A newsletter showcasing effective Internet strategies practiced by leading food and beverage companies.

Swedish based IFS (Industrial and Financial Systems) develops business applications for medium and large enterprises across several industries. IFS Applications for Food & Beverage manufacturers helps companies to manage their supply, to reduce stockouts, and retain customer loyalty. Because the applications are based on web and portal technology internal users, partners, and customers can access nearly all of the system's capabilities using a web browser as an interface.

IFS applications are component-based - currently there are over 70 different options.. This allows companies to pick and choose which functions and solutions they wish to implement based upon current needs and budgets. A purchase generally works by an organization implementing core integrated business applications that are cross-functional and available to customers regardless of the particular industry they may be in. These range from human resource management to financial, e-business and CRM functions.

On top of the core components IFS develops and markets applications that are specific to the needs of Food & Beverage processors. Although some components may be available across industries, during planning and implementation phases these are customized to meet specific industry demands. For food manufacturers, IFS optimizes components to focus on issues such as direct store delivery (DSD), hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP), and collaborative planning forecasting and replenishment (CPFR). In addition, all of the Food/Beverage components are developed to comply with FDA regulations.

Because each system is customized by components total software, implementation and training costs vary anywhere from $500,000 to several million dollars, per installation

Some of the industry specific components included in IFS Applications for Food and Beverage include:

• IFS/Demand Planning - This components supports several forecasting models, including collaborative forecasting where a forecast or set of forecasts can be sent to a customer or product manager for review.
   

• IFS/Customer Orders - Enables companies to receive orders against inventory, forecast, or master schedule. In combination with pricing capabilities and customer hierarchy functionality, this will cover most requirements of the food & beverage industry.
   

• IFS/Quality Management - Ensures product safety, statistical process control (SPC) and control plans.

Tech Highlights:     Databases Supported: Primarily Oracle, although IFS/Distributed Packages should allow for applications to be run on any platform or database.             Operating Systems Supported: Microsoft Windows - Server 2003/XP/2000/NT/95/98/ME Linux HP MPE/ix HP/UX DEC OpenVMS DEC UNIX SCO UNIX/PC UNIX Netware SCO UnixWare             Tools/Platform: Based on open standards such as UML, SQL, XML, J2EE™, and Microsoft.NET; open integration through IFS/Connect, along with the Java, COM, .NET, and SOAP access providers.             Other - Enabled for Mobile Computing - Web browser can serve as front-end - EDI functionality built-in.