Tech automation for food distributors that delivers significant benefits
For business gain:
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Realise efficiencies in core warehouse management tasks from automating customer and supplier ordering, goods receipt, through stock management to picking. Collect consistent live data and take management of logistics performance to a new level.
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By combining sales data to farm level producer data within AgileChain you can respond to customer need for insight into the impact of their purchases. Provide a level of value on top of your products and customer service by assisting them in proving CSR targets, make marketing claims and give management insight that they can’t live without.
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Automate administration of orders and finances, reducing staffing requirements to complete all admin tasks. Parameters can be set to automatically manage stock levels and all without the risk and cost of human errors.
For societal gain:
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The biggest procurers of food are now demanding transparency on food production in order to meet their scope 3 emissions targets and commitments to address the biodiversity crisis.
By 2030, UK emissions of greenhouse gases must fall by 45% if we are going to reach our net zero target by 2050. Given 1 in 5 tons of greenhouse gases in the UK is generated by our food system, it is clear that tangible progress is required now to transform the food we eat. Agriculture accounts for around 56–75% of UK land use. It is our land use and production approach that has the biggest impact on the carbon footprint of food, typically much more so than the distance food has travelled.
Biodiversity loss, in part as a result of the intensification of farming, has reached alarming levels with more than half of species in the UK wiped out completely and many species that were once common place a few decades ago now critically endangered.
A critically important reason for adopting short supply chains is to enable transparency that highlights the differences in food production approaches. Only then can informed choices be made.
AgileChain enables this for you.
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By building more efficient short supply chains to family farms in and around your distribution base, you can directly contribute to improved food security.
The UK relies on imports for around half of its food and is particularly dependent on overseas supply chains for fruit and vegetables. Around 60% of UK vegetables and substantially more fruit are imported. Any global geopolitical volatility can therefore immediately disrupt such a Just In Time (JIT) importing approach leaving the UK just weeks from being short of key food groups at any moment. Over a quarter of UK food is imported from the EU and two-thirds of all the UK’s agricultural exports go to the EU.
Recent geopolitical events sharpen the mind when it comes to food security. There is no doubt that UK food security is highly vulnerable to geopolitical instability. And, recent changes to farm level subsidies and UK trade deals have caused even more farmers in the UK to exit the market.
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AgileChain enables you to go further to decentralise the food system in your region and supply locally grown food to institutions in the same geographical areas. This is equally true for a hospital or a hotel, gastropub or school.
Millions of pounds of incremental GDP can flow to the community you operate in by ensuring that finances flow quickly and efficiently among you and your suppliers. Wealth creation in your local economy reaps benefits for everyone.
