Food ERP Software
One of our primary goals at FoodDistributionEdge.com is to cover news related to software and technology in the food industry, specifically ERP software for the food industry.
This page provides an overview of ERP software considerations for food distributors and processors.
What is ERP software?
ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. In the software world, ERP is a type of software that runs an entire enterprise from accounting to inventory management to customer relationship tracking, etc.
In that sense, ERP provides an integrated solution. Contrast this with companies that use different software packages (often from different vendors) for different functions. For example, accounting software from one vendor, warehouse management from another, and CRM from yet another.
There are advantages to each approach. Using separate systems allows companies to choose “best of breed” packages. With ERP software, any particular module isn’t likely to be the best package for its function, but provides the advantage of being completely integrated with all other modules.
What are ERP features that are important to companies in the food industry?
Different ERP packages are stronger for different industries. When evaluating ERP software, look into how well suited that software package is for your industry.
In the case of food, there are some special features that may be critical depending on the exact nature of your food distribution or food processing business.
Important features for the food industry include:
- catch weight pricing
- set weight pricing
- dynamic bid pricing
- market cost
- route management and truck load management
- lot tracking for FDA compliance
- broken case processing
- shelf-life dating
