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NetSuite

With an integrated system that includes ERP, financials, commerce, inventory management, HR, PSA, supply chain management, CRM and more – NetSuite enables fast-growing businesses across all industries to work more effectively by a...Read more about NetSuite

4.1 (1454 reviews)

82 recommendations

Fishbowl

Fishbowl is the #1 manufacturing and warehouse inventory management software! Its powerful inventory control system gives your small or midsize business the exact tools needed to transform your inventory management and scale your ...Read more about Fishbowl

4.1 (829 reviews)

69 recommendations

Striven

Striven is a cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution suitable for many industries and organizations of all sizes. It offers features for accounting, inventory management, human resources, customer relationship mana...Read more about Striven

4.8 (116 reviews)

42 recommendations

QT9 ERP

QT9 ERP is a highly-scalable manufacturing platform for connecting and automating business data from multiple systems into one scalable and intuitive solution. QT9 ERP integrates inventory management, accounting management, sales ...Read more about QT9 ERP

4.9 (14 reviews)

15 recommendations

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Deskera MRP

Deskera enables fast growing businesses to operate more efficiently by providing them with an integrated platform that connects manufacturing, accounting, erp, inventory and warehouse management, order fulfillment, procurement, sa...Read more about Deskera MRP

3.7 (3 reviews)

14 recommendations

DELMIAworks

DELMIAworks (formerly IQMS) ERP is developed specifically for SMB and large discrete and batch process manufacturers in the aerospace, medical device, automotive, food and beverage, consumer products, plastics, packaging, and elec...Read more about DELMIAworks

4.1 (288 reviews)

13 recommendations

Mar-Kov Chemical Management System

Mar-Kov CMS (Chemical Management System) is a cloud-based process manufacturing solution for process, batch, and formulation based manufacturers. The solution can also be installed on-premise to automate daily routine processes of...Read more about Mar-Kov Chemical Management System

5.0 (5 reviews)

10 recommendations

V5 Traceability

V5 Traceability is a food traceability and inventory control solution that helps businesses of all sizes in the food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing industries. The MES system helps users streamline manufacturin...Read more about V5 Traceability

5.0 (1 reviews)

9 recommendations

Vicinity

Vicinity Software is a cloud-based or on-premise solution designed for process manufacturers with a specific focus on food & beverage (VicinityFood), chemical (VicinityChem) and breweries (VicinityBrew). Features include MRP, cent...Read more about Vicinity

4.3 (4 reviews)

6 recommendations

Manufacturing & SFC

Transform your extensive manufacturing processes into easily accessible, efficient procedures. Geneva Systems offers MRP & Manufacturing Execution software. Our MRP & Manufacturing Execution module is a robust and comprehensive ...Read more about Manufacturing & SFC

3.0 (1 reviews)

6 recommendations

NutraSoft

NutraSoft Premium/Ultimate is a food & beverage manufacturing ERP for small to medium sized food & beverage businesses who are looking to manage and grow their operation, increase margins, analyze and improve their production proc...Read more about NutraSoft

4.2 (12 reviews)

4 recommendations

BatchMaster ERP

BatchMaster Software offers process manufacturing software solutions for the food, chemical, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries. Users can run the manufacturing application with QuickBooks, Sage 100&300, Microsoft Dynamic...Read more about BatchMaster ERP

4.7 (6 reviews)

3 recommendations

R4 Enterprise

Royal 4 Enterprise is an integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution with built-in modules for distribution, manufacturing, planning, inventory management, reporting and company financials. It serves midsize to large en...Read more about R4 Enterprise

4.5 (4 reviews)

3 recommendations

MRPeasy

MRPeasy is a cloud-based AI-powered ERP/MRP software for small manufacturers (10-200 employees). Our MRP system comprises production planning, CRM, procurement, supply chain management, and inventory control modules, all of whic...Read more about MRPeasy

4.5 (96 reviews)

2 recommendations

Aquilon ERP

Aquilon Software offers a combined supply chain, manufacturing, distribution, and financial management system that is deployable either on the cloud or on-premise. All modules integrate with each other, allowing users to gain full...Read more about Aquilon ERP

4.6 (51 reviews)

2 recommendations

Connected

Connected is a hybrid integrated accounting and enterprise resource planning (ERP) that caters to small and midsize businesses across various industry verticals and helps them to integrate their data and processes across departmen...Read more about Connected

5.0 (3 reviews)

2 recommendations

Odoo

Odoo is the #1 open-source integrated business apps suite. Main apps include Website Builder, eCommerce, CRM, Accounting, Project Management, Warehouse Management, Manufacturing, Human Resources, and Marketing. There is an app for...Read more about Odoo

SAP S/4HANA Cloud

SAP S/4HANA Cloud is a cloud-based and on-premise enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. It is suitable for small, midsize and large businesses in industries such as automotive, engineering, construction, mining, research an...Read more about SAP S/4HANA Cloud

ERPAG

ERPAG is a cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. It is suitable for small and midsize businesses in various industries, including automobile, retail, education, information technology and more. Primary features ...Read more about ERPAG

Sage 100

Sage 100 is a cloud-connected ERP platform (Enterprise Resource Planning) for medium-sized manufacturers, distributors, and professional service companies. Finance, budgeting, planning, inventory, supply chain, production manageme...Read more about Sage 100

Buyers Guide

Last Updated: March 16, 2023

Not only are food and beverage manufacturers closely regulated, they are also subject to heavy scrutiny by the news media. Multiple events across the globe have increased the public’s awareness of food and beverage manufacturing. More than one manufacturer has closed its doors after bad publicity about a tainted food product.

Therefore, selecting the right food manufacturing system can help manufacturers avoid making costly mistakes—such as shipping food with spoiled ingredients—in their food production operations. One of the main benefits of food manufacturing software is that it helps food manufacturers ensure quality and accuracy in their products by providing extensive features for traceability and inventory management.

The most important software functions for food and beverage manufacturers revolve around inventory, recipe management and quality assurance. Inventory management functionality should track not only amounts, but suppliers and batches as well. Each batch of ingredients must be documented from receiving through inclusion in a product and ultimately to delivery. This high level of monitoring is what allows products to be recalled in case of quality or safety issues. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) stipulates recommendations for recordkeeping and auditability in Title 21.

General food and beverage ERP software offers general ledger and payroll as standard features. The accounts payable feature should track the batch numbers of all ingredients by each payment. Similarly, accounts receivable should track the batch numbers of sold products to customers.

While many installations of food and beverage enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are still deployed on premises, there are a growing number of cloud-based systems for food and beverage manufacturing, particularly in smaller operations. The cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) model offers subscription pricing and reduces front-end investment in hardware that’s typical of a food processing software investment.

In this buyers guide, we'll cover:

What Is Food & Beverage Manufacturing ERP Software?

The food and beverage industry faces various challenges, such as complying with food safety standards, checking ingredients, handling recipes, tracking expiry dates and predicting fluctuating demand. Managing all these facets manually can become difficult.

Food and beverage ERP software helps companies automate these tasks and manage every aspect of the business including quality assurance, financial management and human resources. This type of software helps monitor food safety, respond to consumer trends and improve supply chain operations. Some popular food and beverage ERP software vendors include:

Common Features of Food & Beverage Manufacturing ERP Software

Food and beverage manufacturers should evaluate whether the following functionality is present in the software they're evaluating:

FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliance

Strictly speaking, no software package can be 21 CFR Part 11 compliant because the rule stipulates administrative and procedural controls as well as technical implementation for electronic and hybrid record keeping. However, software can support 21 CFR Part 11 by completely implementing the technical requirements.

Other government compliance

Systems should produce reports that are in compliance with the 2002 Bioterrorism Act and implement current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP). They should also support reporting for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) management. It should generate any reporting required from federal, state and local authorities.

Food traceability

Food and beverage manufacturers must track spoilage in the ingredients while they’re in inventory. Finished products must also be tracked throughout storage and shipping. Finally, the customers (i.e., stores or restaurants) must be notified when to take expired goods off the shelf or when the goods will be retrieved.

Recipe management

The system should include recipe management, ingredient substitution and batch scaling. In some cases, ingredients are encoded to keep the recipes secret.

Batch and ingredients tracking

As part of compliance with the Bioterrorism Act, each batch must be identified and tracked. The ingredients of each batch must be tied to their individual batch number as well.

Quality assurance

The system should support quality assurance (QA) testing, with protocols documented and implemented through the software. The QA system should randomly identify samples for testing and compare test results against norms. Advanced systems will feature dashboards that will alert management regarding problems with quality.

Recall tracking

Recalls are initiated when an ingredient or product becomes contaminated. To ensure accurate, efficient recall, the system needs to identify all of the affected batches and the customers who received those batches.

Employee training tracking

Part of compliance is documenting employee training. The system should track which employees have completed which training. It should also notify managers if training has expired or if employees have not completed required training.

Seasonal demand forecasting

The system should track historical sales and make recommendations for seasonal sales production. The system should account for lag time in ordering ingredients, processing and delivery, then recommend dates for ordering, production and shipping.

Market Trends to Understand

Maintaining efficiency in a competitive industry. The food and beverage industry is highly competitive with approximately 21,000 companies in the U.S. alone. These businesses adopt aggressive strategies, including mergers and acquisitions, to grow their market share. Small and independent businesses will require technology systems that have plenty of features to keep them competitive. On the other hand, larger firms require systems that can manage multiple operations and locations.

Technology’s role in supply chain and consumer choices. With the widespread use of smartphones and tablets, technology is set to play an increasingly important role in consumer choices and supply chain operations. Using ERP and other software to track product ingredients, shelf life and inventory can ensure the delivery of quality products at the right time to the right customers.

Food safety concerns. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), food safety issues continue to be a concern for consumers across the globe. These issues include inaccurate labeling, use of artificial ingredients and the need for information on sourcing of ingredients. Logically, consumers place the responsibility for food safety on the manufacturers. So, manufacturers should use software to track data, digitize processes and ensure compliance and quality. Alerts and approval features in these solutions ensure that checks are carried out before a product is released.

E-commerce in food and beverage industry. Shopping online, even for groceries and food items, is common today. ERP software can provide secure and reliable e-commerce functionalities. This can help drive sales and improve profitability.