How a Modern PLM Platform Boosts Companies’ Competitive Edge

Why it may be time for retailers, food & beverage, cosmetics & personal care and household products manufacturers to ditch their unwieldy legacy PLM systems in favor of a focused, modern tool.

Food, beverages, cosmetics, personal care products, household products like cleaners, dishwashing detergent and laundry detergent etc. are a different breed of goods. They have formulations not drawings. They have ingredients, not fabric. Instead of labels that state a size, the labels state nutrition facts and ingredient listings. Specialized packaging is required to prevent moisture loss, retain food integrity, be microwavable or dispense cleaners like spray bottles and more.

Many legacy PLM systems were born out of the auto and aerospace industry. They were made for long development times like 3 – 5 years, tens of thousands of BOMs for one product, with clunky interfaces and steep learning curves.

A modern PLM solution is user-friendly with personalized dashboards. It integrates with ERP and other business systems. It still has multi-level BOMs so packaging scientists can design that inner, outer and bulk package. This multi-level functionality also serves products that have a base formula for one component and multiple formula levels such as pizza dough, sauce and toppings. It has packaging artwork approvals built right in, so packaging data is kept in the same digital space as specs, formulations, certifications to name a few.

One of the moving targets for CPG companies is regulatory compliance. With new laws constantly landing on the books in different countries or regions, it’s hard to keep up! That’s why housing labeling, nutrition facts, ingredient listings, supplier ingredient specs, COAs, regulation and certifications in one digital repository, is crucial to making sure product data is up-to-date. Centric PLM™ links to government and other databases like USDA FoodData Central and CIQUAL in France. Taking it a step further, Centric Software has partnered with the international regulatory firm FoodChain ID/Decernis, giving users access to 220+ country regulatory libraries and databases.

Modern solutions are cloud-based with mobile apps and access available from wherever users are. Not to be overlooked is agility. Flexible and agile, modern systems are able to react quickly to market shifts by bringing users closer to consumers with built-in reporting that saves time and gives data-based insights upon which to base decisions.

Succinctly put, for industries that formulate products, a modern PLM platform transforms workflows, drives efficiency, centralizes all product data and houses certifications, regulations, specifications, costing required to commercialize a product.

Don’t be afraid to admit that your legacy system has run its course or that spreadsheets, emails and stand-alone systems should be a thing of the past. Centric PLM is an exciting, front-facing solution that gets products right and gives companies the insights to move more volume. Food, cosmetics and household products retailers and manufacturers should not delay—get the eBook to learn more about how Centric PLM for CPG boosts efficiency!