Too many organisations believe that ERP requirements don’t differ substantially enough from sector to sector to warrant tailoring beyond minor levels of on-site configuration. While this may be the case for some comparable industries, the same ethic and ethos cannot and must not be applied to the brewing, wine or spirits industries.
There are two important nuances of these three industries that make the ERP requirements distinct and particular.
Firstly, the very nature of the industries makes Customs and Excise reporting capabilities essential. This cannot be seen as ‘just another report’ that can be readily produced from basic reporting structures.
An ERP provider who hasn’t spent time with the key organisations in the industries and with Customs and Excise themselves will not be able to provide the reporting capability that is, on the one hand, simple to operate, yet on the other hand provides sufficient reassurance that exposure to audits is minimised even as regulations change.
Secondly, the very nature of these industries means that forward planning takes on new meaning. A preemptive view of six to 12 months or one to three seasons is typical in much of the food and beverage space, but blended whisky distillers for example deal in time periods of years – one product line may require a blend of X parts of a six year old whisky, Y parts of a 12 year old and even Z parts of a 25 year old, and then in turn be matured for yet further years.
This is a view that cannot be easily accommodated by ERP providers with a ‘multi-purpose’ outlook. Equally, wine importers and producers must balance the immediate needs of the supermarket with the long-term forecasts of the yield of the various crops, how much end product this translates into, and then even the availability and quality of the next vintages.
Many in these industries are poorly served by ERP providers who have failed to recognise the unique demands on these industries of their tax burdens – which are complicated yet further when exporting – and the distance of their forecasts.
One size can never fit all in these circumstances, and too many have recently seen substantial detriment from ill-fitting ERP systems that lack the perspective and appreciation of these industries.
Andrew Brown is MD of the process manufacturing systems division of Solarsoft.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024