We’ve seen considerable focus placed on various UK and European markets since the Brexit vote in June 2016, many of which have been adversely impacted by the ongoing and seemingly endless uncertainty.
One industry that seems to have bucked this trend is Germany’s food and beverages sector, which currently boasts an estimated value of 179.6 Billion Euro’s with a revenue estimated at $1.852 Million in 2019. Additionally, this market is expected to showcase an annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.3% between now 2023, with user penetration also forecast to reach 31.2% during this time.
One of the reasons for this is the market’s growing reliance on automated technologies. But how are these technologies impacting on the sector and what does the future have in store?
How the Market Has Grown in Line With Technological Advancement
There’s no doubt that the food and beverage industry plays a prominent role in Germany’s bioeconomy, which leverages new technologies and biological material to assist with the production of goods and services.
More specifically, this sector processes raw agrarian materials to create specific food and beverages, which are inherently safer and less likely to include toxins.
The bio-based economy has also revolutionised the storage, preservation and transport of said food and beverages, by introducing innovative and tech-led processes that have reduced costs and boosted efficiency throughout the industry.
This has helped the food and beverage space to become one of Germany’s largest industries, and one that’s now defined by a diverse product range that includes 170,000 unique foods and drinks.
What Automated Technologies are Aiding the Industry’s Growth?
Aside from the rise of the bioeconomy, we’re also seeing incredible innovation in the typical supply chain and the way in which both goods and raw materials are managed.
This is being augmented by the use of evolved and food safe equipment such as float switches, which are sold by suppliers like RS Components and essentially serve as level sensors to regulate the amount of liquid in a particular tank.
This innovation is mostly focused on the use of logistics-based technologies and connectivity systems, which leverage automation to enable real-time communication and eliminate the risk of human error across an array of different process.
These cutting-edge technologies are also focused on creating ‘digital threads’, which run from the start of a production to the time that specified products are sent out for delivery. This also includes the research and development phase associated with manufacturing food and beverages, as the entire process is digitised and mapped out to provide far greater transparency.
The most important aspect of this type of digital thread is that you’ll be able to plan every single stage of the manufacturing process and supply chain ahead of time, whilst also creating a centralised resource that can be checked and updated in real-time.
In practical terms, this is even enabling companies to map their productivity and plan precisely how many units of a particular product they’ll be able to manufacturer per minute, and this provides a fascinating insight that can inform everything from deadlines to price points.
This represents both the present and the future of the food and beverage space in Germany, as businesses look to optimise both output and efficiency in an increasingly challenging economic climate.
