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INDUSTRY 4.0/IIOT FOOD-SPECIFIC ERP STEPS UP TO THE PLATE
Eating habits often come and go, but plant-based
alternatives are here for the long term. So how can
manufacturers navigate growing supply chain pressures to suit all tastes? Chris Nichols, Microsoft Dynamics Consultant at Columbus UK, answers this question
ince 2014, going vegan for January, dubbed Veganuary, has seen people from 228 countries take part, including more than 6 million people in the UK, proving that plant-based diets aren’t just for vegans anymore. Increased awareness around environmental concerns, animal welfare, and personal health alongside widespread supply chain disruptions is driving high demand for meat alternatives.
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Fake meat products have gone from a niche consumer interest to a mainstream one, with the quality of products and their likeness to real meat getting better every year. Look no further than Greggs vegan sausage roll and Walkers trio of vegan crisp range as prime examples of businesses producing plant- based products for meat-eating consumers – and they’re not alone! Plant-based food is a lucrative market and could make up to 7.7% of the global protein market by 2030, with a value of over $162 billion, up from $29.4 billion in 2020 – but what impact does this have on manufacturers?
The rise of plant-based diets places increased pressure on the food supply chain because as well as sustainable food options, consumers also want more transparency into the food they’re buying. All of this means food businesses must be able to provide detailed information about their products along every step of the supply chain – and this requires better management and control over production lines.
As the plant-based industry continues on an upward trajectory, forward-thinking manufacturers will need to adopt a digital- mindset in order to keep pace with increased
10 MARCH 2024 | PROCESS & CONTROL
supply demand across a more varied food landscape – and technologies such as AI, PowerBI, and food-specific ERP system will be key to meeting the needs of this market. Food traceability is a non-negotiable for today’s food-conscious consumers, especially when more than 60% of these consumers read a product’s ingredient statement and nutritional panel when buying plant-based products. To cater to this growing consumer base, food manufacturers need to be well- versed in vegan and vegetarian processes and be able to effectively track products in the “goods in” and “goods out” processes or risk breaking trust with their suppliers.
We’ve seen the damage to businesses when traceability processes breakdown – supermarket giants Tesco and Sainsbury’s both took a brand reputation hit back in 2018 when the Food Standards Agency (FSA) found traces of meat in their vegan and vegetarian ranges. So how can companies avoid this scenario? It all comes down to transparency. Businesses need to provide consumers with the confidence that what they’ve bought has been made, transported, and created in a vegan or vegetarian friendly environment. Manufacturers who use both meat and vegan products need to look at their production lines to ensure they can effectively tackle food supply chain challenges such as cross-contamination. A food-specific ERP system with bi-directional and quality assurance (QA) functionality can step up to
the plate to ensure manufacturers establish extensive quality and customer safety checks throughout the entire supply chain. The amount of data being generated in the food industry is increasing every year, and those who can tap into the right form of data can navigate the market quicker, make accurate future predictions, and adjust their business accordingly. But without the correct digital tools, it could take hours (or even days) for businesses to pull data together. So how can manufacturers have real-time data at their fingertips?
PowerBI can help food companies collate and display information from a variety of data sources such as attributes, batches, products, and customers. This technology provides a rapid information breakdown and enables easy access to understandable data, allowing food businesses to access relevant information in the event of a potential quality concern and quickly evaluate issues before they become a problem.
As pressure mounts on food manufacturers and distributors to provide high-quality plant- based food at increased volumes, AI can play a major role from the factory floor, all the way to the business strategy at the top floor. For example, IoT devices can automatically collect data on machinery performance against how the equipment should be performing, saving teams valuable time as they won’t need to monitor performance manually. AI can also help manufacturers test
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