51% of UK Food Businesses are investing in tech. But what does that actually mean?
More than half of UK food businesses now say technology is a key priority over the next five years.
That's not surprising. Margins are tighter than they've ever been and pressure is felt from pretty much every angle. Here's how we see food businesses in the UK approaching tech.
Cutting out the hidden admin layer
Most food businesses are carrying more manual processes than they realise. Orders arriving by email. Data being copied between systems. Invoices created separately. Transport booked by hand.
Research across manufacturing also suggests 30-40% of working time gets absorbed by admin that isn't generating commercial value. Add to the mix the fact that manual data entry carries error rates of 1–5% of all actions, then that's a lot of margin and time disappearing.
The businesses getting this right are removing this layer. That looks like automated order capturing, generating documents without the need of staff input and connecting fulfilment and logistics so processes flow rather than being managed step by step.
Turning data into something you can actually use
Most food businesses have data, but the challenge is how easy it is to access and is it trustworthy.
Perhaps sales figures live in one place, stock in another, finance somewhere else. Pulling together a clear picture of margin by customer, or understanding which part of the business is underperforming and why, can take hours, sometimes days.
Only around 20-30% of manufacturers consider their data fully usable for decision-making. That means the majority are making calls based on reports that are out of date, information that's incomplete, or instinct.
The investment here is less about adding more reporting tools, and more about connecting existing systems into a single, trusted picture - one that's live and doesn't require you to get lost in spreadsheets.
Making it easier to buy from you
Tech investment in food has historically been inward facing, with a focus on efficiency, operations and costs. But as we've all become digital-first in our personal lives, that expectation is creeping into how people want to buy professionally too - and the data backs it up. Over 70% of B2B buyers now prefer digital self-service. And in a competitive market, where product quality is often similar across suppliers, the buying experience itself becomes a differentiator.
In practice, that means online ordering that doesn't involve an email chain. Clear visibility on pricing and availability. Faster confirmations and less back and forth.
So where does that leave you?
If you're among the 51% thinking about where tech investment should go, the framing that tends to produce the best outcomes is simple: are you doing less manual work, understanding your business more clearly, and making it easier for customers to buy from you?
If the answer to all three is yes, the investment is probably pointed in the right direction.
If not, it's worth asking what problem you're actually solving before you add another tool to the stack.
If you'd like to chat to a member of the Platter team to understand how your business might explore its tech setup, book a chat here.