ERP Software for Food & Beverage
Food and beverage manufacturers operate under stringent FDA, FSMA, and HACCP regulations while managing perishable inventory, complex recipe formulations, and demanding retailer requirements. ERP systems for this industry must deliver end-to-end lot traceability, allergen management, shelf-life and expiration tracking, catch-weight processing, and rapid recall execution capabilities within a compliant, auditable framework.
Compare ERP Systems for Food & Beverage
Select up to 4 ERP vendors to compare side by side. Filtered to show systems with strong food & beverage capabilities.
Key Challenges for Food & Beverage
Achieving one-up, one-back traceability required by FSMA with full recall execution capability within hours
Managing allergen cross-contact risks across shared production lines and co-packing operations
Handling catch-weight items where actual weight varies from nominal weight for pricing and inventory
Maintaining recipe and formula consistency while accommodating ingredient variability and seasonal substitutions
Meeting retailer-specific labeling, packaging, and EDI requirements across dozens of trading partners
Controlling shelf life, expiration dating, and FEFO rotation across multiple warehouses and distribution centers
Managing yield variability, trim loss, and co-product allocation in meat, dairy, and produce operations
Best Food & Beverage ERP for SMBs
Recommended for companies with $10M–$250M revenue and 10–200 employees.
BatchMaster ERP
mid-rangePurpose-built for food and beverage with strong formula management, allergen tracking, nutritional labeling, regulatory compliance, and FDA/FSMA support at an accessible price.
Best for: Small to mid-size food manufacturers and ingredient suppliers
Infor CloudSuite Food & Beverage
mid-rangeIndustry-specific ERP built on Infor M3 with deep food safety compliance, catch-weight management, shelf-life tracking, and integrated demand planning for food processors.
Best for: Mid-size food and beverage companies needing industry-specific depth
Sage X3
mid-rangeMid-market ERP with solid food manufacturing capabilities including recipe management, lot traceability, quality control, and multi-site support at a competitive price point.
Best for: Mid-size food manufacturers needing multi-site and international support
ProcessPro
budgetDedicated process manufacturing ERP with food-specific capabilities including formula management, lot traceability, HACCP support, and nutritional analysis for smaller producers.
Best for: Small food processors seeking affordable, focused ERP
Aptean Food & Beverage ERP
mid-rangePurpose-built food ERP (formerly Schouw Informatisering and Ross ERP) with deep food safety, formulation management, quality management, and compliance capabilities.
Best for: Mid-size food manufacturers with complex formulation requirements
SYSPRO
mid-rangeOffers food and beverage modules with lot traceability, recipe management, quality management, and recall management alongside general manufacturing capabilities.
Best for: Small food manufacturers that also distribute or do light assembly
Best Food & Beverage ERP for Enterprise
Recommended for companies with $250M+ revenue and complex multi-site operations.
SAP S/4HANA (Consumer Products)
enterpriseEnterprise platform with food industry extensions for batch management, quality management, shelf-life handling, and global supply chain orchestration for large food companies.
Best for: Large food companies and CPG manufacturers with global operations
Oracle Cloud ERP (Food & Beverage)
enterpriseFull cloud suite with food-specific capabilities including recipe management, lot genealogy, quality management, and demand sensing for large food and beverage enterprises.
Best for: Large F&B enterprises pursuing full cloud ERP transformation
Infor M3 (Food & Beverage Enterprise)
enterpriseDeep food industry ERP with catch-weight, shelf-life, quality, regulatory compliance, and demand-driven planning specifically designed for mid-to-large food companies.
Best for: Mid-to-large food manufacturers with complex distribution requirements
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management
enterpriseScalable platform with food-specific ISV solutions, batch traceability, and shelf-life management alongside strong supply chain and demand planning capabilities.
Best for: Food enterprises standardizing on the Microsoft ecosystem
Essential ERP Capabilities for Food & Beverage
Recipe and formula management with ingredient scaling and nutritional calculation
Full lot traceability with one-up, one-back and mock recall execution
Allergen management with cross-contact risk assessment and label verification
Catch-weight processing for variable-weight items (meat, produce, cheese)
Shelf-life management with expiration dating and FEFO inventory rotation
HACCP and food safety plan management with critical control point monitoring
FDA, FSMA, and SQF/BRC compliance documentation and audit readiness
Nutritional labeling and Nutrition Facts panel generation
Quality management with incoming inspection, hold/release, and deviation tracking
EDI integration with major retailers and foodservice distributors
Food & Beverage ERP Cost Ranges
SMB
$60,000 – $200,000
10–40 users
Implementation: $40,000 – $150,000
Mid-Market
$200,000 – $750,000
40–150 users
Implementation: $150,000 – $600,000
Enterprise
$800,000 – $4,000,000+
150–2,000+ users
Implementation: $700,000 – $3,500,000+
Implementation Considerations
Verify the ERP can handle your specific catch-weight scenarios — dual-unit (count and weight) inventory is complex and many ERPs handle it poorly
Test recall simulation scenarios during UAT to verify you can trace affected lots within the FDA-recommended timeframe
Plan allergen management configuration carefully, including cross-contact risk from shared lines, to prevent mislabeling incidents
Evaluate FSMA Preventive Controls and FSVP compliance capabilities specific to your product categories and supply chain
Ensure integration with food-specific systems (LIMS, SQF portals, GS1 labeling systems, retailer EDI) is scoped from project kickoff
Frequently Asked Questions
What ERP features are critical for food and beverage manufacturers?
Critical features include recipe/formula management, full lot traceability (one-up, one-back), allergen management, catch-weight handling, shelf-life and expiration tracking, HACCP/food safety plan management, nutritional labeling, quality management with hold/release, and FDA/FSMA compliance tools.
How does ERP support FSMA compliance?
ERP supports FSMA through lot traceability that enables rapid recall execution, supplier verification and FSVP documentation, hazard analysis and preventive controls tracking, monitoring of critical control points, corrective action workflows, and maintenance of required records for FDA inspections.
What is catch-weight and why is it important for food ERP?
Catch-weight items are products sold by unit but priced by actual weight (e.g., a case of chicken breasts). Food ERP must track dual units of measure — count for logistics and actual weight for pricing and inventory valuation. Poor catch-weight handling causes pricing errors and inventory inaccuracies.
How quickly should an ERP enable recall execution?
The FDA recommends completing mock recalls within 4 hours. Food ERP should enable full forward and backward lot tracing — from raw material supplier lots to finished goods shipments and end customers — within minutes, not hours, to support rapid containment during a real recall event.
Can food and beverage ERP generate Nutrition Facts labels?
Many food-specific ERPs include nutritional calculation and Nutrition Facts panel generation based on recipe formulations and USDA nutrient databases. This ensures labels accurately reflect actual product composition and comply with FDA labeling requirements including the updated Nutrition Facts format.
How does ERP handle allergen management?
Food ERP tracks allergens at the ingredient level, identifies allergen presence in finished products through BOM analysis, manages cross-contact risks from shared production lines, validates label allergen declarations against formulations, and supports allergen-aware production scheduling to minimize changeover contamination.
What is the role of quality management in food ERP?
Quality management in food ERP covers incoming raw material inspection, in-process monitoring at critical control points, finished goods release testing, hold/release workflows for non-conforming product, supplier quality scoring, certificate of analysis management, and CAPA (corrective and preventive action) tracking.
Should food manufacturers choose food-specific or general process ERP?
Food manufacturers benefit significantly from food-specific ERP due to the complexity of catch-weight, allergen, shelf-life, and food safety requirements. General process ERPs can work for simpler operations but often require extensive customization for food-specific needs, increasing cost and upgrade difficulty.
Explore Other Manufacturing ERP Guides
Related Research & Guides
Need help choosing an ERP for Food & Beverage?
Tell us about your operations and we'll recommend the best-fit ERP for your industry, company size, and budget.