VAI Blog

Food and beverage companies facing FSMA 204 requirements, tighter recall timelines, and complex supply chains must choose an ERP deployment model that supports compliance, visibility, scalability, and cost control. Cloud ERP is vendor-hosted and managed, providing automatic updates, security, backups, and easier scaling with real-time access across plants and warehouses, while on-premise ERP runs on company servers and requires internal IT resources for maintenance, upgrades, and cybersecurity. The post explains that cloud ERP often better supports traceability and audit readiness through automated CTE/KDE capture, centralized lot tracking, and faster recall response, while on-premise may still fit niche scenarios like data residency mandates, unreliable connectivity, or highly customized legacy environments. Ultimately, the right choice depends on operational needs, but cloud ERP generally offers faster deployment, lower long-term risk, and stronger compliance support for most food and beverage businesses.