Role of logistics in the fresh produce industry

Role of logistics in the fresh produce industry

The fresh produce industry faces numerous obstacles and impediments daily. It is difficult to meet the needs and expectations of the clients while ensuring quality control and supply chain alignment. The risk of spoilage is an additional risk to consider beyond delay and theft.

Fresh produce carries immense importance for the Indian economy. It plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic fabric of India. It has the potential to influence the growth of secondary & tertiary sectors of the economy through its forward & backward linkages. Despite giving employment to around 60% of the population, the contribution of agriculture to GDP is limited to 17%. The major challenge is in the supply chain of agribusiness in India. India loses 20% of its agricultural production due to improper logistics. There is a lack of basic as well as specialized infrastructure such as cold storage, reefer vans, cool chains, ripening chambers, etc. Also, there is a missing link between production and research systems and consumers. While the focus has been on improving production, reducing food supply chain losses remains a relatively unaddressed problem till very recently.

The perishable food industry is crucially dependent on storage, logistics, transportation, and distribution. The journey of products from farm to fork goes through several steps and at every stage, some wastage happens. The lack of a scientific approach, regional imbalances in storage capacity, and inefficient capacity utilization are some of the major obstructs faced by Indian fresh produce logistics.

The recent years have witnessed the emergence of few online grocery stores that the fresh produce goods reach the customer in a timely manner. Fraazo makes farm-fresh produce available under 18 hours from harvest. It follows a farm to fork model. The company owns the entire back-end supply chain and sells fresh fruits and vegetables to consumers. It delivers close to 2,000 tonnes of fresh produce monthly in Mumbai. Another Indian online grocery store that bought a revolution in this area is BigBasket. There was a time when Indians only bought their vegetables and fruits directly at the public market or through handcarts, this meant that customers often formed a bond with the sellers over time, which resulted in variable pricing for each customer depending on how close they are to the vendors. BigBasket standardized this experience and gives consistent pricing for all items in a given city. When it comes to milk, eggs, bread, and other such staples, daily deliveries are a norm in much of India. BigBasket replicated this model with its BBDaily service.

Tech-enabled logistics have the power to transpose the current situation and increase the shelf life of fresh produce through effective management. The digitization of the entire process of warehousing and distribution can facilitate the management of orders. It can enhance visibility along the supply chain for the different actors, making the process more transparent and highly efficient. Storage is at the heart of agri-business. It plays an important role in the continuous flow of goods in the market & has an impact on the deterioration of perishable and semi perishable products. Digitization across the process of storage & distribution can help to increase the shelf life of the product by accelerating the journey of the products. There is a requirement of warehousing and fulfillment service providers that can enable speedy delivery, quality control, and pocket-friendly logistics solutions for the fresh produce industry.

Edgistify is one of India’s most credible Warehousing operations & fulfillment networks that offers a tech-enabled one-stop platform for multiple logistics requirements. Inculcating AI\ML & blockchain mechanism, we offer a tech-enabled platform to simplify, optimize & streamline the decision-making process within the supply chain. Edgistify can set the stage for an explosion of cost-effective innovations in the fresh produce industry. Edgistify can help in reducing the distance traveled by the fresh produce goods through its strong network spread across the country. We are associated with 52K+ Warehouse Owners and 700+ 3pl service providers across 150+ cities in India. We provide access to our robust network of warehouses, service providers & allied service providers. Apart from flexible storage solutions, we provide warehouse operations and fulfillment services. Our solutions are cost-effective ensuring a reduction of 8-16% in the logistics cost structure.

Visit https://www.edgistify.com/ for connecting with us

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