An international survey by CSB-System has revealed that decision makers in the food and beverage industry are optimistic about the future.
The majority of the 120 surveyed decision makers see their own products as the basis for their business success.
Half of the respondents define product leadership through quality, freshness and innovations as their preferred business strategy.
Downward pressure on prices
Two out of three decision makers are sensing a big or very big downward pressure on the prices in their markets. Many sectors are affected by currently high raw material prices, which are difficult to pass on to trade or the final consumers.
Another challenge is legal requirements with regard to food safety, labeling, and traceability. Plus, retailers place increasing demands on manufacturers. Retail is only doing business with manufacturers who can guarantee permanent product availability and prompt response times.
IT offers the largest improvement potential
The enterprises identified three business units as having the greatest potential for improvement: in sales and marketing; in production and intralogistics; and, primarily, in information technology.
According to the respondents, IT can help reduce costs, but what is more important is its contribution to managing complexity, controlling operations, and improving responsiveness.
Quality will become even more crucial to success
The decision makers considered the following scenario to be most probable: the significance of value and sustainability in the food industry will be increasing. In addition to the mass market, high-price segments are gaining importance.
The fusion of cutting-edge technologies and traditional crafts produces a new quality of food stuffs that are elaborately manufactured, prepared and consumed.
Hermann Schalk, head of sales at CSB-System, said: “We still expect the downward pressure on prices to persist, therefore cost reductions are necessary. This must not adversely affect product quality, which is not necessarily the case. Our experience is that there is plenty of optimisation potential in the processes, mainly through digitalisation.”
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