In a sector where perishable products, tight margins, and unpredictable supply chains intersect with increasingly complex regulations, food and beverage companies are under immense pressure to perform with precision. Enter Aptean – a company that’s leveraging industry-specific ERP and AI-enabled solutions to help food and beverage manufacturers not just stay afloat, but flourish.
“Food and beverage businesses aren’t just fighting for efficiency anymore; they’re fighting for survival,” says Jack Payne, VP of Product Management at Aptean. “That means being ready for regulation, able to pivot with demand, and resilient against disruption.”
Aptean’s industry-specific ERP suite, built on Microsoft Business Central, includes AI-enabled functionalities for regulatory compliance, traceability, predictive maintenance, demand forecasting, and supply chain optimization. Their aim is to replace reactive firefighting with proactive decision-making, helping manufacturers navigate everything from FSMA audits to TikTok-fueled demand spikes.
The complexity of the food supply chain is legendary: shelf-life constraints, variable ingredient quality, volatile demand, and geographic dependencies all make it difficult to plan and execute with accuracy. According to Aptean’s 2025 Food & Beverage Survey, 48% of sub-$100M DACH F&B companies identified supply chain disruption as their #1 concern. Larger enterprises prioritized forecasting.
Monogram Foods, a Memphis-based manufacturer, transitioned from cumbersome paper records to Aptean’s Process Manufacturing OEE system. This shift led to a 10-point increase in Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), streamlined audits, and real-time data access, enhancing decision-making and operational efficiency. Similarly, Pizza Joe’s, a regional pizza chain, adopted Aptean’s Food & Beverage ERP to replace its outdated system. The new cloud-based solution provided improved inventory accuracy, financial visibility, and streamlined dough production processes, leading to significant time and cost savings.
“When you’re dealing with fresh or frozen goods, there’s no time for manual decision-making,” notes Lee Walker, Senior Manager at Aptean. “AI gives you a second brain that never sleeps, always scanning for risks and opportunities.”
With increasingly strict food safety regulations in the U.S. and Europe, traceability is no longer just a compliance checkbox – it’s a competitive advantage. Aptean has built AI-enabled features into its ERP platform to automatically match vendor e-documents to purchase orders, map ingredients to final products, and generate trace reports on demand.
The 2025 survey revealed that 70% of North American bakery firms cite traceability as a top priority, compared to 40% of food processors in BENELUX. For global companies, managing multiple regulatory regimes is no longer feasible with spreadsheets and siloed systems.
“Our goal is to help customers turn compliance into confidence,” said Anke Koldermann, Senior Product Manager at Aptean. “When your ERP can answer regulators in real time, that’s not just safer—it’s smarter.”
Consumer tastes evolve quickly—sometimes overnight. Whether it’s a TikTok cucumber trend or a surge in demand for plant-based protein, companies must be able to shift production, sourcing, and distribution on a dime.
Aptean’s AI-based demand forecasting and customer-specific sales recommendations are helping brands stay one step ahead. According to its own data, over 30% of food and beverage companies across NAM, UK&I, DACH, and BENELUX now rank adapting to changing consumer demand as their top challenge.
One Scottish seafood firm, AquaScot, worked with Aptean to modernize their forecasting, quality assurance, and traceability systems. As Farhat Raza, Special Projects Champion at AquaScot, explained: “Aptean gave us better visibility from boat to shelf. That transparency builds trust—with regulators, with retailers, and with customers.”
What this means for ERP Insiders
Traceability must be embedded, not added on. In a world of cross-border regulations and brand-damaging recalls, food and beverage firms must move beyond spreadsheet-era compliance. Aptean’s embedded traceability capabilities let companies generate lot-level audit trails instantly, giving both regulators and supply chain partners real-time answers. This approach ensures operational safety while unlocking efficiency.
AI-driven agility is no longer optional. Forecasting, routing, and shelf-life optimization powered by AI are already delivering double-digit gains in waste reduction, fulfillment rates, and fuel savings. As demonstrated by AquaScot and others, digital agility isn’t about futureproofing—it’s about staying viable today. ERP buyers must prioritize platforms with proven AI outcomes in live deployments.
Sector-specific ERP delivers faster, smarter ROI. Generic ERP systems can’t keep pace with the nuances of food and beverage. Aptean’s vertical focus means faster time to value, built-in compliance, and AI tuned to industry realities. For companies facing labor shortages, regulatory headwinds, and shifting demand, a fit-for-purpose ERP isn’t a luxury—it’s the core of sustainable growth.
