Food and Beverage

There are three major trends affecting supply and demand in the food and beverage industry. Global rises in demand are caused by worldwide population increases of approximately 100 million people a year.

Greater prosperity around the globe also drives demand for higher value food products. However, the supply to meet this demand is slowing, with increases in production rates per acre slowing.

The result is global growth opportunities, rising input costs and greater pressure to lower the costs in the food and beverage supply chain at a time when it is becoming ever more complex.

Tompkins Associates is working with food and beverage industry leaders to address many of the leading challenges, including:

Channel Diversity: There are a growing number of store types catering to specific consumer needs, such as supercenters, membership clubs, and convenience stores, and the growing popularity of foodservice and specialty stores, as well as the expansion of private label products.

Packaging: Packaging is being used as a competitive edge and an area to reduce costs, including new portion packs, use of "smart" label technologies, and customers demanding less material waste and environmentally sustainable packaging. To complicate growing international demand, each country has its own regulations on packaging.

Variety and Convenience: Consumers are looking for more food options that meet a variety of needs, including health, taste and convenience. A number of consumers are trying to eat more at home, but they still look for easier ways to consume and prepare meals. Single serving sizes and extreme portability, microwavable packages and "one-handed eating and drinking" are in demand.

Regulations: There is a move to "globalize" the mission of the Food and Drug Administration, because its task now is not domestic, but international. The European Union's exporters and importers face many new regulations for special security certificates aimed at reducing terrorism, fraud and counterfeit products.

Economic Impacts: The current economic conditions can impact consumer buying habits and have a wide and unpredictable effect on the food industry's input costs. Branded food companies actually enjoy a sweet spot during an economic downturn -- after people stop going out to eat, they first turn to branded foods before switching to private label products.

But once consumers switch, it is very hard to get them back without sustained price drops. In addition, when predictability of commodity costs is low, or the price swings widely, the traditional multi-month moving average used by food companies fails to provide the predictability needed for financial planning, and varying the price to consumers may be difficult or not a viable option.

Supply Chain Solutions

Tompkins Associates focuses on end-to-end supply chain solutions in the food and beverage industry, with offices in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia, including Technomic Asia, based in Shanghai, China, and Tompkins International EMEA, based in Germany.

Tompkins Associates has experience designing and executing major projects for:

• Strategic grocery sourcing and procurement fresh, frozen and dry
• Demand/supply planning and management
• Trade management with security, threat mitigation and country of origin labeling
• Supply chain management processes optimization
• Network analysis and delivery route analysis and implementation
• Distribution center design and implementation
• Damage and unsaleables
• Customer service and value analysis

Case studies:

• Gerawan Farming reduces cost, product damage, and energy use while increasing flexibility with Tompkins Control System and conveyer/sortation systems that provide reliable, gentle fresh food handling.
  More in this case study.
• Bellisio Foods (PDF)
• CanGro Foods (PDF)
• Del Monte (PDF)
• Virginia ABC (PDF)
• Sheetz, Inc. (PDF)
• Gerawan Farms (PDF)
• Miller Brewing (Milwaukee (PDF), Trenton) (PDF)
• Oscar Mayer (PDF)
• Sargento Foods (PDF)

Ask the Experts:
Send us your questions.

A few of our clients:

Partial Client List of Food and Beverage clients and more

Resources

Read the article: Mergers and Acquisitions Heat Up in Food and Beverage Industry

Read the article: Transforming Your Fresh Food Supply Chain

Read the article: Tame the Global Food Supply Chain

Read the article: Reverse Logistics Moves Forward from Food Logistics magazine.

Read the Article: Don't Postpone Or Drop WMS Initiatives from Food Logistics magazine.

Gerawan Farming reduces cost, product damage, and energy use while increasing flexibility with Tompkins Control System and conveyer/sortation systems that provide reliable, gentle fresh food handling. More in this case study.

Benchmarking and Best Practices: How to Join the Supply Chain Consortium

For the latest on this industry and more, subscribe to Supply Chain Edge, Tompkins Associates' monthly e-newsletter.

Managing complexity while reducing costs in the food and grocery supply chain in this article from Food Logistics.

Supplier Relationship Management: It Takes the 'Big R' to Win Global Sourcing Game

White Papers

• Understanding RFID:
  A practical guide for supply chain professionals
• ERP Vs. SCE
  The best choice for supply chain efficiency and savings
• Order Picking
• WMS Implementation
• Warehouse Slotting
• E-Procurement

Learn More About Tompkins Associates

To learn more, simply complete our Information Request Form.