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Infor, a global leader in business cloud software specialized by industry, today announced that Independent Computer Consulting Group (ICCG) has been selected as a preferred partner to drive digital transformation for the Fashion, and the Food & Beverage industries in India. The alliance will strengthen the delivery of Infor solutions such as Infor Cloud Suite Fashion, Cloud Suite Food & Beverage (Infor M3) including Infor’s edge applications like Infor Fashion PLM and Infor Optiva PLM to accelerate the adoption of robust, purpose-built and industry-specific suite of offerings designed to meet the evolving demands of businesses.

Whether it is e-commerce, the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics or digitally connected global supply chains, food and beverage (F&B) manufacturers are investing in IT solutions in order to take advantage of innovative technologies and opportunities for growth. Unfortunately, in efforts to achieve a quick return on investment (ROI), companies often overlook a fundamental element that needs to be in place before true transformation can occur: workforce buy-in. Today we are sharing this article by Mike Edgett, Industry & Solution Strategy Director at Infor.

How food and beverage companies can succeed in the microvertical space.

You can see it happening in supermarket aisles. Shoppers are moving their carts away from the big food brands and toward niche brands and specialized, fresher products.1 You can see it in the financials as well. The top US food and beverage companies have lost about $18 billion in market share since 2009, reports Fortune.

In this period of change, companies are differentiating themselves by focusing on specific niche, microvertical markets. By going niche, they can offer consumers unique products that appeal to highly specific consumer demand. But, developing a microvertical or niche business means taking on a range of new challenges. You must learn new skills, develop new and unique products, and rely on smaller production runs to produce higher margins.

You can only go big by going small.

For everything there is a season, as those in the Food and Beverage Industry are keenly aware. In parts of the world, harvest season is here; for others, it is spring planting. And, as 2018 coasts to year-end, it is also the season for summarizing achievements and setting new goals. Eager to capitalize on the growth momentum, F&B companies will soon be planning 2019 budgets and prioritizing the major initiatives for the coming year. With many game-changing innovations now available, companies should start early to strategize on the technology investments that will be key to seizing new opportunities.

Infor® LX is an ERP solution that offers deep industry functionality and flexibility to help you adapt to new manufacturing trends and industry changes. 

Infor LX is a comprehensive, flexible and advanced enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution for mixed mode and process manufacturers that operate with an IBM System i environment (formerly AS / 400 or iSeries). This solution improves the efficiency of the main business processes, including manufacturing, logistics, channel management, customer relations, relations with suppliers and financial management. With Infor LX, companies can improve their efficiency, agility, sustainability and profitability by improving their ability to manage variable demand and adapt to changing market conditions.

Why should you invest in this technology?

In a perfect world, functionality and ease of use would be the top criteria manufacturers use when deciding to purchase, replace, or upgrade their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution. Unfortunately, in the real world, cost considerations rear their ugly head. Business leaders are concerned about the price of not only purchasing the solution, but also how much it will cost to implement, support, and maintain. Further, there is significant concern that an ERP implementation will cause significant disruption to the business, cause the organization to lose focus, or even “break” business processes that the company looked upon as core to their success.