Food & Beverages

The security of supply in the food industry is increasingly at risk. A threatening development is emerging simultaneously in several areas of the highly sensitive logistics and production processes. Raw materials, energy and critical operating resources are becoming increasingly scarce. Companies are therefore challenged to look for innovative solutions to protect the stability and resilience of their value chains. The design of ecosystems and cooperations as well as the optimization of the international footprint in order to improve access to scarce resources and distribute them efficiently are gaining particular importance here. At the same time, the potential of digital solutions, smart technologies, lean, agile planning and production methods, and the circular economy must be activated to reduce resource consumption and optimize the product portfolio.

Competences from ROI-EFESO

• Sustainability
• Digitalization, Industry 4.0, IIOT
• Steamline manufacturing and logistics
• Supply chain and manufacturing footprint
• Making product and service development fit for the future
• Cost reduction

The declining purchasing power of consumers is putting pressure on the high-margin segments of the food market in particular. On the one hand, consumers are increasingly turning to low-priced products, where price rather than brand and quality are the key differentiators. At the same time, the food industry is confronted with sharply and dynamically rising costs for raw materials, energy, operating resources and logistics. Passing these price increases on to consumers is only possible to a limited extent in a price-sensitive segment - because even with strong brand and label loyalty, consumers are becoming increasingly sensitive. Companies must therefore systematically examine every area of their value chains and production networks for potential savings. The aim is to identify cost levers that neither negatively impact the ability to act and innovate nor weaken the market position by compromising on quality and competitively differentiated design.

ROI-EFESO competences

• Sustainability
• Digitalization, Industry 4.0, IIOT
• Steamline manufacturing and logistics
• Supply chain and manufacturing footprint
• Making product and service development fit for the future
• Cost reduction

Consumers have increasing demands on food quality. Today, freshness, freedom from artificial additives and preservatives, natural flavor intensity and healthy ingredients are expected from every product. At the same time, consumer preferences are moving in two diverging directions. On the one hand, the market share of discounters is stable at around 40 percent. On the other hand, demand is growing for high-end labels that position food as an essential aspect of a quality-conscious philosophy of life and redefine the understanding of luxury and food innovation. Both market areas follow different logics and each require specific business models, supply chains and manufacturing concepts to address them successfully and profitably despite increasing demands in manufacturing. Food producers must therefore position themselves clearly with regard to this development and move out of the middle segment, which is coming under increasing pressure.

ROI-EFESO competences

• Sustainability
• Digitalization, Industry 4.0, IIOT
• Steamline manufacturing and logistics
• Supply chain and manufacturing footprint
• Making product and service development fit for the future
• Cost reduction

Two parallel trends are leading to an ever greater relevance of sustainability in the food industry. The first is growing consumer awareness of the social and ecological safety of products.Not only proof of origin of products and raw materials, but also complete transparency about manufacturing conditions and regionality are becoming decisive purchasing criteria. At the same time, food producers have to cope with an increasingly dynamic and demanding regulatory environment and meet complex national and international Standards. The development of an integrated sustainability strategy and its implementation in organization, processes, research and supply chain management will therefore become one of the central tasks for the food industry in the coming years.

Competences from ROI-EFESO

• Sustainability
• Digitalization, Industry 4.0, IIOT
• Steamline manufacturing and logistics
• Supply chain and manufacturing footprint
• Making product and service development fit for the future
• Cost reduction

E-commerce models are gaining relevance in the food market at an above-average rate - increasingly also in the difficult area of fresh produce with short best-before dates. The advantages offered by convenient round-the-clock shopping outweigh fixed habits - and calls on manufacturers who have so far relied only on stationary distribution to take action. Increasing openness to digital shopping processes, demographic change and the need to secure basic supplies in rural areas or car-free big cities are additionally driving the trend. At the same time, e-commerce approaches in food retailing also offer completely new opportunities to supplement food with diverse, individual services. Against this background, setting up and efficiently operating a multichannel architecture is becoming a challenging task. The key success factors, product characteristics and customer journeys in bricks-and-mortar retail (PoS) and e-commerce must be balanced and product-service bundles optimally suited to the respective channel must be defined. On the other hand, the management of supply and production chains must be adapted to the specific requirements and high speed of online retailing and rolled out on scalable, secure and high-performance technological platforms. Organizing the diversity and differentiation of sales channels and linking them with suitable services is therefore one of the most important future tasks in the food industry.

ROI-EFESO competences

• Sustainability
• Digitalization, Industry 4.0, IIOT
• Steamline manufacturing and logistics
• Supply chain and manufacturing footprint
• Making product and service development fit for the future
• Cost reduction

In the coming years, consumers will increasingly expect personalized foods tailored to their individual lifestyles and health situations. The extreme differentiation of products towards "batch size 1" follows several directions. Package size, delivery conditions, packaging, product-accompanying service offers and even the ingredients of the food can be increasingly individualized. On the one hand, this development offers additional revenue potential and opens up options for the further development of existing business models and the establishment of new ones. At the same time, it confronts producers with an explosion of complexity that must be managed at various levels: From product and service development to sales and operations planning (S&OP) to the design of purchasing, manufacturing, logistics and IT.

ROI-EFESO competences

• Sustainability
• Digitalization, Industry 4.0, IIOT
• Steamline manufacturing and logistics
• Supply chain and manufacturing footprint
• Making product and service development fit for the future
• Cost reduction