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There’s a reason why NetSuite ERP has been an industry favorite regarding inventory management, e-commerce, and customer relationship management (CRM) tools for businesses throughout the food & beverage manufacturing industry. In this post, we’re going to show you how NetSuite ERP helps food & beverage manufacturing businesses find the recipe for success.
What Is NetSuite ERP?
What is NetSuite? As a form of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, NetSuite provides a comprehensive management solution for businesses of varying sizes and industries.
NetSuite ERP streamlines businesses by automating their core processes and providing end-to-end visibility of their operations, all in real-time. The result is better insight into company performance and greater control over financial health, all while boosting efficiency.
The following represent some of the best financial and logistical features of NetSuite ERP. As each of these features is cloud-based, users can rely on NetSuite ERP software from anywhere in the world.
Financial Management and Accounting
NetSuite accounting software tools provide access to a full range of financial tools, which include your general ledger, accounts payable and receivable, and reporting features for monitoring essential business processes. These were already implemented in the NetSuite ERP healthcare accounting software, but the same technology can be tailored to various industries and business needs.
Using NetSuite for food and beverage businesses, for instance, grants the ability to automate critical tasks like invoicing, billing, collections, and tracking customer accounts, ensuring that books close faster while eliminating errors that arise from manual data entry.
Inventory Management
Efficient food and beverage business demands close attention to inventory. NetSuite ERP provides the tools needed to keep tabs on any inventory sitting around. It even sends low inventory alerts to help stay consistent with customer demand.
Since food and drink companies rely on multiple retail locations, NetSuite offers tools to manage inventory across multiple locations and warehouses. Its ERP software suite can also automate core tasks to ensure seamless customer experiences while keeping overhead costs to a minimum.
Sales and CRM
A CRM platform allows multiple aspects of sales activities to integrate, allowing for tracking and managing leads through a centralized platform.
Implementing NetSuite’s CRM tools lets food and beverage businesses nurture customer relationships, manage marketing campaigns and sales pipelines, and generate advanced reports to analyze the effectiveness of current business strategies.
Together, these features empower businesses to keep up with current industry trends and stay ahead of the competition.
E-commerce
NetSuite also offers an omnichannel e-commerce platform called SuiteCommerce Advanced (SCA), which can manage online interactions and open both B2B and B2C web stores using the same integrated software system.
Implementing the SCA platform means businesses can set up and manage online retail environments, manage customer accounts, and even set up rewards programs that encourage customer loyalty. By maintaining records of customer behavior and purchase history, companies can adapt to buying trends to deliver a superior online shopping experience.
Reporting and Analytics
The best decisions depend on real-time data, which is why NetSuite offers a range of reporting and analytical tools that provide insight into company performance. Food and beverage businesses can use these to examine key metrics and trends, which can be used to hone business and marketing strategies for the future.
That data can also help plan for taxes and ensure compliance with industry regulations that may apply to a particular food or beverage business.
Supply Chain and Procurement
Supply chain challenges rank high among the concerns of food and beverage companies. Thankfully, NetSuite offers logistics and procurement tools that help follow vendors and suppliers, manage purchase orders and receipts, and track available inventory.
Rise to the Challenges with NetSuite for Food and Beverage Industry
What is NetSuite used for in food and beverage companies? NetSuite is more than just another accounting software provider; the food and beverage industry has already leveraged the NetSuite ERP platform to boost efficiency and regulatory compliance.
Here’s an overview of how a NetSuite integration helps such companies overcome their industry’s unique challenges:
Food Safety and Compliance
The larger an operation, the harder it can be to ensure every product sold meets high quality and safety standards. Additionally, food and beverage manufacturers and distributors are bound by strict regulatory standards set by government entities like the FDA.
Still, they are improving their operational efficiency and quality standards through NetSuite Quality Management. Users can tell the program what tests to perform and establish parameters to evaluate the results. NetSuite will then automatically guide inspectors through the quality assurance process, telling them what to test for and how to respond to the data they collect.
As a result, food and beverage business leaders gain real-time insights into product quality and safety standards, ensuring compliance with federal safety guidelines and confidence in producing products that meet their own standards of excellence.
Supply Chain and Logistics
How does NetSuite help manage supply chains? It starts by ensuring that all materials are available and distributed to the proper production locations, which keeps manufacturing schedules running smoothly.
The software also streamlines the procurement process by communicating with suppliers and ensuring accuracy in financial transactions, meaning the actual food and beverages reach their intended destinations on time and with greater accuracy than ever before. It’s great news for retailers and distributors who rely on your products to stock their shelves, as well as loyal customers.
Managing Seasonal Products
Certain foods and beverages will be more popular during particular seasons, but NetSuite accounting software can keep track of sales trends and year-round purchasing behaviors, providing insights that can be used to adjust inventory accordingly. Businesses will be fully prepared each time the selling season rolls around and able to avoid excess inventory afterward.
Managing Perishable Products
Unlike others, food and beverage companies deal with products with narrowly-defined shelf lives. In some ways, the considerations for perishable goods are the same as any other form of inventory management, but NetSuite offers additional insight into expiration dates and the time before your products become unsellable and worthless.
Armed with that data, keeping track of inventory and making production and sales decisions becomes seamless, ensuring that products are always moving without risking losses due to spoilage or declines in product quality.
What Are the Food and Beverage Industry’s Common Uses of NetSuite?
While NetSuite integrations can improve business performance in any industry, here are a few of the ways that NetSuite ERP is transforming the food and beverage industry in particular:
Manufacturing
Food and beverage manufacturers pursue NetSuite implementations to guide their production processes. The advanced software system can keep raw materials flowing to help maintain a steady supply of products. Additionally, NetSuite offers quality control features that allow for building monitoring systems that maintain the highest standards of quality and food safety.
Distribution and Supply Chain
Secondly, food and beverage companies rely on NetSuite ERP software to augment their distribution networks. NetSuite can help connect businesses to other retailers or distributors to help get their products into the hands of as many consumers as possible while ensuring that shipments arrive on time and accurately.
Food and beverage companies can also use NetSuite to manage their e-commerce platforms, allowing them to put their products directly into the hands of consumers. NetSuite’s omnichannel management tools enable connections anywhere customers are found.
Inventory Management
Inventory management is vital for food and beverage companies. Excess inventory can constrict cash flow and make businesses vulnerable to losses due to spoilage, but too little inventory can prevent them from satisfying customer demand.
Businesses rely on NetSuite ERP software to monitor their inventory, including the expiration dates attached to perishable products, as well as a means of gaining real-time visibility into their warehouse supply and sending alerts if inventory drops too low.
Customer Management and Analytics
Perhaps most importantly, using NetSuite for food and beverage business solutions can help track customer data and implement end-to-end visibility into your entire operation. A CRM system can also allow you to manage your marketing campaigns while gaining insight into what’s working and what isn’t.
Such data can help businesses monitor sales or customer demand trends, allowing them to respond to seasonal trends or changes in customer behavior. All of it is available through a centralized dashboard, granting greater control over every aspect of the business.
QBIX and NetSuite Partnership
QBIX has officially partnered with NetSuite, the world’s most widely-used ERP solution, to offer a comprehensive set of financial management services that can help businesses of any industry adapt to a changing business environment.
As a NetSuite ERP implementation provider, QBIX can now leverage NetSuite’s innovative features to provide food and beverage industry leaders with the insights they need to adapt and thrive in a highly-competitive market.
With that being said, business owners get the tools and data they need to make well-informed, confident business decisions. QBIX can help you scale your business your way and keep you on top of local or national industry trends.
FAQs
NetSuite ERP is a cloud-based ERP platform that provides businesses with a suite of tools for managing various aspects of their operations, including financial management, inventory management, and supply chain management, thereby allowing them to integrate and automate their business processes, providing them with real-time visibility and control over their operations.
NetSuite ERP offers specific functionalities for businesses in the food and beverage industry, such as inventory management, lot traceability, food safety compliance, and production planning. It also includes tools for managing supply chains, warehouses, and distribution, as well as e-commerce.
NetSuite ERP has built-in features that help food and beverage companies manage food safety compliance, including lot traceability, recall management, and compliance reporting. It can also help with compliance with the GFSI, FDA, and other regulatory bodies.
Yes, NetSuite ERP can integrate with many other systems and software, including those commonly used in the food and beverage industry, such as warehouse management systems, automated data collection systems, and labeling systems.
NetSuite ERP includes inventory management functionality that can help food and beverage companies track inventory levels, manage stock replenishment, and optimize inventory turnover. It can also help with managing production and expiration dates, lot tracking, and warehouse and distribution.
Netsuite training is around 25 hours long and includes training in core areas such as ERP/Financials, CRM, e-commerce, and SuiteBuilder.
Why Use NetSuite for Food and Beverage Businesses?
Though the food and beverage industry faces unique challenges, NetSuite can provide a comprehensive set of solutions that adapt to the needs of any business. To summarize, NetSuite can be used to address concerns that include:
- Inventory and order management
- Financials and regulatory compliance
- Customer relationship management
- Management of perishable or seasonal products
- Logistics and supply chain challenges
- Sales channel management
For QBIX, the partnership has been natural. With NetSuite, we now offer our clients the insight they need to evaluate their performance and scale their business.
If you’re interested in learning more about these features or becoming a NetSuite partner, contact us to speak with one of our qualified representatives. The future of the food and beverage industry is here — Are you ready?