8 minute read
Field To Fork
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IBM Food Trust Taps Blockchain, AI to Help Small-Scale Farmers
IBM Food Trust aims to allow smallholder coffee and cocoa farmers in Honduras to make more informed and better business decisions through blockchain and artifi cial intelligence. The farmers will have access to IBM Watson Decision Platform for Agriculture and work with both IBM and Heifer International to create a more transparent coffee and cocoa supply chain, allowing smaller farmers to earn more. According to Heifer, these small-scale coffee farmers operate at an average of 46-59% loss, with farmers earning less than 1% of the sale of a cup of coffee at a coffee shop. Read more: https://foodl.me/tnhn78
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Food Traceability Leadership Consortium to Find Solution to FDA Regulations
The Food Traceability Leadership Consortium will explore possible solutions to the FDA’s proposed traceability regulations under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The Consortium announced that the optimal solution to traceability challenges within the food retail industry must have minimal cost that won’t impact margins or consumer prices and be easy to adopt, use and verify in order to drive universal adoption while meeting or exceeding FDA regulations in the future.
“The FTLC and ReposiTrak worked collaboratively developing the guidelines to ensure the traceability solution endorsed will get broad buy-in from all trading partners. We have also confi rmed the biggest challenges caused by the FSMA regulations, notably capturing shipment level data as product moves through the supply chain and traceability from the distribution center to the store and are now determining the capabilities needed to address them,” says Randy Fields, chairman and CEO of ReposiTrak. “Then we will fi nd a solution that has those capabilities.” Read more: https://foodl.me/38u4tg
Ekhhosoft Debuts New Cloud-Based Operational Performance Management Software Solution for CPG, Food Manufacturers
Ekhosoft announced Ekho Cloud, a cloudbased operational performance management (OPM) software solution for consumer packaged goods (CPG) and food and beverage manufacturers.
“Today, we are excited to launch our out-of-the-box OPM software-as-a-service (SaaS) product. Ekho Cloud incorporates and embraces key input from our long-term customers, providing manufacturing-specifi c tools that enable our customers to improve operations and generate value, rather than confi guring and maintaining a bespoke system. We understand the importance of fi nding the right balance between confi gurability and ease-of-use and are excited to embark on this SaaS initiative with our current and future customers,” says Jeffrey Maqsoudi, product manager at Ekhosoft.
Ekho Cloud provides the core functionality for OPM in a pre-confi gured, best-ofbreed software solution built to uncover performance issues and empower the shop fl oor to drive and measure improvement initiatives. Read more: https://foodl.me/6h5yzk
based operational performance management (OPM) software solution for consumer packaged goods (CPG) and food and beverage Ekhoso
Although there are many approaches to investing in supply chain management, interest in human rights protection, worker welfare and safety and energy savings and renewable energy increased signifi cantly over the last year, according to a report produced by MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL) and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP).
In fact, supplier development was found to be the most common mechanism used by fi rms to deliver on their supply chain software promises.
“We believe cooperation between sectors is vital to thoroughly understand the complexity and evolution of sustainability efforts more broadly,” says David Correll, MIT CTL research scientist. “Our work with CSCMP and our sponsors helps us to embed this essential research and its fi ndings within the context of the real-life practice of supply chain management.” Read more: https://foodl.me/cauazh
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Only 4% of CSCOs are “Future-Ready”
Only 4% of chief supply chain offi cers (CSCOs) say they are “future-ready,” while 34% expect to be there by 2023, according to an Accenture report.
“Even before the pandemic, chief supply chain offi cers were faced with increasing expectations—from supporting new customer experiences to driving profi tability. Faced with their greatest stress test yet, chief supply chain offi cers were challenged to meet the moment and build a relevant, resilient and responsible supply chain that delivers for all stakeholders. Today’s supply chain leaders are depended on to create a digitally powered, data-driven operating model to achieve a future-ready supply chain and enable long-term growth,” says Manish Sharma, group CEO of Accenture Operations. Read more: https://foodl.me/kgn4a6
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75% of Third-Party Vendors Do Not Meet Insurance Requirements
Evident ID observed that 75% of third-party vendors fail to comply with enterprise insurance requirements despite being contractually obligated to do so.
“Companies are challenged to create a program that achieves a high degree of compliance and then keep it up-to-date,” says David Thomas, CEO of Evident. “This hampers their risk management efforts and wastes lots of time and money for enterprises themselves, third parties, insurance brokers and agents.”
However, research revealed that the average company has only 25% of third-parties verifi ed, creating a signifi cant risk of losses from under/uninsured business partners. Read more: https://foodl.me/x947xc
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KNAPP
Kroger Taps KNAPP to Add State-of-the-Art Technology to Ohio Facility
Kroger and KNAPP partnered to deploy, expand and enhance capa bilities and capacity of Kroger’s Great Lakes Distribution Center in Delaware, Ohio. Currently, the facility is being renovated, adding modern state-of-the-art technology and will expand by 130,000 square feet. The center currently services 115 stores in the central and northwest Ohio region, as well as the southeast Michigan and the Ohio River Valley region.
“Kroger’s investment in KNAPP’s latest technology allows the Great Lakes Distribution Center to improve effi ciency in replenishing our stores, enabling us to quickly deliver fresh food to our customers. The expansion of the facility is part of the ongoing transformation of our supply chain network, and this project will more than double our capacity while delivering innovation and scalability that can grow with demand,” says Tony Lucchino, Kroger’s VP of supply chain and network strategy. “This collaborative project will allow us to better serve customers in the region.” Read more: https://foodl.me/b3xxcj
Repeatable Solutions Help Restaurants Manage Projects During Hiring Crisis
The restaurant industry is facing increasing disruption as the hiring crisis is forcing companies to do more with less workers than ever before. At the same time, customer exloki_ast-stock.adobe.com periences are changing, and restaurants must implement technology and automation upgrades such as ordering kiosks, robotic kitchen elements, more drive-thru options and contactless means for delivery and pickup to keep up with patrons’ expectations.
Companies are working around this by partnering with third-party logistics (3PL) providers that act as an extension of their team to manage everything from procurement support and vendor management to on-site project management, warehousing, delivery and installation—a combination of support once unheard of in the 3PL world.
Tom Ruede, VP of business development, Suddath’s Logistics division, advises which solutions can best help restaurants during the labor shortage. Read more: https://foodl.me/gz5pe2
Why Small and Mid-Size Food and Agricultural Operations Need Improved Employee Recruitment for PostCOVID-19 Success
The lean nature of smaller to mid-size food processors and farmer- or partner-owned operations such as c ooperatives and family-owned businesses might make them very effective business models, but the traditional nature and cultural worldview of these organizations can sometimes get in the way of hiring much-needed new talent.
While those sitting on agricultural cooperative or partner-owned business boards likely understand the need and importance of bringing in new hires—as well as the economics of the payback the co-op will receive by paying new hires’ market wages—tension can exist with the general membership regarding new hires’ salaries, particularly when it comes to hiring managers with higher salary requirements. Needless to say, the tension poses some recruitment challenges for many food and ag operations.
Shawn Miller, lead of people solutions services practice, Morrison, explains why agricultural operations need to improve their recruitment tactics in order to be successful in a post-COVID-19 world. Read more: https://foodl.me/gvyhbc
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Building a Superstar Grocery Retailer with Supply Chain Control Towers
Retailers will have to continue to address the key dynamics of increased demand volatility and the step change in omnichannel purchases, which have created a number of challenges, including ensuring product availability for high customer service and executing on strategies to manage risks due to demand surges and supplier disruptions.
These transformational shifts in consumer behavior create unprecedented levels of variability, uncertainty and complexity in supply chains. Retailers are being forced to challenge the status quo and step up their supply chain competencies to successfully transform their businesses. There is a realization that to run an exceptional supply chain, it takes a commitment to leverage data and advanced analytics to make smart, fact-based decisions, while continuously evolving product offerings, supply chain strategies and execution capabilities.
Vikram Murthi, VP, industry strategy, o9 Solutions, explains how retailers can beef up their stores with control towers. Read more: https://foodl.me/qhjsy8
