Introduction

The food business has never had a higher profile in the eyes of the global community. Not only do food manufacturers face the challenges of CPG firms but also have the additional pressures of dealing with issues concerning nutritional content labeling, globalization of the supply chain, the effects of private labeling, food safety and competitive challenges from industry consolidation. These challenges not only impact the news but also the bottom line in this era of razor thin margins. As the provider of Sage PFW ERP, the world's most widely used PC based process manufacturing solution, Sage Software understands that food companies need more from an ERP vendor than just a list of features, but a business partner who can help you deal with being first on the firing line of global competition. With sales of over $600 million and more than 2.7 million customers worldwide, Sage provides process manufactures not only world class products but also world class support, training, financial stability and technical expertise upon which to grow your business for years to come.

Solutions

Because Sage PFW ERP reflects over 20 years of continuous development in helping customers succeed, it is widely recognized as the industry defacto standard for functional richness. The following are highlights of where Sage PFW ERP can impact your ability to gain a competitive edge:

Globalization of the Supply Chain - as trade barriers and commodity prices fall, both ingredients/additive manufacturers and packaged food manufacturers must deal with the impact of global sourcing for ingredients. For packaged goods manufacturers, far flung supply chains places special demands on food manufacturers for vendor quality management, recipe/formulation management, lot tracking and EDI. For ingredient/additive manufacturers, increasing competition with overseas sources means becoming leaner and doing more with fewer resources. Sage PFW ERP provides powerful capabilities through many of its advanced features to help food company's deal with global sourcing:

• Multi-currency capability
  
• Multi-language
  
• On-water tracking via Serialized Shipment Container Codes
  
• Automated vendor lead-time management
  
• Enterprise-wide planning and budgeting
  
• Vendor quality management
  
• EDI
  
• Material Requirements Planning
  
• Lot tracking by lot number, bin number, expiration date
  
• Full AP integration
  
• QC test results entered upon receipt
  
• Contract management
  
• Support for formulation and batch size adjustments for ingredient potency
  
• Monitor Key Performance Indicators for currency fluctuations, out standing payables, days inventory in transit with business alerts

Food Safety and Nutritional Labeling - in today's increasingly litigious and regulated environment, it is critical that food manufactures maintain brand expectations of the quality of product. Sage PFW manufacturing provides powerful tools for ensuring the maintenance of high product quality standards such as:

• Powerful computerized formulation laboratory
• Comparative physical properties analysis
• Comprehensive vendor quality analysis
• Multiple lot tracking methodologies
• Quarantine and expiration date control
• Complete QC data history maintenance
• Full function nutritional labeling capability

Rapid Response to Competitive Challenges - Sage PFW ERP is specifically designed to allow you to not only be faster and more accurate in operations but also be able to flexibly react to customer needs:

• "One stop" order entry providing same screen access to:
  • Customer history
    
  • Contract data
    
  • Custom pricing tables
    
  • Production data
    
  • Inventory data
    
  • Substitution data
• Option to launch batch orders from order entry
  
• Advanced material planning features
  • Material shortage analysis wizard
    
  • 7 different methods of automated batch sizing
    
  • Automatic unit of measurement for formulation and batches
    
  • "Back flush" material requisitioning
• "After the fact" purchase order processing for expedited purchases
  
• Option for formulation adjustments on batch ticket
  
• Automated Material Safety Data Sheet maintenance and printing