Supply Chain Optimization A Tool for Enhancing Visibility, Achieving Efficiency & Accuracy In Decision-Making Capabilities For Our Food System Actors

It is estimated that in the year 2025, companies using artificial intelligence and other grounded technologies in their supply chain will outperform their peers who do not, why is this?

Hello there, good morning, and a very happy Friday to you, I trust you have had a very productive week, I am delighted to write to you as always, we are now a community of over 4,500 people and I am in everyway possible super grateful for the gift of each and everyone of you.

Now I could write this episode and not talk about being MIA for two weeks, I do cherish and honor you way to much to not leave an explanation, truth is I was pushing too many things and I almost burnt out, there was the bit where I felt unmotivated to write or do anything, I am thankful for a functional team that helps ensure all of these times are not visible to our customers.

I took a personal retreat outside of Lagos and I am writing this from my time away location a lot more refreshed and with lesser distractions, thank you for bearing with me.

Now to our topic for this edition of The Food Renaissance, I have intentionally not done any deep dive into artificial intelligence and its impact on our food systems for a reason, I thought to first lay out the foundation for effective food system architecture and implementation, help us understand the drivers of the system that help capture, produce, store, process, distribute and deliver good food to people everywhere, and I am happy that at edition fourteen we do have some background on how that works as a community, if you are new to The Food Renaissance please take sometime to read through as many of the previous editions as possible for context, we have ensured we break concepts down and explain them in a simple and clear way to aid understanding, retention, and practical application of the things we learn here as the audience we have is typically a blend of food system actors and food enthusiasts.

I will be doing more deep dives into the impact of AI on food systems and how to apply them to drive change, this edition will in some way introduce it as one of the technologies that will transform how we implement the designs of our food systems going forward.

Our food supply chains are conventionally designed to deliver the raw materials needed for production, enable manufacturing happen, and effectively distribute and deliver the output of these system to people everywhere, depending on what the designed target market is. On this edition of The Food Renaissance I will like us to explore how technology can and is helping us optimize our food system and aiding better decision making, visibility and efficiencies all around

The truth is as technology gets better, there will be redundant roles in our food systems, and a good response is to prepare for it and tool our people with the knowledge to make pivots to more valuable roles less susceptible to technological disruption.

Technology will optimize repetitive tasks such as supplier onboarding, collaborator onboarding in our case at Quick Leap, purchase order tracking, and or data entry, typical menial tasks, workflows, supplier communication including answering supplier queries, even negotiating contracts with natural language, professional responses and summarizing reports and other similar tasks will be automated, I am a big advocate for having people in roles where a personal touch is needed especially at the phase of growth where we are in Nigeria and Africa, people still love interacting primarily with people, this is a reality.

I did some research on common supply chain challenges to enrich the range I have experienced over the years and we have experienced in executing at Quick Leap, so that this piece is wider in its coverage, I love the feedback from the guys at aim consulting, they write;

Common Supply Chain Challenges

With the rapid evolution of technology, the rapid pace of business, fluctuations in consumer preferences, decreased delivery time expectations, and political and economic instability, companies today face an ever-increasing volume of demand and supply variability.

Fluctuations in demand and unpredictable variations in supply can lead to imbalanced inventory levels, stock outs, or excess inventory. Managing these variations effectively requires accurate demand forecasting, agile production planning, and robust inventory management systems.

Global supply chains have also become more intricate, as organizations face the challenges that come with navigating complex networks of suppliers, distributors, and logistics partners across different countries. This complexity is amplified by additional risks, including geopolitical uncertainties, regulatory compliance, and cultural differences.

All of these supply chain challenges can significantly impact the efficiency, cost, and reliability of the overall process.

So, what are the things to consider in optimizing our supply chains to enable them provide visibility, enhance efficiency, accuracy, and decision-making capabilities in the process?

Global supply chains have also become more intricate, as organizations face the challenges that come with navigating complex networks of suppliers, distributors, and logistics partners across different countries. This complexity is amplified by additional risks, including geopolitical uncertainties, regulatory compliance, and cultural differences.

Here at Quick Leap we argue that the answer is in centralizing the process by enabling collaborations among our food system actors, multiple suppliers collapsed into one platform, logistics embedded with local and global capabilities - This is why we built Collaborator, a nest for food system actors to have all of their raw material needs met directly from the output from other food system actors, as their own output or harvest is the input for other food system actors, essentially Collaborator is a place to source and buy everything you need to create great food and sell everything you create to local and international markets, streamlining the number of processes you have to go through to achieve visibility in the local and global marketplace.

It is essentially a supply chain tool that provides visibility on where what you are acquiring is coming from, provides accurate information on the product and gives food businesses, locally and globally the tools to make accurate decisions and have their raw material and or finished products delivered where ever they desire, locally and globally.

So how do we enhance supply chain visibility with Ai and other technologies?

1. Identify the data sources
2. Use advanced analytics
3. Implement real-time tracking
4. Use predictive maintenance
5. Collaborate with partners

Identify the data sources

Traditional supply chains generate massive volumes of data, ranging from inventory levels to logistics information to customer feedback. The first step in enhancing supply chain visibility with AI or any other technology is to identify the data sources across the supply chain. This could include data from field agents, farmgate APi's, sensors, barcodes, RFID tags, GPS, shipping partners and terminals and other sources.

When food system actors and organizations integrate data from this variety of sources and use AI to derive insights, they can gain a more comprehensive understanding of their supply chain.

Where you do not yet have these capabilities, and even where you do, simplify the process with a partner who has done all the heavy lifting for you - Everything from sourcing to data and insights on request, markets for finished products- local and global, you really want to be plugged into a functional system - that is where Collaborator comes in, I would use Collaborator even if I was not a part of the team that designed and built it.

Use advanced analytics

As we grow Collaborator, we will be adding all of these capabilities for individuals and organizations to enjoy deep dives into trends on their dashboards, for now, these deep dives are available on demand. We do however advise that users use other AI-powered advanced analytics, such as machine learning and predictive analytics tools, that can help you analyze data from the identified sources to gain insights into the supply chain, identify patterns, and predict future trends.

The real-time insights you derive can enable your organization to optimize inventory management and supply chain operations, address bottlenecks, minimize delivery delays, and improve overall operational efficiency.

Like in every point, I will point out and rightly so that we have done the heavy lifting for you here at Quick Leap with Collaborator, you can plug in and enjoy.

Implement real-time tracking

Real-time tracking and monitoring of shipments is vital to achieving end-to-end supply chain visibility. By tracking products every step of the way, from the point of origin to the end consumer, you can identify bottlenecks in your processes, shipping delays, and other issues that could impact the supply chain.

On Collaborator we have designed a clear system that enables you track your shipment from anywhere in the world after you have made a purchase or a sale achieving this level of transparency and traceability enables you to be proactive and you can make informed decisions in the running of your business.

Use predictive maintenance

Organizations lose millions every year from equipment failure and the resulting unplanned downtime. Predictive maintenance leverages data science, AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics to proactively identify issues with equipment.

For example, if your organization uses infrared thermography to monitor heat signatures in equipment and detect excessive heat from machines that are under extreme stress or malfunctioning, you can identify potential equipment failures before they occur and alert relevant technicians.

By using AI technologies to identify potential equipment failures before they occur, you increase your supply chain visibility, reduce downtime, reduce lost revenue, improve customer satisfaction, and ultimately ensure that the supply chain operates smoothly.

Collaborate with partners

Supply chain visibility is far from limited to your individual organization; instead, it extends across your entire network of suppliers, logistics providers, and other partners.

This is why we emphasize using Collaborator it is designed to ensure you have all that you need for a simplified, visible and super effective and efficient supply chain that works at all times for you!

Collaborator ensures you have real-time information sharing and seamless communication among key stakeholders, as you are plugged into a system with multiple food system actors across different value chains. This improves supply chain visibility, agility, and coordination.

Please leave me some feedback if this has been useful, and questions if you have any.

I will see you all next week by Gods grace, have an amazing weekend ahead!

Cheers,

Damion.

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This edition of The Food Renaissance was written, edited and produced by Damion Udoh

Content from other sources and authors have been duly acknowledged as coming from them.

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