Food Industry

With increasing government targets, competition from overseas and the rising costs of raw ingredients, the UK food industry has a lot to contend with. However, implementing a CRM or ERP solution will help organisations in the food sector achieve a real competitive advantage.

Customer Relationship Management for the Food Industry

The UK food industry is extremely competitive. All companies are aiming to increase customer loyalty, reduce costs and enhance profitability, and this can be difficult.

Irrespective of industry sector, communication is essential for building relationships and therefore success. However, many organisations including food manufacturers and distributers make this difficult for themselves as they don't have a structured method of storing information. The result is multiple records, incorrect information and gaps in employee knowledge. This can result in poor customer service, meaning custom goes elsewhere.

However, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software has revolutionised the way that food manufacturers and distributers work. CRM software provides a central place to store all information about suppliers, customers and competitors. Essentially CRM provides a way to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. Customer Relationship Management is all about building relationships with existing customers to ensure they remain loyal while attracting new clients.

The benefits of implementing a CRM solution in the food industry include:

  • One centralised database - providing a complete view of all prospects, customers and suppliers
  • Improved communication -between staff as well as between the organisation and customers, through targeted marketing campaigns
  • Administrative tasks are much easier - because of automation
  • Increased staff efficiency and effectiveness through streamlined processes

The term CRM is slightly misleading as the strategy, software and processes apply equally to the management of any relationship, not just those with customers. Essentially you could replace the word customer with anything whether it is wholesaler, supplier or employee. This is a concept which Microsoft have branded xRM, where the 'x' can be replaced with anything.

Concentrix has helped several companies in the food industry to increase their efficiency, effectiveness and profitability. We provide best in breed CRM solutions including Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Sage CRM and FrontRange's GoldMine. And take a product agnostic approach to implementing them, this ensures that you get the solution which meets the needs of your organisation.

ERP Solutions for the Food Industry

For many in the food industry, having both Accounting and CRM solutions is essential for the everyday running of their business. Although both solutions bring significant advantages to the organisation, essentially they will still be running two systems, one for front office roles and one for back office activities. This has the potential to cause problems within the organisation. For example, if sales have a client marked as a big spender and accounts have the same client marked as a poor payer. The accounts team may then put the customer on stop, this is likely to cause several problems and may result in the sale going elsewhere.

However, implementing a fully integrated CRM and Accounts solution will provide food manufacturers with a link between front and back office systems, providing a full view of customers, suppliers and partners. Through using an integrated CRM and Accounts solution staff will have increased knowledge which will enable them to deliver an improved customer experience.

Concentrix provides two fully integrated solutions, Sage 200 and Microsoft Dynamics NAV. What's more, Concentrix takes a product agnostic approach to supplying them; this ensures that you get a solution which meets the requirements of your organisation. Concentrix has excellent relationships with both Microsoft and Sage and is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and Sage Accredited Business Partner.

For more information about CRM or ERP solutions, please contact Concentrix on 01509 410500 or email info@concentrix.co.uk.