Top Tech Goals for Food and Beverage Manufacturers in 2025
If you’ve been putting off upgrades to your food and beverage ERP, now is the perfect time to meet your technology goals. Industry leaders say enhanced supply chain visibility and artificial intelligence (AI) in food manufacturing are becoming the norm, making Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP integration more urgent than ever.
What Gartner Predicts for Manufacturing Tech in 2025
According to Gartner’s 2025 manufacturing forecasts, digital maturity will be the defining factor separating high-performing businesses from the rest. Major F&B technology trends for 2025 include:
- 70% of manufacturers are expected to adopt digital twins and AI-based forecasting tools to improve operational efficiency.
- Over 50% of supply chain decisions will be supported by AI and real-time data.
- Manufacturers will shift from siloed applications to cloud-first, integrated platforms, such as Microsoft 365 ERP systems, to enhance collaboration and decision-making.
For F&B manufacturers, this means tech investments will pivot toward improving agility, resilience, and data visibility in response to changing consumer demands, regulatory pressures, and supply chain disruptions.
AI and Supply Chain Visibility: F&B’s Competitive Edge
In 2025, AI and supply chain visibility are not just optional improvements, they’re competitive necessities in the F&B sector. D365 Business Central with YAVEON ProBatch provides the ultimate ERP supply chain visibility for small-to-medium businesses, with AI that can analyze vast amounts of data from procurement, production, and logistics to:
- Predict demand shifts based on seasonal trends, promotions, or unexpected events.
- Identify supply chain risks early (e.g., weather disruptions, supplier delays).
- Optimize inventory to minimize waste and avoid shortages of perishable goods
Your team can access these features and benefits through a simple natural language search. When a user types in a request, Microsoft Copilot, embedded into Business Central, provides actionable insights through predictive analytics and machine learning. With Microsoft collaborative tools (e.g., Teams, Power BI, SharePoint), these insights can be shared and acted upon in real time across departments. For example, a manager can receive an AI-driven alert in Microsoft Teams about an expected ingredient shortage and immediately coordinate with procurement and scheduling teams via the same platform, shortening response times and minimizing impact.
The Future of Smart Factories: ERP as a Data Hub
No longer just back-office tools, ERP platforms are central nervous systems that allow real-time decision-making. As manufacturing businesses move towards “smart factories” with new and innovative hardware and machinery, they need data collection and computing capabilities to match. Smart manufacturers understand the evolving role of ERP systems and configure their platforms to act as centralized data hubs. Microsoft 365 Business Central integration reduces downtime and continuously improves processes with:
- IoT-Driven Data Collection. Sensors on production lines feed data into ERP systems in real time, enabling predictive maintenance, automatic quality control, and meeting food safety standards.
- Edge and Cloud Computing. ERPs connect both edge devices and cloud infrastructure, ensuring manufacturers can act on data instantly, regardless of where it’s generated.
- Integrated Dashboards. Microsoft Power BI gives executives a live, visual overview of plant performance, inventory, compliance, and customer satisfaction metrics.
How to Prioritize Tech Investments in Your 2025 Strategy
To effectively prioritize tech investments in 2025, F&B manufacturers should follow a four-step strategy:
1. Align Tech With Business Goals
Focus on areas where technology can directly impact growth, such as reducing waste, increasing uptime, or enhancing product traceability. Think about who is capturing the data in your system and what they are doing with it. By understanding and analyzing data, you can empower users across your system to work smarter and more efficiently.
2. Modernize the ERP Foundation
Ensure your ERP is cloud-based and AI-ready, like Microsoft D365, to enable real-time collaboration and analytics. With the right licensing in place, Copilot is directly implemented into Business Central and your team members can use it's natural language search capabilities to easily obtain and analyze data to make informed decisions.
3. Invest in AI and Automation
Target AI tools that improve forecasting, scheduling, and customer demand planning. Automating manual workflows, such as digital recipe management or regulatory compliance tracking, should also be a priority. In addition to having Copilot embedded into Dynamics 365 ERP, you can also integrate other Copilot tools – such as Copilot Studio – to further enhance your workflows and guide your tech investments.
4. Build a Resilient Supply Chain
Use AI-powered ERP tools to simulate supply chain scenarios, assess risk exposure, and diversify supplier networks. Shared cloud workspaces via Microsoft 365 also improve supplier collaboration and transparency.
5. Use AI to Drive User Engagement
When you invest in a specific technology like Copilot, you want to empower team members to use it. Copilot gives them access to quick and easy natural language search abilities so they can find the information they need easily. In a 2024 study by Microsoft, 70% of users said generative AI helped them be more productive and 68% of them said it improved the quality of their work.
Let Stoneridge Software Transform Your ERP Processes with Microsoft Copilot and AI
A strategic, integrated approach to technology planning is key for food and beverage manufacturers to meet modern industry challenges in 2025 and beyond. Talk to the Stoneridge experts today to see how we can help.
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