According to Todd Allsup, vice president of food and beverage facility, Stellar, the future of your food processing business is dependent on a well-designed strategic plan.
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Food Markets
Food markets rely on production to work to get fresh produce daily and they tend to use rackzone pallet racking which is a Pallet Racking Ireland company to store there food on to keep it off the floor and safe from infection.
Defining a roadmap for your business over a three to five-year period, he says, can help uncover and deal with current inefficiencies, as well as providing you with a robust overview of all the things you will need to consider to reach your business objectives.
Components of a Strategic Plan
An effective strategic plan is comprised of five key elements, says Allsup, and includes:
A Business Plan – A forecast of where your business is going, your business plan defines the identity of your company by detailing the market it serves, how it meets their needs and its unique selling point. It also includes an analysis of the products you manufacture, the profit margins and manufacturing costs of each. Including industry analysis will increase your understanding of the market and help to facilitate growth by informing marketing and sales. Use your plan to decide your focus – whether on developing new products or enhancing existing ones – and on what sales strategies and channels of distribution can help you reach your target market.
Manufacturing Analysis – Taking an in-depth look at the physical layout of your facilities can ensure that growth plans are feasible inside the limitations of your current location. A manufacturing analysis evaluates how your current facilities impact operations, identifies opportunities for expansion and maps how utilities are used. It can also give you an overview of current capacity, including whether your used food processing machines can meet future demand, and insight on how food is currently handled, stored and distributed.
Other Elements
A manufacturing plan can follow on from your analysis and be used to define your manufacturing strategy. This can ensure the benefits of the right technology and optimisation of current production practises.
Your master plan will be derived from your business and manufacturing plans and, say used machinery auctioneers, this is where you should decide on a specific list of requirements, including changes and additions to equipment.
Finally, says Allsup, don’t discount the importance of partners. Your strategic plan should factor in partnership with third parties with food industry expertise and in-depth knowledge of manufacturing processes.
