Automating the Private Label Process for Food and Beverage Brands

As the demand for private label grocery products increases, so does the complexity of managing the private label process. For food and beverage brands and retailers, automation presents an opportunity to overcome the challenges of traditional manual processes and unlock significant benefits.

But managing the private label process manually is not without hurdles. Brands typically face common obstacles to organizing and optimizing a private label operation. Some of the most common problems include:

• Inefficient task management: Managing the development of private label products involves multiple departments, including product development, supplier management, and quality assurance. When each of these departments operates in silos, communication breakdowns can lead to delays and errors.

• Slow product development lead times: Without automation, the product approval process is often slow, as manual approvals, back-and-forth communications, and disconnected workflows delay time to market.

• Risk of compliance issues and errors: Compliance is especially critical in the food and beverage industry, where even small mistakes can have significant consequences. Manual processes increase the risk of data entry errors, missed compliance checks, and inconsistent product quality.

• Difficulty managing suppliers and vendors: Keeping track of supplier performance, ensuring compliance, and managing multiple vendors can quickly become overwhelming without an integrated system.

Fortunately, automating the private label process can help in each of these areas. Using a product lifecycle management platform, for example, can manage and optimize the following areas. 

Food and Beverage Product Development

Automation can transform product development by streamlining ideation, specification management, and recipe development. 

By digitizing product specifications, teams can centralize critical data, ensuring consistency across product lines and minimizing errors. With automated workflows, it’s easier to maintain version control of recipes and product details, which is especially important for food safety and compliance.

Supplier and Vendor Management

Managing supplier relationships becomes more efficient with automation. Automated systems provide real-time updates on supplier performance, track certifications, and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.

This transparency reduces the risk of miscommunication and helps brands stay on top of supplier performance and quality.

Compliance Management and Quality Assurance

In the food and beverage industry, maintaining consistent product quality and adhering to regulatory standards is non-negotiable. 

Automation simplifies quality assurance by integrating compliance checks directly into the product development workflow. Automated quality control processes help ensure that every product meets regulatory standards before it reaches store shelves.

Product Packaging and Labeling

Packaging and labeling are areas where errors can occur, particularly when approvals are handled manually. By automating the approval process, teams can reduce bottlenecks and ensure that packaging meets regulatory requirements. 

Automation tools also help streamline labeling updates across product lines, ensuring that product labels are accurate and up-to-date.

Supply Chain and Inventory Management

Automation optimizes supply chain and inventory management by improving forecasting and aligning stock levels with consumer demand. With automated inventory management, brands can reduce waste and prevent out-of-stock situations, ensuring that products are always available when customers need them.

The key benefits of automating the private label process go beyond operational efficiency. In fact, automation at every stage can have trickle-down effects throughout your supply chain and processes.

Some of the key areas most improved by automation include:

• Time to market: Automating key tasks, such as product specification updates and approval workflows, accelerates the time it takes to develop and launch new products. Faster product launches mean grocery retailers can capitalize on market trends and meet consumer demand more quickly.
• Cost savings: By reducing manual labor, eliminating errors, and streamlining workflows, automation helps brands cut costs and increase profitability. Automated processes also free up valuable employee time, allowing teams to focus on higher-value tasks, such as innovation and strategy.
• Product quality and reliability: Consistency is key to building customer loyalty in the food and beverage industry. Automated quality checks help ensure that every product meets the same high standards, protecting brand reputation and maintaining consumer trust.
• Team collaboration: With centralized systems, cross-functional teams—from product development to marketing—can collaborate more effectively. Real-time data sharing allows teams to track progress, resolve issues quickly, and make informed decisions without waiting for manual updates.

Using a product lifecycle management platform like Centric Software®allows food and beverage brands to leverage automation and streamline their operations from start to finish.

Need a real-world example? 

Before implementing Centric PLM, Great Kitchens managed its product commercialization process manually, which involved time-consuming follow-ups, disconnected workflows, and the risk of errors. Teams often struggled to track task completion and manage changes efficiently, leading to delays and inefficiencies.

After implementing Centric PLM, Great Kitchens saw significant improvements in their operations. The project management process was automated, saving weeks of manual follow-up per project. Tasks are now centralized, and responsible parties are held accountable, ensuring greater visibility and control over product development.

One of the most significant benefits Great Kitchens experienced was the ability to make changes to product templates quickly and easily without needing IT support. This flexibility helped streamline the process even further, improving speed to market and product quality.

“We love the platform and find it user-friendly,” said Barb Parks, Director of Commercialization at Great Kitchens. “We’re happy with the finished product.”

By automating their private label process with Centric, Great Kitchens transformed their workflows, reduced inefficiencies, and improved overall product development speed and quality.

As the private label grocery market continues to grow rapidly, more opportunities will be available to brands willing to leverage automation technologies to their advantage. By automating key areas of the private label process, brands can reduce costs, improve product quality, and get food products to market faster than ever.