Food ERP Software White Papers

Effective Replenishment Parameters: Many distributors rely on their computer software to help them decide when to replenish the inventory of stock products and how much of each product to reorder. Unfortunately, the system is often set up incorrectly or misused, and the distributor does not receive all of the possible value from this very expensive tool. In this document we discuss some common replenishment parameters found in distribution application software packages.

Food and Beverage Manufacturers Evolve for the New Economy: A “New Economy” is emerging with constant and rapid changes in costs, demand trends, consumer preferences, customer needs, niche markets, safety and environmental regulations, and competitors. Adapting to this New Economy has forced companies to further streamline their operations for greater efficiencies and waste reduction in order to survive.

Information Integration Advantages: The food and beverage industry faces many challenges - ensuring food safety, keeping up with regulatory compliance mandates, managing shifting demand, and squeezing margins from complex distribution networks. The key to success is information - capturing data up and down the supply chain and providing access for analysis so that executives can make rapid, informed decisions. For most companies of scale, this type of sophisticated information management requires a common, integrated information technology platform.

Improving the Accuracy of Your Forecasts: Distributors have to provide the best possible material availability as well as more services with a smaller investment in stock inventory. They have to do more with less. In order to accomplish this goal, estimates of future usage of stocked items must be as accurate as possible. In this document we will explore some ideas we have found to be effective in developing accurate demand forecasts for your stock products.

Keeping Stock Balances Accurate: If you don’t know what is actually in your warehouse or storeroom, you cannot provide customers with reliable stock availability information and you won’t reorder products at the proper time. Maintaining accurate stock balances is a vital component of an effective inventory management program. Without correct on-hand quantities it is difficult if not impossible to meet your customer service and profitability goals.

Key Challenges Facing Food and Beverage Manufacturers and What They Must Do To Survive: Food manufacturers have a lot on their plates these days: fickle consumers, powerful retailers, increasingly stringent food safety rules, and much more. However, margins are slim and the competition is furious. There are hundreds of product categories, and to compete, firms must constantly innovate. Even industry giants can't afford to sit back. Given this backdrop, how can the SMB food manufacturer cope in the face of the same external pressures and fewer resources?

Maintaining Stock in Branch Locations: Distributors rely on branch locations to maintain a high level of customer service. But providing this service is very expensive. It is imperative that distributors carefully analyze the products that should be maintained in each branch location as well as the replenishment source for each item. In this document we will discuss policies and procedures for successfully maintaining stock inventory in branch locations.

Staying Competitive in the Multi-Channel Distribution Industry: Multi-channel distribution operations are becoming more complex, with ever-changing customer requirements, global and electronic marketplaces, multiple distribution channels, and compliance initiatives adding to the perennial challenges of delivering accurately and on time. Successfully meeting these challenges in ways that provide competitive advantage requires tight synchronization of business processes throughout the supply chain and across the entire enterprise.

Superior Supply Chains in the Food and Beverage Industry: In an environment full of new opportunities, food manufacturers must advance their supply chains beyond traditional buy-and-sell relationships to retain existing business and capture emerging markets. Without a strategic focus on supply-chain management, operations throughout the supply chain can rapidly deteriorate, putting quality, profitability, and lives in jeopardy.

Sustaining Success in a Competitive Industry: Strict compliance standards, low profit margins, intense competition, high customer-service expectations - when you’re in the food and beverage distribution industry, these conditions define your business. As a player in the industry, how effectively you meet the challenges determines whether or not your company is successful.

The First Steps to Achieving Effective Inventory Control: In this document we will discuss the first steps to getting your current inventory under control. We will help you determine what products you should stock, what to do with unwanted inventory, and how to organize storage locations in your warehouse. As you implement the following steps, observe the effect on your company’s overall operations as well as the “bottom line.”

The Value of Manufacturing Visibility: Information is critical to manufacturers—indicating how and when goods are being produced and to where products are moving. Capturing and sharing manufacturing information requires a strategic approach that identifies what should be tracked, with whom to share information, and how to leverage this “manufacturing visibility” into improved operations and business performance.

Product Information:

Build a Competitive Edge for Manufacturing Plant Operations: This white paper outlines ways that technology can help manufacturers meet challenges, increase operational efficiency, and step ahead of competitors with more proactive planning, greater shared visibility, and more agile and more profitable responses to change. This white paper will also address specific ways that Microsoft Dynamics AX can help your manufacturing operations compete, grow, and succeed.

Drive Greater Success with Enhanced Supply Chain Visibility: Microsoft Dynamics AX offers global manufacturers a business management solution that provides integrated, real-time data in open, standard formats that can be easily shared through communication and collaboration tools - to effectively bridge the entire supply chain. This can bring greater transparency and connectivity to supply chains, empowering your organization to meet the challenges of today’s competitive markets.

Empower Your People with Self-Service Business Intelligence: This white paper reviews trends and challenges and explores the advantages of an appropriate and effective BI solution in an ERP environment. It also discusses how Microsoft Dynamics AX, with other Microsoft technologies and programs, can help organizations harness the potential of information, use it to empower everyone in the organization and supply chain, and turn the resulting insight into competitive advantage.

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 White Paper

Recession Intervention: Why ERP is Critical Now: During a recession, investing dollars in new technology to manage resources may seem counterproductive. But in fact, automated enterprise resource planning (ERP) can result in efficiencies you'd never achieve with the conventional practices your company may be used to. And those differences could make or break your company during tough economic times.

The Need for a Modern System: The need for modern systems is the most common issue facing today's IT buyers. Systems that haven’t kept up with changing business demands impose increasing operational inefficiencies that can severely impact a company’s bottom line. The wide range of capabilities offered by the applications in the Microsoft Dynamics line give you the tools to overcome many of the problems caused by outdated systems.

The Value of Microsoft Dynamics AX for Manufacturers: Greater visibility enables manufacturers to focus less on the tactical pressures of the marketplace and more on innovation and strategic growth. Organizations moving from disparate or traditional paper-based systems are likely to achieve significant returns from Microsoft Dynamics AX in terms of productivity and visibility alone. Deployed properly, Microsoft Dynamics AX can deliver a positive ROI in fewer than 18 months.

Please contact Merit Solutions if you are interested in learning more about MAXFood for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.