Why managing Food Supply Chain is a challenge?
The food supply chain is complex and difficult to manage due to its perishable nature and short shelf life of the products as compared to other supply chains like electronics, home needs, consumer durables etc. It also requires a robust infrastructure of warehouses and transportation network connecting suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers.
The complexity of food supply chain increases further because of the below mentioned parameters
1 Food safety requirements 2 Regulatory requirements 3 Short shelf life of products leading to expiry and wastage 4 Product recalls 5 Product traceability requirements 6 Effective handling of customer complaints 7 High order frequency and low volumes
Food Supply Chain categorization It is basically categorized into two broad categories Perishable and non Perishable
Perishable Supply Chain
In perishable supply chain the shelf life for the products is very low. It requires managing the end to end supply chain with utmost care. The perishable supply chain typically requires a cold chain to manage it properly. The cold chain infrastructure is very capital intensive. The infrastructure consists of pre-coolers, temperature controlled warehouses, refrigerated transport etc
Non- perishable Supply Chain
The shelf life for the product is considerable (varying from 3-18 months). Typically FMCG/Processed