Do you need help controlling costs in the Food sector with Brexit on the horizon?

A report by the Food & Drink Federation (FDF) has revealed that Food & Drink companies are spending millions in preparation for a no-deal Brexit.

The evident lack of certainty and the increased nervousness within the Food industry has led companies to slash their investment and rein in deals. The FDF added that suppliers have started to add up huge costs in stockpiling food to minimise any damage to their supply chain.

FDF Scotland CEO, David Thomson said: “There will be no recovering the hundreds of thousands of pounds these companies have already spent. Companies are doing their due diligence as they see it.”

The vital importance of cost management in the Food industry

Amidst the Brexit chaos, which brings with it huge economic and legal ramifications it’s essential that you have a business management system that can help you to accurately quantify and manage the impact to your costs.

Dynamics Food aims to provide an integrated solution to companies who are driven by consumers seeking lower prices and more choice. Some of the companies using Dynamics Food include well-known names as Bounce Foods, County Confectionery, Faccenda Foods, Forza Foods, Gressingham Foods, Laila's Fine Foods, Nantwich Cheese Company, Neal's Yard Dairy, Pipers Crisps and many more.

Within Dynamics Food, you can create ‘Standard Costs’ which consist of elements such as: material, capacity, transport and direct and overhead subcontractor costs. You can establish a standard cost that your sales team can work to and measure your actual costs in production and the variance to your standard costs that the volatility of events such as Brexit cause to raw materials.

Without employing costing methods there is no way that you can define the value of your stock, set sales prices, measure your gross margin or safely make key business decisions.

Effective cost management & reporting, with all the complications of the Food Industry built-in, will give you the information and control you need to boost operational efficiency, drive up production without increasing headcount and grow your profit margin.

Managing your stock levels during the fall-out from Brexit

Meeting customers’ demands while avoiding over or under stocking is a continual challenge as it stands. Adding Brexit into the mix, has only resulted in Food companies trying to mitigate the impact by stockpiling and paying the expense for keeping the stock.

Dynamics Food builds logic into the process by helping you to avoid over or under-investing in inventory. The solution can help you in setting realistic reorder levels while continually monitoring the performance of suppliers which is crucial during this period of uncertainty.

Dynamics Food provides real-time visibility of stock movements, empowering the management team and users to make better decisions and advise customers of more accurate delivery times. It also provides expiry date visibility, as there is no point in stock piling materials if they are going to expire before you can use them. Advanced reporting within Dynamics Food can help you understand the run rate and manage the stock based upon when it will be used.

We can’t possibly predict or anticipate the full scale of the financial impact associated with Brexit, as it’s set to be one of the most testing periods that the British economy has ever seen. What we can predict, is that any company without a business management system, such as Dynamics Food is set for a torrid time with imminent cost fluctuations that are approaching fast.

8 sure-fire signs that your business has passed its sell-by date

We understand that Food & Beverage processors and distributors are subject to some of the greatest business pressures and requirements of them all. If cost management difficulties are just the tip of the iceberg within your business, it is worth your time checking out our eBook: 8 sure-fire signs that your business has passed its sell-by date where you can dive deeper into all the areas that Dynamics Food can support your business.