Page 76 - Food & Drink Business Nov-Dec 2019

NEW ZEALAND UPDATE
Supply chain digitisation
New Zealand is a key supplier to the global food market. Its capacity to meet future nutritional demand is linked to the speed at which technology is adopted, writes Emma Wheeler of KPMG New Zealand.
THE nature of our food system is that it is intricate and complex yet dynamic and vibrant. The capacity for the food system in its current state to feed the global population is being dramatically challenged. With approximately a third more people on the planet by 2050, paired with increasing consumption per person, we are not only facing a challenge of the quantity of food, but also the quality of our food.
Limited access to nutrient dense food has resulted in the rapid expansion of non- communicable diseases and malnourishment. The global health paradox we are currently dealing with is one in five adults in OECD countries are obese, and one in five children is stunted due to malnourishment. Global malnutrition increased from 777 million people impacted in 2015, to 815 million in 2016.
The speed at which technology and innovative new systems are adopted will underpin the New Zealand food sector’s capacity to play a part in meeting the world’s future nutritional demand and in a safe way. The global Food Security Index ranks New Zealand as being first for food safety and nutritional standards, painting a powerful picture for our export story. From seed to plate, technology offers solutions that span the entire supply chain, from farmers and agricultural businesses, manufacturing, packaged goods through to the consumer purchasing the products. Digitisation and leveraging new technologies are transforming the industry.
TRACK AND TRACE
Knowing the provenance of food products, along with who has touched it, facilitates a more trusting relationship between each player in the supply chain. Data points along a supply chain enable a consumer to understand their product deeply. On the other end of the equation, insights derived from farm data enables farmers to make more informed decisions on farm. Kiwi company FarmIQ is doing this by integrating unique farm data with data from other major producers to
create valuable sets of information to help farmers to better manage every aspect of their farm.
The tool box of current and emerging technologies that span the supply chain is becoming even more robust, enabling farmers and organisations to have a suite of tools they can personalise. On a farm level, you have tools such as Agrigate, another example of a powerful dashboard using a collaborative effort to combine data from Fonterra, LIC, Ravensdown, Figured and others, integrating data across systems. The ability to capture this type of data and feed it into a digital ledger, that ultimately a consumer can access to authenticate any claims, deepens the insights gained.
CONSUMER-CENTRIC SUPPLY CHAIN
Traditional supply chains from farm to consumer are linear. The new age supply chain is a web, placing the consumer at the core. New technology has facilitated the emergence of direct pathways within the web, acting as a direct connection to any participant within the web. Processes are increasingly becoming simplified and there is a question around the role the middlemen will play; products can now flow directly to consumers through online digital channels. Not only has this changed the way the entire supply chain operates, it also facilitates the shortening of supply chains with fewer players, which will ultimately facilitate maximum contribution and deliver high-value products.
The rising wealth of consumers has resulted in curious consumers, ones that actively seek out information on the food they eat and will scan a code to access more information. Label Insight and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) reported that if a brand provides more in depth product details these consumers would swap brands. What’s interesting is the growth over two years; in 2016, 39 per cent agreed they would switch to such brands, while in 2018, 75 per cent of them answered the same.