Table of Contents
Introduction
Food and beverage companies operate in one of the most demanding business environments. From meeting strict shelf-life and traceability requirements to managing complex vendor relationships and production schedules, operational efficiency is critical. Many businesses still rely on outdated systems, spreadsheets, or siloed tools that cannot meet these demands.
A modern ERP system designed for the food and beverage industry can help address these challenges. However, success depends on how well the software is configured and implemented to fit your processes. This is where the right consulting approach becomes essential.
This blog explores what to consider when evaluating ERP for food and beverages. We share real scenarios from client engagements, outline key system capabilities, and explain how tailored ERP consulting can help businesses improve control, reduce risk, and prepare for growth.
Why Food and Beverage Companies Are Turning to ERP
Food and beverage businesses face operational complexity across every stage of the supply chain. Perishable inventory, variable lead times, strict compliance requirements, and fluctuating demand patterns create risks that manual processes or disconnected systems cannot effectively manage.
Many companies begin exploring ERP when they face one or more of the following challenges:
- Limited visibility across production, inventory, and fulfillment
- Inconsistent data from using multiple standalone systems
- Delays caused by manual tracking of shelf life, lot numbers, or vendor certifications
- Difficulty meeting retailer-specific compliance requirements
- Inaccurate demand planning or stockouts due to unreliable forecasting
An industry-focused ERP system offers a centralized platform to manage these areas with greater control and transparency. It allows food and beverage teams to make better decisions based on real-time data while reducing the time and effort spent on compliance, audits, and order fulfillment.
However, choosing the right ERP solution is only part of the equation. The value comes from aligning the system with your workflows, configuring it to support your specific business rules, and ensuring the right people and processes are in place to adopt it. That’s where a consulting-led ERP approach delivers long-term impact.
Start Your ERP Journey with Expert Guidance
Our consultants help food and beverage businesses move beyond disconnected systems and manual processes. From system selection to post-go-live optimization, we tailor every phase of your NetSuite implementation to your operational needs.
Request a DemoHow We Help Clients Select and Implement ERP for Food and Beverage
Choosing an ERP system is a significant decision, especially for food and beverage companies with complex production, compliance, and distribution needs. Off-the-shelf solutions rarely fit without adjustments. We approach ERP as a consulting partnership rather than a software installation.
Our work with food and beverage clients typically begins with a discovery phase. We assess your current systems, identify gaps in visibility or process efficiency, and prioritize areas where ERP can deliver measurable value. This includes reviewing how you manage inventory, track shelf life, handle vendor compliance, and plan production.
From there, we guide you through selecting a platform that fits your requirements. For many clients, NetSuite offers flexibility, traceability, and multi-location capabilities needed to support food and beverage operations. However, platform selection is only the starting point.
We support you through every phase of the ERP lifecycle:
- Designing workflows that align with your business model
- Configuring the system to support industry-specific logic, such as TI-HI, lot tracking, or fill/kill rules
- Migrating data from existing tools
- Training teams to ensure adoption and reduce reliance on workarounds
- Building reports, dashboards, and forecasting tools that drive better decisions
We aim to ensure the ERP system becomes an integrated part of your operations, not just another software layer. Whether you are implementing ERP for the first time or replacing a legacy system, the right consulting approach can significantly reduce risk, cost, and complexity.
Further Reading: NetSuite Implementation Pricing Guide and Cost of Ownership
Real-World Use Cases and ERP Scenarios
The value of an ERP system becomes clear when applied to real operational challenges. Below are examples of consulting engagements with food and beverage manufacturers and distributors. Each highlight how ERP tools, when configured correctly, can solve persistent problems and improve day-to-day efficiency.
1. Shelf-Life Tracking and Customer Compliance
- Challenge:
Distributors need to ensure that products shipped meet each retailer’s shelf-life requirements. For example, some grocery chains only accept products with a specific number of days remaining before expiration. - ERP Solution:
We configure shelf-life thresholds by customer, store that information in customer records, and trigger alerts when a sales order includes items that do not meet the requirement. Sales reps can also run availability reports in advance to confirm compliant inventory.
2. Vendor Certifications and Purchase Control
- Challenge:
Food processors must ensure that vendors maintain valid certifications for food safety and regulatory compliance. Manual tracking often results in missed expirations. - ERP Solution:
We enable certification tracking within vendor records, along with automated reminders 30 days before expiry. During purchasing, the system flags vendors with expired certifications, helping buyers avoid compliance risks.
3. Container Load Planning and Procurement Accuracy
- Challenge:
Companies must track weight and volume across sales and purchase orders to manage truckload or container capacity. Manual calculations are time-consuming and error prone. - ERP Solution:
ERP calculates total weight at the order level and ties purchase orders to container records. Any change in delivery dates or load values automatically updates the associated records, improving coordination between procurement, logistics, and warehouse teams.
4. Fill/Kill Rules and Order Automation
- Challenge:
Customers may not want to wait for back-ordered items. Instead, they prefer that the unavailable item be canceled during fulfillment. - ERP Solution:
We configure fill/kill preferences at the customer level. Back-ordered lines are automatically closed during order processing if the fill/kill flag is set. This reduces unnecessary delays and simplifies communication with customers.
5. Pallet Configuration (TI-HI) for Warehouse Efficiency
- Challenge:
Logistics teams must understand how many units fit per pallet layer and stack to optimize storage and shipping. - ERP Solution:
We load TI-HI data at the SKU level, making this information available during sales order entry and item fulfillment. This supports better pallet planning and reduces warehouse inefficiencies.
Each scenario demonstrates how consulting-driven ERP configuration can replace manual work, reduce risk, and give teams the necessary visibility to operate more efficiently.
Further Reading: NetSuite Release 2025.1 for Retailers, Distributors and Manufacturers
Key Benefits of ERP for Food and Beverage Teams
An ERP system tailored for food and beverage operations can drive measurable improvements across the supply chain. When implemented with the right consulting strategy, it supports operational efficiency, compliance, and scalability.
- Improved Inventory Visibility
Gain real-time insight into stock levels, shelf life, lot numbers, and product movement across multiple locations. - Stronger Compliance and Traceability
Track vendor certifications, lot-level data, and shelf-life requirements to meet food safety standards and audit demands. - Automated Workflows
Reduce manual tasks in purchasing, order fulfillment, and production planning with rules-based automation. - Accurate Demand Forecasting
Use integrated sales, inventory, and procurement data to improve forecast accuracy and reduce stockouts or overproduction. - Smarter Warehouse and Logistics Management
Support container load planning, TI-HI configurations, and shipment tracking directly within your ERP environment. - Lower Operational Risk
Replace spreadsheets and siloed systems with a single source of truth, reducing data errors and process delays. - Scalability for Growth
Support new products, distribution models, or retail partnerships without overhauling your systems.
Optimize NetSuite for Food and Beverage Success
Already using NetSuite but not getting the results you expected? We help manufacturers and distributors customize their setup, improve reporting, streamline compliance, and get more value from their ERP investment.
Request a DemoConclusion
Selecting and implementing an ERP system for food and beverages is not just a technological decision. It is a strategic move to improve traceability, streamline operations, and prepare your business for growth. With the right consulting support, companies can avoid costly missteps, configure systems around real-world processes, and get faster returns on their ERP investment.
If you’re evaluating ERP options or looking to improve your current setup, our team can help you assess your needs, identify opportunities, and guide your implementation with industry expertise. Ready to take the next step? Request a demo with our food and beverage ERP experts today.
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