The State of the Food Procurement Industry — the WTW Global Supply Chain Survey

In their latest Food, Beverage and Agricultural Supply Chain Risk Report, global risk adviser and broker WTW (Willis Towers Watson) asked 100 risk and supply chain leaders from agribusiness and food processing companies and major F&B brands around the world about the state of the industry.

What does the supply chain landscape look like? How are they dealing with uncertainty? How are they building agility and resilience in their supply chains?

A couple of things really stood out to us.

When asked about the impact of the pandemic on their approach to supply chain management:

• 60% said they had made some improvements following the pandemic
• 10% said they hadn’t made any changes
• 2% said they hadn’t made any changes because they already had a robust supply chain in place
• Only 20% said they had completely transformed their supply chain following the pandemic

The report did not specify what “some improvements” means, but we would argue that building resilience and agility into your supply chain is critical … and has never been easier.

WTW also recommends six steps to build supply chain resilience:

1. Develop contingency plans to deal with unexpected disruptions. Ask ‘how many links are in the chain?’, ‘how long could we manage without our biggest originator?’ and ‘Do our existing suppliers have spare capacity or business continuity plans in place?’
2. Diversify your supply base: Find alternative providers who could step in at short notice if a supplier goes out of business or has a sudden shutdown.
3. Consider re-shoring or near-shoring operations: It’s not always possible to source or produce food and beverage products close to home, but where possible, this can help mitigate some supply chain risk.
4. Implement real-time tracking and visibility: Track the location status of your shipments in real-time using systems such as smart food labels so you can address potential issues quickly. This technology also allows suppliers to upload data for full and speedy traceability.
5. Foster strong relationships with logistics providers: disruption can be managed better between partners with solid relationships and communication.
6. Use data and analytics: Analyze data on past disruptions to identify patterns and develop strategies to prevent future disruptions. This can help you continuously improve and optimize the management of supply chain risks.

These might not apply to your organization and your unique supply chain. But when you implement Direct Supply? DSSI?, you absolutely have #1, #2 and #6 covered.

And we’ll add one more … control as much control as you want.

While external events can disrupt your supply chain, events inside your organization often disrupt your budget.

With DSSI, you can set any parameters you want for any vendor, contract or product category. However, DSSI will only show your team the approved options. That means your people can only order the right products at the right price from the right vendors … across your entire organization.

DSSI gives you real-time budget control. You can see what your people spend the moment they spend it.

With over 450+ key vendors and suppliers in our network, there’s almost no chance your team can’t find what they need at the right price… even in the event of a disruption.

Sources:

1. Food, Beverage and Agriculture Supply Chain Risk Report 2023