Feast Your Eyes on These 7 Benefits of Implementing ERP Software in Your Food Business

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a series of management software that helps organizations stay on top of their day-to-day business operations, such as accounting, finances, human resources, and inventory tracking, within a centralized system. This allows a company to perform various essential tasks more efficiently and reliably than if it was done manually—which has a cumulative effect on customer satisfaction and brand credibility.

While an ERP system was traditionally used within the supply chain to track moving parts from manufacture to distribution, more industries are implementing ERP to help manage their staff, customers, and inventory. In fact, a growing number of food businesses are now looking into applying an ERP system in their companies to remain competitive.

ERP offers real-time, software-driven solutions to handle your food business’ biggest concerns, from data management to storage. Identifying these problems, and understanding how to resolve them, begins with first understanding the seven benefits a comprehensive ERP system can provide.

1. ERP Reduces Human Error

ERP unifies many systems that may currently be fragmented in your food business—especially your inventory management. By unifying systems, your team can use its time more efficiently, immediately detect any discrepancies, and take steps to immediately address them. This reduces the risk of human error, as your data is managed within a central database. If your food business, for example, has several branches, you must know right away if a specific branch is running low on a certain ingredient or has overstocked an item.

2. ERP Saves You Money

Some business owners may feel that an ERP system is too expensive for their specific needs. However, implementing an ERP system for your business can save you money and improve your ROI in the long run, as it makes all logistical efforts more efficient. Using the above example, if you find out that one of your branches is running low on an ingredient, then you can immediately restock their pantry, without having to waste time (and more money) checking every branch that you have. In addition, the cost to produce each food item can be easily tracked by the system. You can do this by breaking down the cost through the ingredients used. This allows you to make informed decisions on how to better plan out your restaurant’s expenses based on its menu.

3. ERP Gives You Better Data

A central database of information implies better analytics and reporting, which contribute to higher business intelligence. You can now make more informed decisions because you have accurate, real-time data on your entire company. It is also a good idea to work with a trusted ERP vendor whose product offers strong functionality and flexibility so that you can easily generate a report in minutes.

4. ERP Improves Traceability of Your Products

An ERP system keeps track of the supply chain and helps you ensure that your food products are picked up from your supplier and delivered to your restaurant or distributor at an appropriate time. This is critical to the success of your food business, as you need to see your orders in real-time with easily identifiable shipment tracking to ensure food quality and to notify any affected parties in case of an emergency.

5. ERP Keeps Your Food Business Compliant with the Law

Managing a successful food business in the Philippines means following several regulations set by the FDA, the regulatory authority of the DOH, and the FDA Center for Food Regulation and Research (CFRR), among others. This is on top of the other business laws you need to follow, such as registering your company TIN with the BIR and filing your taxes. An ERP system can help you maintain compliance at every stage by offering you built-in auditing tools that document all your legal requirements.

6. ERP May Improve Employee Productivity

An ERP system removes certain administrative tasks, such as generating reports, timesheet tracking, and processing orders, from your employees’ shoulders. While there will always be a need for manual checking now and then, an automated system can dramatically improve productivity within your food business. Now, your employees can upskill themselves and work on higher-level tasks, which can boost your company’s productivity, and ultimately, its profitability.

7. ERP Helps You Keep Your Customers Happy

An ERP system can be easily integrated with a customer relationship management (CRM) tool. This way, your CRM also has access to data across business functions and can determine specific areas of improvement. For example, an integrated CRM can show a client’s order history and billing information, which your team can use to gain a better insight into their customer profile. You can then use this data to make more targeted marketing strategies and improve customer conversion rates.

ANSI Supports Your Food Business with A Robust ERP Solution

ANSI helps your food business thrive in this fast-paced world by creating a custom suite of software programs that meets your business objectives. We are committed to designing an ERP solution that facilitates the automated and efficient transfer of information so that you stay ahead of the game and remain competitive in the food industry. Whether you’re a simple mom-and-pop shop or an established restaurant in the Philippines, we work with you to build a stronger enterprise infrastructure. Contact us now to learn more about our main ERP offering, SAP Business One, and how it can help you.