efficiency guaranteed in the food and beverage...

Efficiency Guaranteed in the Food and Beverage IndustryWhy E-Commerce Is Mission Critical for the Industry.

The food and beverage industry can no longer ignore e-commerce

CONTENTS1. Perishable Goods 4

2. Inventory and Delivery 5

3. EfficiencyforRecurringOrders 6

4. ChallengesinPackaging 7

5. Conclusion 8

Many industries are firmly established in the

e-commerce space, such as electronics. However,

the 7.6 trillion dollar global food and beverage industry

has been slower on the uptake. Though many in the

industry may not yet see e-commerce as a pressing

issue, consumer demand indicates the opposite.

A recent study by Nielsen shows that 55 percent of

consumers are willing to buy grocery products online

in the future. The message is clear: e-commerce is

mission critical for the industry.

Introduction

4|EfficiencyGuaranteedintheFoodandBeverageIndustry

Butgettingstartedwithe-commercecan

seemdifficulttoorganizations,especially

thoseinthefoodandbeverageindustry.

Inadditiontothechallengesfacedbyall

companiestakingthefirststeptoward

e-commerce,foodandbeveragecompanies

havetodealwithindustry-specificissueslike

theperishabilityofthegoods,andstricter

demandsonlogisticprocesses.

Obstacles include:

Perishablegoods

Stockanddelivery

Efficiencyforrecurringorders

Packagingmanagement

However,companiesintheindustrycan

minimizetheseriskswithERPsystems.

Theseletcompaniesmanageallprocesses

anddatainonecentrallocation.Anoptimized

ERPsystemcombinedwithanintegrated

e-commercesolutionletscompaniesleverage

theERP’sbusinessdataandlogicanduse

thisintheirwebstore.Fromstocklevelsto

pricing,andfromexpirationdatestopackaging

details,allavailablebusinessdatacanbeused

tocreateanefficientandfuture-proofonline

saleschannelforcompaniesinthefoodand

beverageindustry.

“One system has to be leading when starting with E-commerce. Let that be your ERP.” Mike Vermeer, Business Analist, Pelican Rouge

1


The perishable nature of food and beverages makes selling these items online a particular challenge. Complex supply chains, strict food safety procedures and a short shelf life: your company has to deal with a short time to market and a quick flow of products. This means it is important that all the processes are aligned.

Makingthisarealityrequiresconsiderableaccuracy:

storingandprocessingcriticalprocessesandinformation

indifferentsystemsisn’tanoption.Doingsocanleadto

incompleteinformation,errorsanddelays,andthereforeto

goodsthatarelow-qualityuponarrival–maybeevenunfit

forconsumption.

Anintegratede-commercesolutionleveragesbusinesslogic

anddataalreadystoredinyourERP,withoutrecreatingit

orstoringitelsewhere.Italsodisplaysitdirectlyintheweb

store.Thedataandprocessesusedarealwaysaccurate

andup-to-date,helpingyoudeliverthequalityyour

clientsexpect.

Perishable Goods1

1


When dealing with products with such a short shelf life, excellent time management is of the utmost importance. Clients need to know when products are available for ordering, as well as the delivery times. Miscalculating inventory or shipping times – or even miscommunicating the right information – can leave clients empty-handed and facing unhappy customers of their own.

Integratede-commerceprovidesyourcustomerswithreal-

timeproductinformation,suchascurrentandfuturestock

levels.Yourwebstoreisbothasalesandcommunication

channel,providingclientswithup-to-dateandaccurate

informationondeliverytimesandinventorylevels.

Butthat’snotall:withourintegratedsolution,youcanalso

communicateaboutfutureinventory.YourERPhasdata

onwhennewproductscanbeshipped,orwhenseasonal

productsareavailable.Sharingthisinyourwebstorelets

customersplaceordersinadvance,whichinturnmakesit

easierforyoutoplantheproductionanddeliveryprocess.

Inventory and Delivery2“The fact that Sana is specifically built to integrate with NAV and that all of the data is available in real time are huge benefits. We do not have to worry about file transfers or data synchronization issues.”VictorDiercksen,ITsystemmanageratTalkingRain

1


Do your clients regularly order the same items, in the same quantities – but not regularly enough for a standing order? Ordering the same quantity of the same items every time doesn’t always work. There are a lot of variables that can affect demand, from weekends to seasonal changes.

Integratede-commercesolutionscanhelpspeedupthese

recurringbutnotregularorders.Forinstance,youcancre-

atetemplatesforeveryspecifickindoforder,helpingclients

Recurring Order Efficiency3

“Our sellers can easily manage their relations with clients and orders are processed with just a few actions.”TanjaVergeer,headofadministrationatBanketbakkerijVanStrien

savetime.However,youcanprovideevenmoreefficiencyby

actuallyanticipatingwhattheywanttoorderbasedonpast

onlineandofflinepurchasedataandrecurrenttrendsfrom

yourERPandCRMsystems.SanaCommerce’spredictiontool

generatesalistofproductsandcorrespondingamountsthat

clientscaneditorimmediatelyaddtotheirshoppingcart.

1


Suppliers in the food and beverage industry often have diverse clients. While one may want only two kilograms of a certain herb, others may need a whole container. With such a wide range of order sizes, suppliers often have numerous packaging options. Translating all these variables into a sustainable online sales channel may seem like an impossible task.

However,alltheseoptionsaremodelledinyourERPsystem.

Anintegratede-commercesolutionlikeSanaCommerce

directlyembedstheseoptionsintoyourwebstore.Whenever

aclientchoosesaspecificquantityorpackagingmethod,

theyimmediatelyseethefinalpriceintheironlineshopping

cart,includingthepackagingcosts.Thissolutionensuresthat

yourclientsalwaysseetherightpricewhenbuyingonline,and

requiresminimaleffortonyourpart:simplymaintainingthe

ERPisenough.

Challenges in Packaging4

“Bigger clients order 35 kilograms of coffee with accessories all at once. These packages can exceed 100 kilograms. Our national delivery service cannot deliver it anymore. That means we offer a different transporting method that comes along with other costs, which customers can automatically see online.”MikeVermeer,BusinessDeveloperatPelicanRouge


Conclusion5An integrated e-commerce solution is able to overcome the obstacles companies in the food and beverage industry face, and help them embrace online sales. The web store is perfectly aligned with other organizational processes because its information comes directly from the ERP system.

Moreover,awebstoremakesthingseasierforclients.

Theyalwayshaveaccesstoreliableandup-to-date

informationinyourwebstore,theycancreatetemplates

forrecurringorders,andpackagingoptionsare

automaticallyaddedtotheorderprice.Inshort,

anintegratede-commerceplatformwillstreamline

bothyourclients’andyourorganization’sprocesses.

Sana Commerce © 2016

Europe (HQ) + 31-10-243-6030Americas + 1-646-362-0432UK & Ireland + 44-7921-859911

DACH +43-664-501-0780APAC [email protected]

www.sana-commerce.com

SanadeliversfullyintegratedE-CommercesolutionsforMicrosoftDynamics

andSAPthathelpmanufacturers,wholesalersandretailersgrowonline,

includingmobilesupportforsalesagents.

Withmorethan20yearsofE-Commerceexperienceandaworldwidenetwork

ofpartners,Sanaoffersacompletesetofadditionalservicese.g.adviceon

SearchEngineOptimization(SEO),onlinemarketing,hosting,onlinepayment

providersandgraphicdesignthatareessentialtosuccessfullyrunyouronline

business.

SanaisaGoldMicrosoftPartner,CertifiedforMicrosoftDynamicsNAV&AX

(CfMD)andanSAPPartner.

© 2016 Sana Commerce. All rights reserved.This document contains proprietary information protected by copyright. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording for any purpose without the written permission of Sana Commerce.

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