Food and Beverage Industry Trends and Issues
Olin Thompson and PJ Jakovljevic - October 31, 2006

Industry Trends and Issues

The food and beverage industry is not without significant pressures. Margins are slim, the demand for products unpredictable, and the demand for customers service significant. These challenges become life-or-death business issues when compounded with rapid turnaround time; extremely short shelf life; a constant influx of new, improved, and differently flavored prepared and packaged products; climate- and weather-related threats; and the high variability of ingredients. Throughout the product life cycle, dynamic environment factors must be carefully managed if a product is to continue to meet customer requirements for quality and cost...