How Can Your Food Company Prevent Waste With the Right ERP

Food waste is without a doubt a worldwide environmental, economic and societal problem as the entire planet is bearing the burden of lost and wasted food. The lifecycle of food begins in farms, where it’s grown and harvested from the land of the sea. It then continues its journey through the production processes, handling, storage, distribution and consumption. Throughout this food cycle, losses and wastages occur, at farms, processing plants, distribution centers, all the way to the supermarkets. How can food companies prevent such a massive food waste?

The facts about food waste

1/3 of all food produced globally ends either as food loss or food waste
A third of the food produced for human consumption globally, about 1,6 billion tons per year, is lost or wasted.
Every year 1.4 billion hectares of food is produced that is eventually thrown away.
The cost of food waste globally is estimated at around USD 2.6 trillion – of which USD 1 trillion is incurred from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water scarcity, biodiversity loss, increased conflicts and loss of livelihood due to issues such as soil erosion, nutrient loss, reduced yields, wind erosion and pesticide exposure 2.
Food waste accounts for 4.4 giga-tonnes (Gt) of CO2 eq. per year, which represents 8% of global anthropogenic GHG emissions 3. In comparison, the overall emissions from China, USA and India are 12.45, 6.34 and 3.00 Gt of CO2 eq. per year 4.
If we waste 50 percent less globally every year, our footprint decreases CO2 with the equivalent of all cars in Europe not moving for a year.
Some 60% of the world’s largest food companies have pledged to halve food waste by 2030 in line with SDG 12.3.
It is also possible to determinewhen food is wasted: In developing countries, 40% of losses occur post-harvest and at processing stages

The main food wasting drivers in manufacturing and wholesale/ retail companies

Some of the main drivers of food waste are manufacturing, wholesale and retail companies. Over-production resulting from pressure to meet contractual requirements, in combination with damaged goods and cheap disposal alternatives lead to food waste. Wholesaler and retailer food waste drivers include temperature changes that lead to spoilage, and the ever increasing aesthetic standards expected by both consumers and retailers. Packaging defect can also make produce unfit for sale. Over supply and overstocking due to poor planning and excess surplus are impacting the amount of food wasted by manufacturing companies.

The benefits of a food processing ERP suite in preventing food waste

The right food processing ERP suite can facilitate food waste reduction efforts. Both distributors and food manufactures need to consider ERP solutions to help reduce food waste. Results of various sources point to the huge impact of food waste that occurs at different stages of the food production journey, from production to distribution, resale and finally to the end-consumer. Food companies need to make the shift from mass-production to smart-production by re-evaluating the way food is being produced in the food supply chain. By adopting a food focused ERP, companies have the benefit of:

Total visibility over every aspect of the organization
Reduce spoilage and contamination
Decrease in raw-materials shortage and materials wasted
Streamlined data across all organizational levels
Adapting to industry regulation protocols in real-time
Improved data stock and inventory levels
Forecasting models that prevent unnecessary over-ordering
Maintain quality through the entire process
Data access in case of re-calls
Resolve all packaging and labelling requirements
Full inventory traceability

The right ERP software suite focused on food manufacturing processes can enable your organization to go one step forward towards zero food waste. By reducing purchasing costs, producing more finished product, while reducing overstocking and streamlining business processes, profit is ensured.

Sources:

World Biogas Asociation, Ecowatch, Rabobank, AdvocayGroup.