3 big fulfillment challenges for the Food & Beverage industry

Fulfillment in the food and beverage industry is more complex than in many other sectors. Manufacturers have to deal with perishable products, strict laws and regulations, and highly fluctuating demand. At the same time, retailers and consumers expect high delivery reliability, full traceability, and short delivery times. Finding the right balance between efficiency, quality, and compliance is therefore a daily challenge.

Although this complexity is considerable, most fulfillment problems are recognizable and structural in nature. By designing processes intelligently and supporting them with technology, food producers can make many of these challenges manageable.

In this blog, we discuss three fulfillment challenges within the Food & Beverage industry and show you how to solve them.

Challenge 1: Monitoring product freshness

Time is a crucial factor for fresh, chilled, and frozen products. Any delay in order processing, picking, storage, or transport reduces the remaining shelf life of the product. Many organizations lack the overview needed to automatically prioritize products with the shortest shelf life, for example, according to the FEFO principle (First Expired, First Out). The consequences of this are:

• • Increased food waste
  • Complaints and returns from retailers
  • Additional pressure on margins and operating costs

In addition, insufficient control over expiration dates can put pressure on customer relationships, especially when service levels are not met.

Solution: Automated order processing combined with real-time inventory visibility ensures that products move faster and more efficiently through the supply chain. By digitally recording batch, lot, and expiration dates and using them for order allocation, manufacturers can automatically deliver the right products. This shortens lead times, reduces waste, and increases delivery reliability.

Challenge 2: Complex supply chains

Supply chains within Food & Beverage are often highly diverse. Manufacturers supply multiple retailers, wholesalers, foodservice channels, and distribution centers, each with their own delivery agreements, packaging requirements, and EDI messages. Without an integrated overview of orders, inventory, and shipments, this complexity quickly leads to inefficiencies. Common consequences include:

• • Incorrect or incomplete deliveries
  • Additional manual work and corrections
  • Limited scalability during growth or peak loads.

When processes are not standardized, it also becomes difficult to respond quickly to changes in demand or new sales channels.

Solution: Linking order management, inventory management, and logistics systems creates a single source of truth. This integrated overview makes it possible to set priorities, proactively manage exceptions, and standardize fulfillment processes. The result is fewer errors, lower operating costs, and a supply chain that grows with your organization.

Challenge 3: Compliance and regulation

Traceability and compliance are essential in the Food & Beverage industry. Food safety legislation requires that products be fully traceable, from raw materials to the end customer. Batch registration, recalls, and audits are standard parts of this process. When data is spread across multiple systems or recorded manually, risks arise such as:

• • Non-compliance and potential fines
  • Time-consuming and stressful audits
  • Limited transparency towards customers and regulators

In addition, manual reporting takes up a lot of time that could be better spent on process improvement.

Solution: Digital fulfillment processes automatically record all relevant data. This includes batch numbers, expiration dates, shipping information, and delivery locations. This data is immediately available for reporting and audits, simplifying compliance and significantly reducing operational risks.

Conclusion

The fulfillment challenges in the Food & Beverage industry are complex, but certainly not unsolvable. With the right integrity and automation, manufacturers can gain control of their supply chain and respond better to market changes.

Contact our team and discuss how the SPS Commerce fulfillment solution can help your business.

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Majke Zoethout

Marketing Specialist at SPS Commerce

Majke is a Marketing Specialist at SPS Commerce, responsible for marketing strategies for the Benelux region.

Latest posts by Majke Zoethout (see all)

• 3 big fulfillment challenges for the Food & Beverage industry - January 26, 2026
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