The food and beverage manufacturing industry is in a period of transition. Inflationary pressures and global supply chain volatility are forcing manufacturers to reassess how they run their operations. When resources are stretched, outcomes such as improved efficiency and reduced total cost of ownership rise to the top of the agenda.
Traditionally, manufacturers have responded to these changing environments with short-term fixes. This includes upgrading equipment components, scheduling one-off service interventions or implementing localized process improvements. While these actions are essential to maintaining day-to-day operations, they don’t tend to support long-term outcomes. And within a marketplace that is complex and rapidly evolving, these one-off, incremental improvements simply aren’t enough. Food and beverage manufacturers must adopt a more strategic approach that addresses operational challenges while also delivering measurable outcomes.
From products to outcomes
One way in which this can be achieved is through servitization, a business model that moves the focus from specific products to delivering results through collaborative, outcome-based partnerships.
Servitization builds a partnership where both the manufacturer and service provider are aligned to common goals and share responsibility for performance. Both sides agree to deliver measurable results, whether that’s minimizing product loss, optimizing energy use or increasing overall line efficiency.
To put this approach into practice, manufacturers need to create a partnership that aligns on objectives, distributes risk fairly and establishes clear accountability. At Tetra Pak we are embracing servitization by working with customers to do exactly that: build long-term partnerships based on shared objectives. This means supplying food and beverage manufacturers with equipment and services but also committing to deliver performance improvements together over time. Our Advanced Agreements are one way we put this into practice, with structured partnerships that create clear accountability and focus on measurable outcomes.
Embracing the servitization mindset
Servitization requires a mindset shift. For decades, the industry has viewed the sale of products and the delivery of services as transactions and has structured itself accordingly. But these traditional manufacturing methods cannot keep pace with the current rate of change.
Supply chains are fragile, there are new regulatory pressures, and consumers are expecting greater transparency and responsibility from the brands they buy. Manufacturers can no longer afford to treat efficiency, cost control and sustainability as separate priorities. They do not all need to be tackled at once, but they must be addressed as part of one connected strategy so that progress in one area reinforces gains in the others.
Al Rabie Saudi Foods Company, one of Saudi Arabia’s largest dairy and juice companies, is testament to the benefits of such integration. By optimizing plant-wide processes under a long-term agreement, the company improved line efficiency by 13%, saved €300,000 annually, cut water usage by 14,000 liters and reduced CO₂ emissions by 19,000 tons. All of these outcomes combined delivered financial returns for the company, while embedding better environmental performance into its core operations.
To put it plainly, servitization transforms a transactional relationship into a two-way partnership where success is based on delivering outcomes. It requires a unified ambition, agreement on measurable targets and collaboration to achieve them.
How does servistization work in practice?
Outcome-based agreements are flexible by design: they focus on the outcomes that matter most to each manufacturer, whether that is improving operational reliability, ensuring cost predictability or advancing sustainability targets. Over time, these priorities may overlap. For instance, cutting waste lowers costs, while also reducing environmental impact – but the starting point depends on the customer’s primary needs.
The shift to servitization requires a whole-plant perspective. Instead of optimizing single machines in isolation, servitization looks at the entire plant lifecycle, from equipment availability to process efficiency, energy use and product loss. By leveraging advanced analytics, remote monitoring and predictive maintenance, manufacturers can move from being reactive to proactive and ultimately, strategic.
The difference this makes is clear in practice. In Mexico, one of the country’s largest juice producers, Jumex was struggling with declining equipment efficiency at a time when demand for its products was rising. By entering into an outcome-based agreement with us, Jumex increased overall equipment effectiveness by more than 11% and cut operational costs by 7%. That allowed the business to meet consumer demand profitably, while building a more resilient production system for the future.
The future of F&B manufacturing is outcome-based
Ultimately, servitization represents more than a service offering. It signals a fundamental change in how value is created and shared in the food and beverage industry. By moving beyond maintenance and embracing outcome-based partnerships, manufacturers can unlock cost savings and operational improvements alongside long-term resilience and competitive advantage. In an industry where 9 in 10 supply chain executives report ongoing supply chain challenges, servitization provides the key differentiator of adaptability and resilience, leading to greater efficiency, reduced business risk and a stronger foundation for growth.
Sasha Ilyukhin, SVP Global Processing Services and Services Solutions, Tetra Pak
