As food and beverage manufacturers increasingly turn to digital technologies to streamline and simplify processes across their organisations, the area of product master data management is one that can be transformed with the right solution.
By improving efficiencies in an increasingly complex supply chain, effective master data management (MDM) software can empower food manufacturers with the ability to seamlessly create, maintain and validate their product data in less time and at a reduced cost.
As a result of faster, automated processes, greater visibility and control, and improved product data quality and consistency, forward-thinking food and beverage manufacturers are gaining a significant competitive advantage by leveraging the power of MDM software.
Here’s how an advanced product master data management solution can sharpen your competitive edge:
- Reduce product recalls
From ingredients being sourced from multiple producers to the numerous stages involved in the manufacturing process, maintaining quality, consistency and compliance across all the moving parts of your manufacturing journey can be a challenge.
Product recalls are the unfortunate yet inevitable result of having many different systems and processes operating across the supply chain—and when they occur, they can have a significant impact on your business.
The benefits of a master data management system in the area of product recalls are two-fold. Firstly, effective product master data management will help to reduce the chances of recalls happening in the first place, with greater transparency, visibility and control over your product data and associated processes.
Secondly, master data management software can minimise the impact of a recall when it does take place. By providing a single source of truth, you can quickly determine the source of affected ingredients, the location where products were made and packaged, and the channels on which they’ll be sold. As a result, food and beverage manufacturers can react with speed and efficiency to reduce the risk of an outbreak with minimal brand damage.
- Ensure regulatory compliance
As compliance requirements across the food and beverage industry continue to grow in number and complexity, an effective master data management tool can support your organisation in maintaining regulatory and quality management compliance.
With an MDM tool to automate the process of inputting data and supporting documents to the global GDSN-certified data pools, you’ll eliminate inaccuracies and ensure your business remains GS1-compliant.
By simplifying and streamlining the tasks involved in creating, maintaining and validating your product data against PIF and GS1 standards, keeping product data up-to-date, accurate and compliant at all times becomes an automated process. As a result, team members can spend less time focusing on manually checking data compliance and more time invested in driving the business forward.
- Increase customer satisfaction
Your product master data holds powerful insights that can be leveraged to improve product quality and consistency, and, as a result, the level of satisfaction experienced by your customers.
Equipped with an advanced master data management system, food and beverage manufacturers have instant access to the product data they need to refine and perfect their recipes and ensure they remain consistent.
Once you’ve determined the most effective recipe for any given product, a master data management solution can help you to keep it consistent across all areas, from ingredients to raw materials to the finished product. By having all your product data stored in a single, centralised location, access is available to any authorised team member, mitigating loss of corporate knowledge through issues such as staff turnover or corporate acquisitions.
What’s more, master data management software that integrates with your other systems, such as CRM, ERP, recipe or product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions, can allow you to link data and gain more detailed insights about your products and what works best in the market, allowing you to strengthen your competitive advantage and boost customer satisfaction and loyalty.
- Introduce new products faster
The ability of food and beverage manufacturers to develop new products quickly and bring them to market faster has always been a key factor in growing competitive advantage by remaining ahead of the latest trends and responding to rapidly-changing consumer demands ahead of the competition.
Yet the process of developing and introducing new food and beverage products involves a number of critical steps that must be followed in order to bring quality, compliant, and viable products to market.
The beauty of a master data management solution for the food industry is the ability to streamline, accelerate and simplify both new product introductions (NPIs) and new product developments (NPDs). With powerful integrated and automated workflows, you can replace time-consuming and error-prone manual product data governance processes, in order to expedite these crucial areas of your business.
From automating the required internal approvals to reducing the time involved in creating and validating new product data against PIF, the GDSN and other standards, an effective master data management tool will allow you to boost your competitive edge by developing and delivering effective new products with speed and ease.
- Maximise sales opportunities
Equipped with a robust and scalable master data management solution that ensures accurate, complete product information is easy to create, access and validate, food and beverage manufacturers will be empowered to optimise sales across existing and new channels.
With an effective MDM tool, the process of uploading product information to product catalogues or ecommerce platforms—and keeping this information up-to-date and consistent—is transformed into a streamlined, automated workflow that doesn’t require time-consuming manual input.
As a result, food and beverage companies can free up staff members to focus on innovation, product development, and enhancing the customer experience, while leveraging different platforms and sales channels to maximise their sales opportunities.
| To learn more about how Bizcaps can transform master data management processes for your organisation, visit https://www.bizcaps.com/food-and-beverage/ |