According to a study released Tuesday, antiquated, “legacy” approaches plague the food and beverage industry, leaving suppliers inadequately prepared for the next major disruption, not to mention regulatory changes.
TraceGains, a provider of networked compliance and innovation solutions in the F&B industry, gathered responses from 483 global industry suppliers and found a “digital divide” among businesses.
“With increasing regulatory pressures and shifting consumer demands, widely used, outdated methods are putting companies at risk,” said Paul Bradley, TraceGains’ senior director, product marketing, in a press release.
The study found that nearly 48% of all suppliers commonly rely on legacy approaches to many communications with F&B buyers. Meanwhile, more than two-thirds (71%) of respondents admitted that such methods cause issues like data entry errors (39%).
Regulatory and Consumer Pressures
Compliance with regulatory change was among the top reasons suppliers want to modernize their software. Requirements such as the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Rule for Traceability (204) – set to take effect in January 2026 – will impose stricter traceability requirements for certain food materials. And, in Europe, existing mandates such as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive already require time-based sustainability reporting.
Nevertheless, TraceGains’ research revealed that one in four suppliers remain unfamiliar with the technologies available to modernize their operations.
Sustainability and Cost Are Key Factors
Nearly nine in 10 (89%) suppliers said it’s at least somewhat important for new technologies to align with their company’s corporate sustainability objectives. Over half (53%) consider that alignment to be highly important.
Cost, however, remains the largest factor influencing software purchasing decisions, with 77% of suppliers citing it as their top consideration, followed by ease of implementation (65%).
Among the key motivators for modernizing internal software are:
- Faster responsiveness to consumer preferences (58%)
- Better agility to manage supply chain disruptions (42%)
- Ability to adopt tech advancements like AI (33%)
“As regulatory requirements intensify and consumer demand for supply chain transparency grows, suppliers are looking for new ways to remain competitive,” TraceGains wrote. “While cost is a concern, the benefits for modernizing operations – enhanced efficiency, reduced errors, and improved compliance – are clear.”
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