4 Challenges in food and beverage industry
The manufacturers of consumer products face great challenges. On the one hand, they need to create new products and update existing ones according to market trends. And on the other hand, they have to develop new and innovative products against the demands of regulatory compliance, sustainability, complexity of the supply chain, industrial productivity, increased costs of basic products and the changing needs of customers.
From our experience, we know that the food and beverage sector faces a set of unique demands that result in a particularly challenging environment for production scheduling. Today we will talk about the challenges of this sector, and the applications of Preactor AS to face them.
4 Challenges from “food & beverage” sector
1. Variation in raw materials and demand
Seasonality and confidence in crop yields mean that the quantity and quality of raw materials and demand can fluctuate a lot. The planner must be able to anticipate many eventualities and easily respond to the current situation.
2. Short shelf life
For the materials and perishable products it is essential to optimize the production time to avoid waste.
3. The strong price pressure from customers
To maintain profitability in the face of pressure to reduce prices, it is necessary to ensure that the production process is carried out in the most efficient manner possible.
4. Complexity of production process.
A mixture of discrete production modes and processes can result in complex planning and scheduling requirements, often with contradictory objectives for different parts of the process.
1 Solution for 4 challenges: Simatic IT Preactor AS
1. Variation in raw materials and demand
Preactor takes into account the availability of materials when creating the production sequence. In addition, you can define rules that control how materials are consumed.
his means that, even if there are sudden changes in the availability of material or complex rules on the use of different materials, these changes and rules can be adjusted to ensure that the scheduled production is a reflection of your needs. The process of reallocation of materials and the creation of a new sequencing can be carried out in minutes.
2. Short shelf life
Even with careful long-term planning, there could be problems with the production of short-term products if their short-term programming is not configured to deal with the considerations of the useful life. Preactor can generate schedules that prioritize short-term products and signal possible life-cycle problems for the planner.
3. The strong price pressure from customers
In the current competitive environment, it is essential to optimize the production process to minimize overheads. Through complex programming algorithms and giving the planner the visibility to identify and react to problems, whether they are costly change times, high inventory or poor compliance with the due date, you can configure Preactor to minimize them.
4. Complexity of production process
To compose complex manufacturing processes and, due to its flexibility, Preactor can be configured to create a schedule based on the reality of your production environment. It does not matter if the complexity is in the process routes of the products or the restrictions in the manufacturing process, Preactor has the capacity to face it.
Start your journey to Industry 4.0
We know that for your business it is essential to anticipate the needs of manufacturing resources, organize the efficient use of materials, personnel and machines, and deliver excellent customer service with high profitability.
Whether you’re optimizing your current operations or developing the next phase of growth, visibility helps you make informed decisions and stay ahead of the competition.
Do you want to see the transformation that Preactor can carry out in your factory, without financial risks?
Download SIMATIC IT PreactorExpress and start today, free.
Source: Siemens PLM Software
