Page 15 - Food&Drink Magazine May 2022

food businesses is how to deal with the massive amounts of data from right across the supply chain (not to mention making sure that the date being received from supply chain partners is accurate).
It is not static data either, but dynamic data without fixed product characteristics dependent on the country of origin of an ingredient, for example, or method of transportation, or how it needs to be packaged.
With an increasing number of factors to be considered to determine sustainability, so the complexity of product lifecycle management (PLM) and product development grows at an astounding rate. This means it is no longer just about product formulation but about streamlining and automating the product development process, getting relevant, appealing products to market as quickly as possible.
This is where spreadsheets are no longer good enough when it comes to PLM, unable to deal quickly and effectively with the huge volumes of dynamic data that need to be taken into account.
Spreadsheets are not only error-prone, but time- consuming as they are passed from department to department in an effort to amalgamate the actions and activities of all involved parties.
With the right PLM tool in place, businesses can capture ideas, qualify them in structured stage gate processes, bringing a new transparency to not only decision criteria and accountability, but sustainability credentials too.
COLLABORATIVE PROCESS
The right tool facilitates input from every part of the business, providing a central repository of all relevant information.
Activities are allocated to various departments and people, scheduled in parallel and requiring digital sign-off before any further actions can be taken, speeding up the entire product development process and making it less error-prone and more efficient.
All too often new products are late to market due to an oversight in one or more areas of the product development process. All the stages involved in bringing the right products to market in a timely fashion are so interlinked and co-dependent, that the simplest of mistakes in a seemingly inconsequential part of the process, can ultimately lead to failure.
A CONTINUOUS JOURNEY
The product lifecycle doesn’t begin and end with product development but continues long after launch. The ability to re-calculate sustainability
factors when switching suppliers, changing ingredients, or responding
to new legislation, for example, is crucial and something that is simply too complex and time-consuming to be left
to spreadsheets.
The right PLM solutions can
manage this entire process, changing the spec of a particular product and then telling you how formulations
capability to bring such products to market quickly is crucial, helping to build a real competitive advantage in an increasingly challenging and competitive marketplace.
Technology is the key to optimising sustainability, enabling a food business to adapt to changing demands and legislation while still delivering appealing products to consumers.
will need to change to optimise not only specs and costs, but sustainability too.
Taking this one step further and the management of the end-of-product stage must be considered too. It means PLM going beyond formulation-to- fork, and looking towards recyclability of packaging and perhaps even responsible food waste management options.
These steps represent additional efforts that can to boost the sustainability credentials of a particular product or food business.
As more food businesses strive to achieve truly sustainable products, the
With the right technology
in place, food businesses can streamline the entire product development process. By putting the right infrastructure in place, businesses can build an ongoing commitment to delivering the highest sustainabilitystandards. ✷
✷ ABOUTTHEAUTHOR
ENVIRONMENT MATTERS
“ As labelling requirements for nutritional values and allergens are now standard, it is likely there will be an increase in regulations for issues such as carbon emissions and water usage over the next few years.”
Jarrod Kinchington is the vice president and managing director of Infor ANZ. He has more than 20 years’ experience working with business and IT stakeholders in
telecoms, utilities,
financial services, and
the public sector.
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www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au | May 2022 | Food&Drink business | 15