YOUR BUSINESS
Adapting quickly
as a food supplier to a pandemic crisis BY JOE LEDERMAN EXECUTIVE CHAIRPERSON, FOODLEGAL
I
n April 2007, FoodLegal was commissioned by Australia’s Department of Agriculture to provide a literature review of historical models for equitable food distribution for the scenario of a pandemic.
The observations and thoughts in this article, provided by FoodLegal Executive Chairperson Joe Lederman, fall outside the terms of reference of the FoodLegal 2007 report but are only intended to stimulate ideas that may assist food businesses in these difficult times.
This same article appeared on 7 March 2020 in Foodlegal Bulletin just as Australia entered the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Many of the author’s predictions have eventuated or are still occurring as part of the new reality in the Australian food industry.
3 EMPTY shelves can be attributed to the systemic problem that our usual retail supply efficiencies require inventory stock levels to be kept to minimum levels.
Many suppliers have limited reserves and normally run materials to a minimum.
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WA Grower WINTER 2020
The existing business ailments, symptoms and their diagnosis 1 Empty shelves Shoppers will have noticed an emptying out of stock at supermarkets and pharmacies. However, it would be wrong to blame the stripping of shelves to greed or selfish consumers. Primarily, it is attributable to the systemic problem that our usual retail supply efficiencies require inventory stock levels to be kept to minimum levels. The concept of just-in-time production, delivery and display are in-built into our supply chains and retail modes of operation. Likewise, many suppliers have limited reserves and normally run materials to a minimum to account for an 'average' safety stock at best. A domino effect is therefore created.