Increasing product demands, overpopulation, regulatory concerns, and environmental aspects all have an impact on the sustainability of the supply chain, especially in the food sector. There are many parameters in a food supply chain that need to be considered for sustainability. Here are some of the main challenges with food supply chains and the ways your business can create more sustainable practices.

Even though the seasonal peak in shipping demand has passed, this nation’s supply chain issues are expected to continue into the coming year. Shipping a container through major U.S. ports is now more costly and takes much more time than in the past. And, even items moving domestically are facing various bottlenecks due to trucking shortages and other inefficiencies in the supply chain. 

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed a host of vulnerabilities in the global food supply chain, leading to all sorts of disruptions across the country. Whether people are concerned about eating out at their favorite restaurant or getting ahold of their must-have snack food at the local grocer’s, fluctuating levels of supply and demand have created an unprecedented situation for food businesses. Here’s what you need to know about the current situation and six ways your food business can deal with supply chain disruptions.

Supply chain challenges have become a constant source of stress for food and beverage companies and the businesses that contract with them. Any disruption along the supply chain can upend plant operations, production schedules, logistics, and the customer experience.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global supply chain continues to reach well beyond urgent struggles on behalf of consumers to obtain finished products or manufacturers to get vital raw materials. As the world emerges from the past 18 months of what should have been a brief interruption in the way we do business, reports from experts reveal that the damage to the supply chain could be long-lasting.

It's peak season, and you're trying desperately to keep inventory moving in and out of your warehouse to satisfy your clients. But one of the additional challenges you face is a warehouse device shortage, which is stifling your efforts.

World events and technological innovations have ushered in a new era for the food supply chain sector. How consumers look at, purchase, and consume food has changed drastically over the past several years in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and an increasing desire for complete transparency.

Here is how consumer behavior has shifted in such a short period, the ways that online shopping growth will affect the food supply chain, and what companies can do to provide greater transparency moving forward. 

The beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic exposed weaknesses in the global food supply chain as retailers and food manufacturers worked tirelessly to keep up with consumer demand. But, even earlier than that, traceability and transparency were becoming hot-button issues for companies that wanted to cater to consumer desires to know more about their food as well as a need to prevent product recalls. 

But, before you can make transparency a goal, you have to understand it. Here is what transparency in the food supply chain means, why it’s important, and how some businesses are beginning to address the issue.

Last month the world briefly experienced a unique drama that involved no natural disasters, lost lives or homes or pile-ups of cars on the freeways. What got the world's attention like it never did before was a giant container ship stuck in a canal! 

While the sight of a large, fully-loaded ship sitting stationary in a canal for week did not have the "drama" of other disasters, it was a disaster in its own way - just a very slow-building one. While no property was destroyed nor lives lost, there was a significant cost to what was really a "Supply Chain Chokepoint" on a global scale.

How much did it cost? Numbers are still being crunched, but some early data points illustrate the monumental impact it had on global trade.

Where are the chokepoints in YOUR supply chain? 

One side-effect of 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic has been a heightened awareness of “safety” in the realm of hygiene, especially food and groceries. Early last year we were treated to videos of how to handle your groceries after you bring them home and generated such a high volume of prepared food delivery that we developed “contactless” delivery where someone in a mask rushes up to your door and leaves a non-descript package in front of it before texting you to get you to open the door (yes, how things have changed!).