Two experts on food supply chain management discuss how new technology is helping food suppliers overcome challenges and ensure product safety.
Jeff Clark
Founder and CEO, 7PSolutions
What’s the biggest challenge the food industry faces today?
The biggest challenge the food industry faces today is a global supply chain. Growers, manufacturers, and suppliers are supplying customers on a global basis, which creates challenges. Three of the biggest challenges brought on by this global supply chain are product traceability, regulatory compliance, and inventory management.
How does technology innovate the supply chain?
Real-time GPS solutions allow stakeholders to manage global supply chains based on real-time data. This data assists companies in documenting full chain of custody and compliance with regulations. Inventory within the supply chain is also managed to ensure products are being maintained in the proper conditions.
What’s on the horizon for food safety tech?
Real-time GPS technologies are well established in many industries, including pharma. These same technologies are now being implemented in the food industry supply chain and are bringing stakeholders real-time visibility, allowing them to make quicker and smarter decisions protecting product integrity and brand.
Randy Smith
CEO and Co-founder, Vicinity Software
What’s the biggest challenge the food industry faces today?
Lot traceability. It’s not just a legal requirement but also a powerful selling tool for food manufacturers. Those manufacturers that can successfully (and quickly) demonstrate how they can electronically identify the source of quality issues and any affected products have a huge advantage over those tracking the same data manually.
How does technology innovate the supply chain?
Everything from inventory management, centralized food safety control software, QC test consistency and reporting, and traceability and lot recall use technology to make operations better. As an example, data from these operations helps predict issues or diagnose occurring issues faster, limiting consumer exposure to harmful products.
What’s on the horizon for food safety tech?
Sharing the origination information up and down the food chain. Ingredient sources and handling processes are collected and suppliers can share this data with those using the ingredients in next step processes. QR codes, supplier portals, or other tracking mechanisms share this information.