Food production company evaluates ERP system for MRP functions

Client background

The client, a food manufacturer with production facilities across multiples states, specializes in producing a wide range of high-quality food items, including flour and egg-based products.

The business challenge

The company’s manufacturing processes were largely manual and spreadsheet-based and did not adequately support their manufacturing resource planning (MRP) functions. This led to inefficiencies in production scheduling, inventory management and overall resource allocation. The company sought to evaluate their current ERP system to determine if it offered the functionality to meet their MRP needs or if an alternative solution was required.

Strategy and solution

Baker Tilly was engaged to perform a fit-gap assessment of the existing ERP. Through comprehensive interviews with key stakeholders and an in-depth analysis of the company's processes, Baker Tilly documented the client's current state MRP requirements.

Leveraging these requirements, the Baker Tilly team conducted a thorough assessment and evaluation of the existing system's capabilities. It was ultimately determined that the current solution fell short of meeting the company's MRP needs.

Following the completion of the fit-gap assessment, Baker Tilly conducted a market scan of alternative software solutions that could better support the client’s MRP requirements. One of the vendors, which the client ultimately selected, offered an MRP solution that was built specifically for the food production industry, could integrate with the client’s existing ERP system and offered an implementation timeline that met the client’s needs.

By partnering with Baker Tilly in their system evaluation, the client was able to identify and move forward with an MRP solution that provides:

• Automation of many of their manual, spreadsheet-based processes
• Improved production scheduling and resource allocation, leading to increased efficiency and reduced downtime
• Enhanced inventory management, resulting in better stock control and reduced waste
• Greater visibility into production processes, enabling more informed decision-making and better overall management