Ensuring Australia's food bowl will not be empty amidst global food shortages

High consumer demand post-pandemic, catastrophic flooding and workforce shortages here and internationally have had a significant impact on Australian food supply chains. A key cause of the increasing pressure on the supply is the war in Ukraine, which is impacting inflation and fuel costs as well as the availability of gas, fertiliser and wheat. So how can we ensure that our food supply chains are resilient enough to avoid Australia’s food bowl being empty?

As a nation, we must focus on strategic food production to achieve food self-sufficiency for the essentials such as wheat, dairy, fruit, vegetables, meat and meat alternatives, such as plant-based foods.

The plant-based trend

While consumer tastes guide the growth of meat and protein alternatives, the plant-based market presents many opportunities for associated products and services that will broaden the category’s reach and supplement the food supply by offering more options.

Research is underway to find alternative technologies and production methods that provide food with a lower environmental footprint. At the same time, nutritional and sensory characteristics can be similar to or even better than that of animal products.

Cell-cultured food production for meat, seafood and poultry is being studied owing to its potential to achieve environmental sustainability due to low land and water requirements and reduced greenhouse gas emissions caused by livestock and meat storage and distribution.

Distribution challenges

Major exporting nations for food products like Argentina, India and many others have already introduced ‘export bans’ to increase their national reserves of certain essential foods like wheat, dairy and meat.

There is not only a skills shortage but a lack of shipping containers, ships and shipping workers for exporting grain and other food products. And food distribution costs have also increased due to the rising fuel prices for shipping and the power required for warehousing and storage.

One of the critical causes of the current food shortages is our ability to respond to the rising demand. The steady increase in demand for consumer goods is directly linked to the new normal of working from home, so logistics companies are now under mounting pressure.

It is a no-brainer that improving distribution networks by investing in automated warehousing, driverless vehicles, robotics and drones will help to address the workforce shortages by reducing the over-reliance on labour and enabling distribution centres to operate at full capacity round the clock.

Automation optimising food production and distribution

With a pressing need to optimise food production for future generations, like their distribution partners, food manufacturers will need to become increasingly automated and embrace advanced technologies to optimise production and improve productivity, quality and sustainability.

These advances will help drive efficiencies and deliver healthy and sustainable food to our population whilst reducing food wastage. Critical investments in advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, robotics, drones, bio-engineering and 3D printing are essential to getting quality food products from farm to fork in the shortest time possible.

3D printing is currently being introduced to the food industry, allowing the production of on-demand, complex and customised foods. In addition, the technique may be used for a personalised diet to print products that specifically meet an individual’s nutritional needs.

Food delivery has become the largest market for food technology innovation due to a massive uplift in private investment and the emergence of many meal-ordering start-ups. However, challenges such as scalability, the preference for locally produced food and ensuring freshness during distribution are driving the need to optimise the supply chain.

Visibility optimising the supply chain

The key to improving supply chain performance is to have a single view connected to the relevant systems and accurate, up-to-date data, which is accessible to all stakeholders.

Access to data through a supply chain portal gives much-needed visibility and control over supply chain processes, such as procurement, manufacturing, storage and logistics. This can help to reduce food waste and the need for product recalls, which is prevalent in the food and beverage sector due to food safety laws.

A supply chain portal also provides the ability to engage, communicate and connect with colleagues, suppliers and customers while giving manufacturers the control and agility they need to deliver on changing demands, ensuring Australian supermarket shelves are packed and always able to supply their customers with fresh produce.

Developing a digital strategy

A connected supply chain driven by smart manufacturing technologies such as automated warehousing, cargo tracking and remote fleet management is essential.

To build more resilient supply chains going forward, food production companies should consider investing in technologies that involve all stakeholders, including internal teams, suppliers, trading partners and end customers. Whilst implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is key to ensuring supply chains are more resilient, companies in this sector need a robust digital strategy that underpins their supply chain strategy.

A fully integrated ERP solution with embedded analytics is required by food and beverage producers and distributors to tackle the immense challenges they face by optimising their business operations and satisfying customer demands while increasing factory output.

Rob Stummer, Asia Pacific CEO at SYSPRO.

Top image credit: iStock.com/MJ_Prototype