Streamline F&B Digital Transformation: Why IT Leaders Should Prioritize AI in PLM Selection

In this Story

The New IT Mandate: AI as the Engine of Efficiency

IT’s role has evolved dramatically since its inception. Gone are the days where your teams would wait around to deal with technical difficulties. IT professionals are being pushed to orchestrate innovation across all digital systems. And to do so at lighting speed.

Here’s the catch: Innovation only happens when teams have the right information. Only then will they feel empowered to push the boundaries of the organization.

But how, exactly? IT teams need access to an accurate, connected data hub that equips them with knowledge. And that’s exactly where a modern Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system comes in, particularly one powered by robust artificial intelligence.

An AI-powered platform can connect the IT dots from brief through formulation—reducing data silos, automating validation and predicting formulation or compliance issues before they occur. For example, AI can quickly spot ingredient or packaging inconsistencies and guide teams towards a faster and more compliant product development process. IT teams can eliminate wasted time searching through spreadsheets and emails for critical details. An AI assistant also looks at costing issues, compliance targets and optimization opportunities, like substitutions or reduction in amounts.

All this efficiency equates to time saved on bringing products to market. Which is why many Food & Beverage IT leaders are turning to PLM solutions. When IT teams are freed from menial tasks, they focus more on innovation and staying ahead of the competition.

How AI-Powered PLM Elevates ROI

An atmosphere of constant innovation and forward movement—combined with intelligent automation—drives transformative ROI across any Food & Beverage organization.

IT teams have long dealt with manual processes and convoluted data. AI-powered platforms simplify and accelerate processes that previously took hours. Data duplication is a perfect example. Duplicate data is unfortunately common in so many organizations and duplicate data creates confusion and delays, leading to unnecessary costs. These inefficiencies drain resources for IT teams. But when data is managed intelligently, teams are freed up to focus on high-value tasks.

Centric PLM™’s predictive analytics in particular drives better budget allocation, resource planning and cross-team transparency. This transparency ensures every person on the team has the correct information, no matter the scenario. There’s no question that when IT teams have the right data at the right time, they’re empowered to make faster and more effective decisions—and to think big about the future.

The impact? First, organizations see higher productivity gains.

For IT teams that can equate to up to a 50% boost in productivity. And that means your company is significantly reducing project cycle times and getting products to market faster than ever—we’re talking up to 60% faster time to market.

The bottom-line result? Greater cost savings.

Companies using intelligent PLM boast up to 15% reduction in COGS and up to 15% rise in margin. With higher productivity and lower costs, IT teams can see a clear return on investment. That equates to a higher impact on your bottom line.

PLM transforms IT from a cost center to a value driver.

What to Look for in an AI-Driven PLM

If you’re an IT leader ready to start searching for an AI-driven PLM, smart automation is a must in today’s technological landscape. These next-gen solutions feature tools like AI-copilots, predictive analysis and natural language search. But that’s just the beginning of PLM’s capabilities for an F&B organization:

Compliance Automation

PLM not only seamlessly orchestrates the entire product lifecycle faster, but it does so with full compliance.

AI assistants can look at regulatory compliance targets like sustainability claims or labeling requirements and automatically validate ingredient data.
AI-powered traceability links formulation, as well as labeling and packaging data to regional regulations like HFSS and FDA requirements.
Smart documentation updates automatically when specs change, so you won’t miss a beat. You’ll also get a 360-visual of supplier compliance status so you always know if your ingredients are meeting regulatory requirements across all regions in real-time.

When it comes to managing allergens and nutritional information, automated validation enables consistent compliance, even as requirements evolve with consumer standards and trends.

With all product and regulatory information stored in one central location, intelligent PLM makes it simple to track product development from conception to shelf. If issues arise, you can easily trace ingredients back to the source. AI gives IT leaders a massive leg up when it comes to getting a handle on traceability.

Configurability

Whether you’re bottling beverage or packaging gluten-free crackers, no two F&B organizations are the same. Your team has a unique workflow based on your product and deliverables.

Centric’s PLM doesn’t require you to rely on external coding services to customize the details of your data and processes.

Instead, AI-assisted configuration recommends field groupings and attribute relationships. You can also adjust dashboards and data views quickly. Imagine real-time previewing for total alignment with company processes, from start to finish.

Ultimately AI accelerates go-live for fast implementation, keeping your business agile so you can scale up for future integrations.

Cloud-Native Collaboration

In a globalized world, international connectivity for your IT teams is paramount. You want flexible access permissions and continuous synchronization so you can maintain end-to-end data integrity and control, whether it’s for omnichannel production publication or for internal collaboration—tracking ingredient formula adjustments or facilitating knowledge and training staff.

Centric Software®’s cloud-native collaboration creates an always-on connectivity for 24/7 availability. It’s easy to connect teams in Europe with those in the United States. It’s also secure, ensuring enterprise-level encryption across all data sources and data secure synchronization. This type of collaboration and connectivity equips IT leaders maintain safe data systems and gives you peace of mind.

Centric Software Solutions are the Key to Navigating the World of AI

As IT teams in the food and beverage industry push to connect and innovate, intelligence-based tools are critical for staying ahead of the competition. AI takes Centric’s already solution-based technology to the next level: Intelligent systems allow you and your IT teams to be collaborative, compliant, efficient and agile for disruption.

The impact? New products you can count on to be compliant and free of defects—and ones that cost less and hit the market faster.

Want to see it in action?

Find out how AI-powered PLM can revolutionize your F&B business.