Adapt, Grow and Thrive in the Complex Landscape of Food Production With Smart Solutions

Adapt, Grow and Thrive in the Complex Landscape of Food Production With Smart Solutions

Are you struggling with rising production costs and the complexities of supply chain management?

Take comfort in the fact that you’re not alone.

The food industry is facing an onslaught of challenges and significant disruptions, and navigating these challenges is really hard.

It requires more than just perseverance and a good attitude. It requires a purpose-built map. It requires smart, tailored solutions to meet your specific needs.

To help you prepare for and tackle these challenges head-on, we’ve compiled insights from our eBook Adapt, Grow, and Thrive: How Food Industry Experts Tackle Today’s Top Challenges. This resource is packed with insight and advice from leading experts who detail the strategies and technologies driving success in today’s market.

Below, we've curated a selection of key takeaways from Gary Ingham, head of IT at Burgess Farms; food and beverage industry consultant Jonathan Tole; and Aptean’s own food and beverage industry expert, Lee Walker.

Meet Our Food and Beverage Experts

Gary Ingham, Head of IT at Burgess Farms Lee Walker, Senior Solution Consultants Manager at Aptean Jonathan Tole, Agri-food Consultant

Major Challenges in the Food Production Industry

The food production industry today faces several challenges that can hinder growth and efficiency. These include:

• Rising Production Costs: Inflation and increasing utility prices are driving up the cost of production. Companies must find ways to manage these rising expenses without compromising quality or efficiency.

• Supply Chain Disruptions: From geopolitical events to natural disasters, supply chains are more vulnerable than ever. Delays and shortages can severely impact production schedules and lead to increased costs.

• Labour Shortages and High Turnover: The industry is experiencing significant labour shortages and high turnover rates. This not only disrupts operations but also increases training and recruitment costs.

• Regulatory Compliance: Strict regulations require companies to maintain high standards of food safety and traceability. Keeping up with these regulations can be resource-intensive and challenging.

• Consumer Demand for Transparency: Consumers are increasingly demanding transparency about the origins of their food and the production processes used to create it. Companies must ensure they can provide detailed and accurate information to meet these expectations.

Key Strategies for Overcoming Food Production Challenges, According to the Experts

• Embrace Advanced Technology for Resilience

Walker from Aptean emphasised, "Digital transformation can’t prevent disruptive events, but it can equip you to deal with them better."

Embracing digital solutions ensures continuity and efficiency even under pressure, helping businesses maintain resilience in an unpredictable market.

• Increase Efficiency and Reduce Costs With Digital Solutions

"Many food companies are still writing stuff down on pieces of paper," noted Walker. "If you can digitise processes to automate tasks and work with real-time data, you become much more productive."

Moving towards an integrated tech stack with standardised, digital processes helps you react quicker, reducing waste and enhancing productivity.

• Boost Operational Resilience With Automation

Ingham from Burgess Farms shared, "From Burgess Farms’ perspective, we’ve explored the efficiencies we can make in our operations...using automation to support our workforce and lessen the impact of churn."

This practical application of automation exemplifies how to address common industry challenges effectively.

Do we need to keep repeating digital solutions or can we be more specific about what we're talking about? "digital solutions" doesn't really mean anything. I don't think the content in each of these sections warrants separate H3s - they're going to look odd in-situ on the website. Maybe we can turn them into bullets or add another sentence or two to our commentary in each.

Expert Insights on Food Production and Supply Chain Management

Ingham’s Take

Ingham shared several initiatives Burgess Farms has implemented to increase resilience, including:

• Leveraging automation in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to reconcile date information and reduce manual data entry errors

• Improving sales order processes by converting manual order input to automated Excel file imports, saving significant time and reducing errors

• Optimising touchscreen data management, ensuring accurate product information by closing loopholes in manual entry processes

Walker’s Perspective

Walker discussed the importance of aligning digital transformation with business goals:

• Prioritising inventory management as a starting point, ensuring control and discipline in processes to feed into other parts of the operation

• Using good data as a foundation to build effective dashboards and make informed decisions

Tole’s Input

Tole highlighted the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and the importance of having good data:

• Utilising AI for quality control and production planning, including the sorting of produce and planning labour schedules

• Ensuring the interoperability of technology and moving data to the cloud to increase accessibility and resilience

To dive deeper into these insights and discover more about how technology can revolutionise your approach for tackling the challenges in the food industry, download Aptean’s newest eBook. Discover firsthand from experts how embracing can help you adapt, grow and thrive in today's dynamic market.