Inefficiency in the food system is a pervasive problem worldwide, made more apparent by the COVID-19 crisis, which stressed the global supply chain. With so many participants, there are endless opportunities to lose efficiency and profits. Inefficiencies negatively affect consumer pricing, the carbon footprint, food waste and expected freshness. According to the United Nations, 1.4 billion tons of perishable food is wasted due to inefficiencies found with the food supply chain.
What’s standing in the way of driving new food chain efficiencies?
Legacy supply chains slow companies down
Though some large retailers are deploying new technologies like blockchain to create automated and intelligent supply chains, most companies are bogged down in manual paper-based processes that make it difficult and time-consuming to identify issues and manage inventory.
Slow adoption of digital supply chain tools keeps companies in the dark
Even though visibility and transparency will be key to their success over the next 10 years, companies have been slow to adopt digital tools that could enable better supply and demand matching and identify waste hot spots.
Poor coordination across the food chain network creates waste
Irregularities in the global food system make hand-offs far from seamless. Enabling a system that tracks product loss, waste and expiration dates could save USD 150 billion annually in food waste.
Blockchain for the food system
A shared digital food supply chain powered by blockchain helps supply chain players better collaborate with each other to operate more efficiently and adapt to change.
Working smarter across a shared ecosystem
Easily identify process inefficiencies, eliminate bottlenecks and optimize your supply chain for continuous growth.
Real-time demand forecasting
All food system participants can now know the provenance, real-time location and status of their food products. Armed with better data, companies can develop more accurate supply and demand forecasting models, localize the sourcing of ingredients and restructure contracts.
Scalability
Automated processes and end-to-end synchronization can create efficiencies at every step.
A robust blockchain system creates a secure, shared and permissioned record of transactions. This enables unprecedented visibility during each step of the food supply chain, so you can achieve new levels of trust and transparency, making food safer and smarter from farm to fork.