A credible business case for replacing legacy PLM rests on proven results, not vendor projections. Finance approves when benefits tie to metrics executives already track, evidence comes from comparable deployments after go-live, and migration risk is assessed up front. Food and beverage manufacturers are re-evaluating their PLM landscape in 2026 as several regulatory and technology timelines converge. Many organizations still manage formulation, specification and labelling data across spreadsheets, legacy in-house systems such as Lotus Notes, ERP modules and first-generation PLM systems. These environments supported slower product cycles, but they are under growing pressure from current market conditions.

Four factors are driving replacement decisions this year. Several first-generation PLM and formula management platforms used by food and beverage manufacturers reach the end of vendor premier support in 2027, and SAP ECC mainstream maintenance ends in the same year. The resulting ERP migration programs require manufacturers to define how product master data moves from R&D to production. The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) has applied since August 12, 2026, and the compliance date for the US FDA Food Traceability Rule (FSMA 204) is July 20, 2028. Both regulations increase the volume and frequency of changes across formulations, packaging specifications and labels. In parallel, R&D teams are adopting AI for formulation and regulatory work, which requires structured and consistent product data that most legacy environments cannot provide.

Despite these drivers, many PLM replacement programs are delayed at the investment approval stage. In most cases, the business case lacks the evidence that finance and executive stakeholders expect to see.

This article outlines how manufacturers can build a credible business case for PLM replacement, with reference to Trace One, a global provider of AI-native Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and regulatory compliance software for the food & beverage, cosmetics & personal care, and specialty chemical industries. With more than 30 years of industry expertise, Trace One helps over 9,000 brands worldwide, including Barilla, Ferrero, Ocean Spray and McCormick.

Why Does Your Vendor's ROI Projection Fail to Win Executive Approval?

Unverified vendor ROI claims fail to win approval because CFOs and investment committees look for evidence from comparable deployments, and vendor projections rarely provide it. Most PLM proposals estimate benefits from the vendor's own assumptions about productivity gains and cycle-time reduction. Feature comparisons describe system functionality, but they do not quantify the operational or financial impact on the business.

Finance teams typically discount these estimates, which sends the proposal back for further review and delays the program. Business cases that gain approval are usually built on proven results, such as outcomes measured after go-live at manufacturers of similar size and complexity.

Trace One's ROI evidence comes from its customers, measured after go-live. Buyers can use these results as benchmarks and present them to finance stakeholders with confidence.

Is Your Business Case Different for a First PLM or a Replacement?

The business case for a first-time PLM deployment differs from the case for replacing an existing system, because each addresses a different set of operational problems. Combining both arguments in one proposal usually weakens the overall case.

For manufacturers that manage formulation and specification data in spreadsheets, legacy in-house systems such as Lotus Notes and AS/400 applications, or ERP alone, the main costs come from manual data re-entry, version control issues and slow compliance checks. The business case centers on establishing a single system of record for product data and standardizing the new product development (NPD) process.

For manufacturers that already run first-generation PLM or a standalone formula management system, the data foundation is in place. The business case centers on capability gaps, including response time to regulatory change, supplier collaboration, integration with a modern ERP and the availability of structured data for AI use cases. It should also account for the rising total cost of ownership (TCO) of maintaining and customizing an ageing platform.

Trace One's customers cover both scenarios: manufacturers moving off spreadsheets or ERP, and manufacturers replacing an established PLM or formula management system. A global nutrition manufacturer, for example, has used Trace One for more than 15 years to develop infant formula, functional foods and nutritional supplements across global markets, a category where products must meet strict, country-specific nutritional and safety regulations.

Which Value Drivers Should Your Business Case Measure?

The business case should measure value drivers that executives already track and report on. For food and beverage manufacturers, five drivers carry the most weight:

• Time to market: reduction in NPD cycle time from concept to commercial launch, and the revenue gained from earlier shelf availability.
• Revenue growth: additional revenue from faster launches, line extensions and reformulation programs.
• Crisis response: time required to identify and act on affected products during a recall, ingredient shortage or regulatory change.
• Compliance rework: cost of reformulation, relabeling and launch delays when compliance issues are identified late in development.
• Data readiness: effort and cost required to prepare fragmented legacy data for AI-assisted formulation and regulatory work.

Trace One reports that, based on its customer data, customers have achieved a three-month reduction in time to market, a 10% increase in revenue growth and a 95% improvement in crisis management efficiency, with a quick payback on their investment.

Two aspects of Trace One Devex PLM, Trace One's PLM for manufacturers, contribute to these outcomes. Trace One validates compliance during formulation against regulatory content covering more than 170 countries, which is maintained by its in-house regulatory team. This allows R&D and regulatory affairs teams to identify issues at the design stage. In addition, a unified data model links formulation, specification, packaging and compliance data, providing the structured foundation that AI capabilities such as Trace One Copilot require.

What Proven Results Should You Ask Vendors to Show?

Buyers should ask vendors for outcomes measured after go-live, customer retention data and references from manufacturers of comparable scale. Together, these give investment committees a more reliable basis for decision-making than projections or product demonstrations.

Post-deployment outcomes show the impact achieved in live operating environments. Retention data indicates whether customers continue to see value over time and expand their use of the platform. Comparable references allow buyers to validate results with organizations that have similar product complexity, regulatory exposure and geographic footprint.

QKS Group positioned Trace One highest on customer impact among all vendors evaluated in the SPARK Matrix™: Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) for Process Manufacturing, 2026. For buyers, this indicates that value continues to build after the initial deployment, which supports the long-term return assumed in the business case.

How Can You Reduce the Risk of Replacing Legacy PLM?

Manufacturers can reduce replacement risk by assessing data migration, ERP integration and delivery capacity during vendor selection. Most implementation risk in a PLM replacement sits at the interfaces with legacy data and downstream systems.

During evaluation, buyers should confirm how ingredient, packaging and legacy product data will be migrated and cleansed, how commercialized formulas will be transferred to ERP master data and plant recipes, which partners will support delivery in each region, and which deployment model meets their IT and security requirements.

For PLM replacement programs, Trace One provides data migration tools and services to map legacy data to its data model. Trace One PLM integrates with SAP, Oracle and Microsoft Dynamics, and with MES where required. It converts general recipes into plant-specific manufacturing BOMs based on approved material masters and batch sizes. Implementation is delivered by Trace One's professional services team, which has completed more than 100 projects and 200 integration endpoints, with SaaS, private cloud and on-premise deployment options available.

What Should Your Board-Ready PLM Business Case Include?

A board-ready business case for PLM replacement should rest on proven results and address the following points:

• A clear distinction between first-time PLM adoption and replacement of an existing system
• Benefits linked to metrics that executives already track
• Evidence based on post-deployment outcomes from comparable manufacturers
• Customer retention data alongside reference customers
• Data migration and ERP integration assessed as part of vendor selection

Trace One aligns with these criteria through customer-reported outcomes, references across first-time and replacement programs, and an established delivery model for replacement programs. Trace One has been named a Leader and an Ace Performer in the QKS Group SPARK Matrix™: Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) for Process Manufacturing, 2026.

Author: Anoch Mane (Principal Analyst - Engineering Technology Software) at QKS Group