THE FUTURE OF FOOD LOGISTICS

HOW THE FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN IS CHANGING IN THE WAKE OF COVID-19

- ANNE FRANCES HUTUCHINSON

Adversity inspires. The juddering disruption of food supply chains in the wake of the pandemic is demonstrating how companies must rethink everything they know about end-to-end food supply.

We didn’t need a pandemic to observe pain points in the food supply chain; demographic shifts, climate change, and shifting consumer desires are among the issues that have been compelling producers to change their logistical approaches in recent years.

The crisis has added significant fuel to those fires, including increasing volatility in supply, redhot demands for trucking while 3PL providers are struggling to increase capacity, the slowing of international trade as a result of lockdowns and other containment measures, as well as heightened food safety worries that may eventually lead to stricter regulatory standards.

“The future of the food logistics will be greatly influenced by macro factors such as government lockdown policies as they continue to battle the pandemic. Food service logistics will continue to decline as the constraints such as reduced hours or full closures on the hospitality services continue to be implemented,” Susan Boylan of Gartner’s supply chain practice told industry pub Food Logistics.