An article appearing on Supply Chain Market referred to a comprehensive study that was authorized and carried out by an esteemed market research company to gather pertinent information on supply chain management in the food and beverage industry. Some of the findings are that food and beverage manufacturers are being hard pressed by retailers who are merging operations and achieving increasingly more market share and power, all packed into fewer retail chains. Consequently, there is ferocious rivalry for expansion among the food and beverage manufactures. This situation enables retailers to demand price, service, and supply chain technology terms from their suppliers. In the process, the attention of suppliers is being diverted from the critical activities of marketing and new product development. Considering all this, it is the stance of executives in the food and beverage industry that supply chain management is a crucial business strategy in this fierce environment.
Though inordinately costly, activities undertaken in relation to supply chain management result in competitive advantage for a company, and food and beverage executives are keen on maximizing value from the activities and processes involved. As was the view of those who participated in the referenced survey, tasks involved in the complex organization and implementation of supply chain management are crucial to both the supply chain strategies and the overall corporate strategy. The survey revealed that transformation is occurring within the industry and that this is having an impact on the industry’s technology, processes, and investment. New technology and processes and the resultant investment are being embraced by executives and being made a deliberate organizational approach. This, however, must take into consideration operating cost efficiency and work quality as it pertains to such areas as distribution and transportation.
Challenges and opportunities are inherent in this era of transition in the food and beverage industry, and the strategies and technologies associated with supply chain management will determine which companies succeed and which fail.
eCornell’s Food and Beverage Management program will qualify you to manage your company’s food and beverage supply chain effectively in this dynamic era of constant changes.
eCornell courses are approved by SkillsFuture Singapore for SkillsFuture Credit as well as by HRDF Malaysia under its SBL Scheme.