Even as the crisis recedes , food and beverage companies will need to integrate business agility into their operations if they are to cope with continued uncertainty and volatile markets . Looking to future competitiveness and resilience in the “ new normal ,” sensor technology and machine learning are already being used by the brewing industry to predict when beer moves from fermentation to the free rise phase – effectively “ teaching ” technology to predict when it is ready for the next stage of production . Similarly , artificial intelligence ( AI ) has been employed to identify hazards in milk or detect machinery faults before they occur . All of these applications help to minimize downtime , prevent spoilt batches and increase the operational efficiency of the production line .
Aware of the enhanced operating agility and efficiency that digitalisation offers , 74 % of SMEs in the industry have already made steps towards improving production processes through digital technologies . In times of crisis , however , investment appetite tends to shrink as companies feel a need to focus on shorter-term returns and on staying afloat rather than looking to modernize existing equipment through longerterm investments . That being said , commentators suggest that companies who continue to invest even throughout difficult economic situations typically emerge ahead of their competitors , gaining long-term competitive advantage over their counterparts . This means that the pandemic and its economic aftermath have in fact made the importance of investing in new technology more important – not less .
In fact , the urgent challenges of the pandemic and its long-term effects may even compress the timeline for investing into a shorter period . Previous research from SFS estimated the window of opportunity left to gain competitive advantage from investing in digitalisation to be 5-7 years away . After this point , manufacturers having not invested may struggle to ever catch-up . It is likely that this estimation may even need to be narrowed to account for the impact of the crisis .
Acquiring new technologies often requires a considerable investment which many companies will struggle to meet without external support . To provide food and beverage manufacturers – large and small – with a financially sustainable path through the current challenging environment , smart financing models are emerging . Smart finance , embedded as part of the overall value proposition , will be a key enabler for solutions providers across the entire technology and machinery supply chain . Smart finance for digital transformation in manufacturing tends to come from integrated specialist financiers , where the funder understands the technology , the sector , the applications and the operating pressures .
Using this knowledge , they can create and align financing structures that are focused on achieving recognizable and clearly identified desired business outcomes for the manufacturer , through access to the right technology , services and advice . Aligning payments to commercial outcomes is particularly important during an economic period where all expenditure has to deliver an exceptionally clear and tangible link to business benefits . Smart vendor finance makes digital transformation more financially sustainable for food and beverage manufacturers – removing their obstacles to investment .
The consensus among global analysts is that it is critical to maintain new technology adoption even in times of economic difficulty . The benefits are clear – increased agility , productivity , lower energy consumption and even lower inventory holding costs . Moving towards smart factory technologies can put manufacturers in a better position to bounce back from the crisis and minimize the impact of future changes in consumer behaviours . Cautious food and beverage companies may be thinking of deferring investment based on the current economic outlook , but this would be a mistake . As the window for competitive advantage from investment continues to diminish , with the crisis narrowing this timeframe , part in this , manufacturers are increasingly turning to integrated finance options to accelerate their digitalisation journey .
www . siemens . com / global / en . html FDPP - www . fdpp . co . uk 57