**London**: The food and beverage manufacturing industry is struggling with inflation, labour shortages, and supply chain issues. Experts suggest leveraging AI and automation to enhance efficiency, streamline operations, and improve profitability, as demonstrated by Infor’s innovative approaches in the sector.
The food and beverage manufacturing industry is currently grappling with several significant challenges that threaten its margins and profitability. Prolonged inflation has exerted pressure on financial performance, while a notable labour shortage complicates efforts to secure and retain a skilled workforce. Furthermore, persistent supply chain issues continue to hinder the ability of manufacturers to meet customer demands.
Despite these difficulties, experts suggest that the sector can find a path forward by embracing innovative technology. Mikael Bengtsson, Industry and Solution Strategy Director for Food & Beverage at Infor, highlighted the potential of enterprise automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to tackle these pressing challenges through enhanced efficiency. During a discussion with FoodChain magazine, Bengtsson stated, “If done right, the result will bring a competitive advantage.” He emphasised that technology has the capability to enable businesses to operate more effectively, accelerating operations while simultaneously lowering costs.
Various forms of AI are emerging as valuable tools in this transformation. Machine learning (ML) is particularly useful for developing custom models tailored to specific manufacturing processes. By harnessing these technologies, manufacturers can forecast market trends, preemptively identify issues, and generate actionable insights, ultimately streamlining operations. Generative AI (GenAI) has also shown promise, particularly in content creation and analytical functions powered by large language models.
Bengtsson outlined numerous instances where AI could be effectively implemented, including:
- Analysing customer feedback and automating document processing.
- Increasing revenue through demand predictions, inventory optimisation, and minimising excess supply, crucial for products with short shelf lives.
- Establishing dynamic best before dates by leveraging comprehensive data.
- Enhancing yield measurements by tracking and analysing manufacturing parameters that human oversight might overlook.
- Delivering pricing and product recommendations derived from consumers’ past purchasing behaviour.
These examples illustrate just a fraction of the potential applications for AI in the food and beverage sector. Infor engages with its clients to identify specific challenges where AI-driven solutions could yield substantial business impacts. The varied objectives may concern boosting customer service, maximising yield, or reducing waste. Although AI cannot address every issue, its capacity to deliver significant improvements is noteworthy, often yielding results within a period of 60 to 90 days.
One of the advantages presented by AI technology is that it can be integrated directly with existing infrastructures, connecting seamlessly to current enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), and supply chain systems. Infor’s approach centres on blending industry knowledge with technology to enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and increase employee satisfaction.
With over 65,000 organisations around the world relying on Infor to navigate market disruptions and facilitate digital transformation, the company stands as a pivotal figure in the ongoing evolution of the food and beverage manufacturing landscape.
Source: Noah Wire Services
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