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When we talk about the food production industry, we are actually talking about a melange of two different industries – the production industry and the food trade, with all their focal points and challenges that are posed to business software.

Manufacturing processes in the food sector are complex and run under time pressure and tight tolerances due to mandatory standards and the perishable nature of the products. Knowledge of recipes, storage quantities and production steps is essential – both for planning and quality assurance. ERPs must therefore be able to transparently manage batches for end and intermediate products, as well as multipack management and the packaging of different sales units.

Since errors or time delays in warehouse operations can directly lead to spoilage and loss of capital, modern warehouse management with mobile workflows is indispensable. Goods receipts, inter-warehouse transfers and order picking must be booked in real time and without media discontinuity. Ongoing inventories via mobile devices are also standard – a costly cut-off date inventory with potential production downtime should be avoided as much as possible, especially in an industry such as food production.

Automation is an essential key to efficiency – not only in production, but also in the software itself. Order entry, purchase orders and warehouse reposting run faster and more error-free, the less manual intervention is necessary. Supplemented by EDI interfaces for electronic data interchange, a no-touch process can be established in which orders, delivery notes and invoices are automatically sent and processed – often essential for business in a time-critical industry such as the food sector.

Many manufacturers in the food industry do not produce exclusively for retailers, but also operate their own eCommerce platforms, and even a company-owned network of outlets to reach their customers directly. The ERP must monitor outgoing goods in stores, automatically ensure replenishment and connect POS systems in compliance with the law. For online shops, comprehensive product data management with images, documents and descriptions is essential. In addition, it is important to actively manage the customer base that has been built up – from newsletters and special offers to loyalty programs for loyal customers.

Why MD-Premium should be your choice.

• Production processes à la carte: MD-Premium's integrated production order management allows you to define and describe your company's production processes in detail in your ERP. Operations and workplaces can be defined, including set-up, production and post-production times, and combined to form linked work schedules. Intermediate products that arise in the course of a work operation are recorded in storage, combined into batches if necessary, including production and expiration dates, and kept available for further processing. Production orders can be networked with warehousing, ordering and order management by means of suitable automatisms, so that the availability of your products is always guaranteed and pending orders can always be covered in the scheduled time.
• Mobile through the warehouse: The Warehouse Management Module (WMS) is fully geared towards mobile workflows. With the help of Android-based scanners, such as the Zebra MC3300x, bar and QR codes can be conveniently read and integrated into corresponding workflows in real time. The WMS supports mobile goods receipt recording, warehouse reposting and picking of customer orders, as well as mobile recording of inventory data. Thanks to the flexible approach of a mobile inventory, the WMS allows continuous inventories to be carried out, which are much easier to integrate into everyday business than conventional cut-off date inventories.
• Automated and digital: Whether an accounting software, a goods scanner, a cash register or an EDIFACT clearinghouse - MD-Premium connects any type of IT system, retrieves data and provides the corresponding information itself. Individually designed automation systems allow processes to run independently that involve other IT systems or - via the EDI interface - also business partners. Costly and unmaintainable legacy systems can be integrated directly into MD-Premium, which run as independent business logic in the context of our framework.
• Product information included: The MD-Premium article master offers a wide range of options for linking an article to various product information. Product descriptions, features, images and product documents can be stored in MD-Premium and made available to participating systems such as B2B shops or partner websites. Thanks to this integrated product information management, the use of expensive additional software is not necessary.
• A promise to the future: Individual adaptations and extensions of our basic software represent by far the greatest added value we can offer a customer. Sustainable protection of these investments over the lifetime of the software is therefore the top priority. MD-Premium ensures that these customizations always work smoothly, even after many system upgrades. With MD-Premium, customer-specific extensions become a sustainably profitable investment, and not a recurring cost trap.