#foodsupplychain #fooddeliverylogistics #thirdpartylogistics #3PLs #lowshelflifefooditems #FEFO #FFV
Scientists doing studies on the global food supply chain have repeatedly highlighted the issue of food wastage due to lack of proper logistics and infrastructure for low shelf life products. Most of these products like fresh fruits and vegetables go to waste in the supply chain, accounting for huge losses in the food industry. According to a Global Agenda Council survey on logistics, 20-30% of low shelf life products in Asian countries like India get wasted in the supply chain.
A clever mix of packaging and an instant or close to expiry linked food delivery logistics is often cited as the desired solution to tackle these low shelf life products. However, the primary problem in this is the lack of substantial food delivery logistics partners who work in sync with the supply chain.
Problem Areas for Low Shelf Life Products
Most of these low shelf life products are perishable items like fruits, vegetables, dairy or meat products which need instant farm to fork delivery rather than wait for a storage space in the cold chain. Especially in a country like India where logistics and infrastructure for the agriculture and food industry barely has adequate cold storage facilities. Most operators in the market provide once in a week chiller or freezer cold storage facilities for these low shelf products which is a problem in stocking up fresh ingredients for stores and restaurants and wastage of products in the warehouse for the farms.
The First Expire First Out or FEFO policy established in the 1980s is often used in this regard but that’s often not enough as we lack adequate delivery logistics partners who can move the goods faster in the supply chain. Because of this, one third of fresh fruits and vegetables (FFV) rot in the supply chain.
Solutions Provided by the Logistics Partners
With a proper temperature controlled and automated real time food delivery logistics service one can ensure that low shelf life products meet their market before they expire. This helps the goods to be longer in service, making it profitable for both ends of the food supply chain – farms, farmers and restaurants, stores.
Scientists suggest that cold third party logistics providers (CTPLs) follow a Multi-Criteria Decision Making approach to address the issue. This includes structured ways of monitoring the flow of the supply chain like delivery and storage according to ‘Refrigerator and loading capacity’ and ‘Knowledge and Information technology management’. Third party logistics partners 3PLs like delivery services can assist in this by optimizing your goods based on the capacity of the cold storage and expiry date of your products.
Further case studies in fruits like berries, bananas and mangoes show that a combination of better packaging, temperature check, food expiry mapping, and stock rotation coupled with anti ripening measures like ethylene spraying can help in a better FEFO policy which isn’t followed by the supply chain. The 3PLs service providers like delivery logistics partners can aid in this process.
In today’s time, these have become the primary reasons why you should opt for a better delivery logistics partner. Contact us to know how our AC delivery vans fulfill this.
Give us a call and book our delivery vans for uninterrupted supply of low shelf life products.
