Operational excellence in the food industry means at least two things: managing cost on the one hand, managing margins on the other. In times of global competition, long-term contracts and raw material price fluctuation, that’s quite the challenge. The key to amping up operational excellence? Expanding the scope from ‘within these walls’ to ‘end-to-end.’
Compliance is growing in complexity, especially for global manufacturers and distributors. In addition to legislative compliance requirements – which differ per country – and a whole range of certificates, there’s also an enitre set of (country-specific) standards by the retail industry that food businesses must comply with. Standards which are often more stringent than the legal framework.
These days, food manufacturers must be consumer-obsessed if they want to have a competitive advantage. Roughly speaking, this means two things. First, to know what the consumer is thinking and expecting, at all times. Second, to be able to meet those expectations, efficiently, compliantly, at healthy margins and above all: faster than the competition.
Manufacturers, retailers and growers have everything to gain from unlocking data in the supply chain – from field to fork – and sharing that data with each other: it’s a win-win for everyone involved. Consumers too are increasingly clamoring for more transparancy about the origin, authenticity and CO2 footprint of the products on the shelves.
