waste? This is where an ERP system should be introduced in order to keep record of each of these.

Food packaging designing involves more evaluation and calculation than what is usually perceived. Comprehensive details including the demand peaks in certain regions, to the launch of marketing strategies can be tracked, put into numbers, and organized easily by an ERP. Furthermore, the organizing part is more efficient and less energy consuming than ever before. The best attraction is that, since it provides the same problem-solving information to each module of your organization, it permits everyone to be present on the same page simultaneously.

The flooding tide of demand in today’s food branding market is side- by- side encountered with issues such as people’s expectation of reduced prices. The intense competition in the market worldwide is only increasing this challenge. Those manufacturers who do the right kind of packaging will sustain, while those who do not will have to face bigger challenges. And, without the aid of a specifically designed ERP system for the food and beverage industry, things will not be much easy.

However, the software system chosen for the ERP must match the functional needs of the food and beverage manufacturing unit as the products are always Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). So, food and beverage manufacturers should be wise and cautious in choosing the right enterprise resource planning provider among the innumerable ERP providers out there.