Is Faster Better?

Companies, especially food and beverage businesses, have prized ‘Faster’ and ‘Better’ as a means for dominating the industry in these ways:

• Getting their products to market quickest
• Meeting the high demand for their products
• Building a brand name
• Cultivating loyalty from customers

But is faster always better?

Continual Improvement vs Fresh Perspectives

‘Time is money’ Benjamin Franklin (1748).

Two hundred and fifty years later, this idiom is still a harsh echo of the truth of many businesses. Wasted time is expensive, and it drives the appeal for optimization in all facets of a business. Equally, time-sensitive improvements can usually be targeted within internal systems, as most variables are known or easily identifiable.

However, continuous focus on improvement can hinder a business’s reaction to changes and innovations in the market. This will, in turn, result in loss of a stable or dominant position for the company, as the market continues to grow and adapt without them. Rather than focusing ‘inward’, food and beverage companies should be focusing on the ‘forward’ – capitalising on the advantages of technology and new market spaces, to increase their customer base and revenue.

Social Responsibility

With so many choices within the market, customers can choose brands that align with their values. Over the last few years, there has been an increase in the expected level of social responsibility and transparency – with Natasha’s Law (2021) being a clear example. Social responsibility and transparency can impact many facets of a business, especially when customers expect accurate product and packaging information for the sake of their health and wellbeing, as well as for sustainability – which is a growing concern for consumers.

‘Faster’ and ‘Accurate’ are rarely found in tandem – though that isn’t to say it isn’t possible. With the growing use of technology, helping to move away from manual processes, accuracy and efficiency are achievable. However, with companies striving to outperform each other, there’s an increased focus on examining the identifiers of quantified success.

Aiming Higher than ‘Faster’

Establishing a culture of innovation, promoting collaboration, and curating a space of flexibility means your next project won’t just be ‘fast’ but will be ‘better’. Investing in processes which have enough structure for control, but still allow for innovation and creativity allows food and beverage companies to track the entire flight path of a project, avoid errors which might be overlooked (especially if the emphasis is on speed) and reach the market efficiently – rather than being left behind.

Software solutions, such as 4Pack, address the challenges and obstacles or new spaces in the market, or increased demand; digitising manual processes, or upgrading existing digital processes, so that the expected time of delivery can be shortened, without a loss of efficiency. Your brand won’t simply ‘remain relevant’, but will have the scope to be an industry leader; understanding the capabilities of this technology means you won’t fall into the trap of ‘faster is better’ without the process governance and accuracy needed to mitigate risk of error or non-compliance.