May 30, 2020
Fighting food waste: the benefits of digitalisation
What actually is Food waste? Four terms can be isolated to establish a framework regarding food waste1:
- food availability (production of the whole food supply-chain);
- oversupply (difference between quantity produced and quantity actually consumed);
- waste (amount of oversupply that fails to be recovered for nutrition);
- degree of fungibility (ease with which oversupply can be recovered).
In the category of waste it is included food that gets spilled or spoilt before it reaches its final product or retail stage, and food that is fit for human consumption, but is not consumed because it is either left to spoil or discarded by retailers or consumers.
In the following sections some data about food waste will be illustrated; then, the necessity for digital solutions to reduce food waste will be highlighted; in conclusion, we will talk about Wenda, an Italian startup backed by European investors offering an Information Management Hub for advanced supply chain tracking used by main Food&Beverage players, improving quality, logistics and sales.
Food waste numbers
According to FAO data2, Each year, roughly one third of world food production destined to human consumption is lost or wasted across the food supply-chain, to the value of 750 bn $. It is a huge amount, that corresponds to approximately 1,3 bn of tons in food. 58% of the food produced is wasted before even arriving to the consumer, and almost 20% of food global loss is due to cold chain disruptions.
In the EU, each year roughly 88 million tons of food are wasted, costing around 143 mld € and, if nothing will be done, Food waste could reach 120 million tons by 2020. Furthermore, 20% of global Food waste is caused by cold-chain issues (i.e. the truck engine stops, logistics do not respect contracts, the driver stops under the sun etc, and FIT with a software and hardware system helps to discover and manage this issues …).
In Italy the trend does not seem to be different: Food waste in Italy is worth more than 3,5 bn € each year, from the fields (946.229.325 €) to industrial production (1.111.916.133 €) to wastage in distribution (1.444.189.543 €), a figure that, added to household food waste, brings us to more than 15,5 bn € thrown away each year (0,94% of GDP)3.
Food waste produces a large consumption of resources such as water, land, energy, labour and capital, and unnecessarily generates GHG emissions, contributing to global warming and climate change. In middle- and high-income Countries, Food is mainly wasted in the last stages of the supply chain, while consumers’ behaviour is crucial.
The abovementioned FAO study identifies the lack of coordination between actors in the supply chain as a contributing factor: farmer-buyer agreements can be helpful to increase the level of coordination. Additionally, awareness campaigns among industries, retailers and consumers, the implementation of virtuous reuse processes and the dissemination of digital solutions are among the recommended measures to reduce Food waste. Here we will focus on supply chain enhancement through digital services and solutions.
The benefits of digitalisation
One of the key elements to reduce Food waste is the enhancement of supply chain efficiency: digital solutions for the supply chain management enable a better demand/offer coordination, make transactions more efficient, empower product traceability and give the possibility to shape a dynamic pricing based on the product’s residual shelf life.
For instance, according to BCG4 the widespread adoption of digital solutions could imply annual savings for 120 mld US$. Beyond these considerations, given that a substantial part of wastage is caused by poor product-preservation conditions, limited food traceability, damages suffered during transportation or failure to meet best practices at the stage of logistical handling, companies tend to adopt digital solutions to provide convincing answers to these issues.
According to a study5, to this day the digital revolution intervenes in a major way to ensure food traceability, reducing wastage, boosting revenues and increasing process efficiency: 36% of agrifood companies, thanks to the implementation of digital solutions, has experienced reductions of time and costs connected to the processes of data collection, management and transmission.
In this scenario, we are seeing a steady growth of cold chains global value, which no later than 2022 will reach a total value of 271,3 bn $, with a 7% CAGR , while up to 2020 250 bn $ will be spent in IoT solutions for food traceability – 40 of which in the single segment of traceability systems for logistics – with a 30% CAGR.
Another element to be considered is the generally insufficient access to traceability, quality and general product-related data, not very well shared along the chain, rarely reaching the consumer. Big players are going in this direction: for instance Maersk6, the world’s largest container shipping company – which, by the way, selected Wenda7 as one of the 10 best startups in the world fighting for food waste.
WENDA: Information Management Hub for Food&Beverage supply chains
Wenda, an Italian startup backed by European investors, managed to note in advance the necessity for the use of digital services and solutions to reduce Food waste, e has created an Information Management Hub for advanced supply chain tracking used by the main Food&Beverage actors , improving quality, logistics and sales. It consists of a web platform that can support all Food&Beverage actors operating with perishable or sensitive products: data loggers are inserted into each box, pallet or container of any given shipment, in order to collect environmental data (geolocalisation, temperature, Food integrity); data are sent to the Wenda Information Management Hub, the web platform that aggregates, compares and processes them.
Subsequently, you can follow in real time and from a single control point the product’s conditions via advanced integrity analytics embedded in the Hub, gaining knowledge of the hazard points in the distribution chain, ensuring the best product care and enhancing internal processes. In this way, you can have end-to-end supply chain visibility to ensure transparency, maximise products’ shelf life and increase efficiency.
In this way, you can gain end-to-end supply chain visibility to ensure transparency, maximise products’ shelf life and increase efficiency in potential recall campaigns: producers, distributors and retailers will be able to substantially reduce both losses and Food waste, which today appears unacceptable.
As claimed by former FAO director general, José Graziano da Silva: “All of us—farmers and fishers; food processors and supermarkets; local and national governments; individual consumers—must make changes at every link of the human food chain to prevent food wastage from happening in the first place, and reuse or recycle it when we can’t. We simply cannot allow one-third of all the food we produce to go to waste or be lost because of inappropriate practices, when 870 million people go hungry every day”.
To have further information, to know more about us or to schedule a demo of the Wenda Information Management Hub, we invite you to visit our website: https://www.wenda-it.com/.
May 30, 2020 Kupambana na taka ya chakula: faida za digitalization Ni nini haswa taka ya chakula? "Kuna maneno manne ambayo yanaweza kutengwa ili kuanzisha mfumo kuhusu taka za chakula: ""Upatikanaji wa chakula (uzalishaji wa mnyororo mzima wa usambazaji wa chakula), ""Utoaji wa ziada (tofauti kati ya kiasi kilichotengenezwa na kiasi kilichotumiwa kweli), ""Utekelezaji wa ziada (kiasi cha ziada ambayo haiwezi kurejeshwa kwa lishe)." "Katika jamii ya ""matoleo"" ni pamoja na chakula kwamba ni kuanguka au kuharibika kabla ya kufikia bidhaa yake ya mwisho au hatua ya rejareja, na chakula kwamba ni sahihi kwa ajili ya matumizi ya binadamu, lakini si kutumika kwa sababu ni ama kushoto kuharibika au kutupwa na wauzaji au watumiaji." Katika sehemu zifuatazo, baadhi ya data kuhusu taka ya chakula itaonyeshwa; kisha, uhitaji wa ufumbuzi wa digital kupunguza taka ya chakula utaonyeshwa; kwa kumalizia, tutazungumza juu ya Wenda, mwanzilishi wa Italia aliyeungwa mkono na wawekezaji wa Ulaya, akitoa Kituo cha Usimamizi wa Habari kwa ufuatiliaji wa mlolongo wa usambazaji unaotumiwa na wachezaji wakuu wa Chakula na Vinywaji. Kulingana na FAO, kila mwaka, theluthi moja ya chakula cha dunia kinachotengenezwa kwa ajili ya matumizi ya binadamu hupoteza au kupotea katika mlolongo wa usambazaji wa chakula, kwa thamani ya bilioni 750. Hii ni kiasi kikubwa sana, karibu na tani za chakula bilioni 1.3. "Kuhusu asilimia 58 ya chakula kinachotengenezwa, kinachotupwa kabla ya kufika kwa watumiaji, na karibu asilimia 20 ya hasara ya chakula duniani inatokana na ""kukatizwa kwa mlolongo wa baridi.""" Katika EU, kila mwaka karibu tani milioni 88 za chakula hutupwa, na gharama ya karibu € 143 bilioni, na ikiwa hakuna kitu kinachofanywa, taka ya chakula inaweza kufikia tani milioni 120 ifikapo 2020. Zaidi ya hayo, asilimia 20 ya taka ya chakula duniani husababishwa na matatizo ya mnyororo wa baridi. Kama injini ya lori imesimamishwa, madini hayatii mikataba, dereva anasimama chini ya jua, na kadhalika, FIT na mfumo wa programu na vifaa husaidia kugundua na kusimamia masuala haya. Katika Italia, mwenendo haionekani kuwa tofauti: taka za chakula nchini Italia zina thamani ya zaidi ya € 3.5 bilioni kila mwaka, kutoka mashamba (€ 946.229.325), kwa uzalishaji wa viwanda (€ 1.111.916.133), kwa taka katika usambazaji (€ 1.444.189.53) - takwimu ambayo, ikiwa ni pamoja na taka za chakula za nyumbani, inatuleta zaidi ya € 15.5 bilioni kutupwa kila mwaka (€ 0.94 ya Pato la Taifa) Matumizi ya chakula hutokeza matumizi makubwa ya rasilimali kama vile maji, ardhi, nishati, kazi na mtaji, na hutokeza uzalishaji wa gesi za chafu bila haja, na kuchangia ongezeko la joto duniani na mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa. Katika nchi zenye mapato ya kati na ya juu, chakula hutupwa katika hatua za mwisho za mlolongo wa usambazaji, wakati tabia ya watumiaji ni muhimu. Uchunguzi wa FAO unaotajwa hapo juu unaonyesha ukosefu wa uratibu kati ya watendaji katika mlolongo wa usambazaji kama sababu inayochangia: makubaliano ya mkulima na mnunuzi yanaweza kusaidia kuongeza kiwango cha uratibu. Kwa kuongezea, kampeni za ufahamu kati ya viwanda, wauzaji na watumiaji, utekelezaji wa taratibu za matumizi ya tena na usambazaji wa suluhisho za dijiti ni kati ya hatua zilizopendekezwa kupunguza taka ya chakula. Hapa tutazingatia kuboresha mlolongo wa usambazaji kupitia huduma na suluhisho za dijiti. """Mmoja wa mambo muhimu ya kupunguza taka ya chakula ni kuongeza ufanisi wa mlolongo wa usambazaji: suluhisho la dijiti kwa usimamizi wa mlolongo wa usambazaji hufanya iwezekanavyo kuratibu mahitaji na ofa, kufanya shughuli ziwe na ufanisi zaidi, kuwezesha ufuatiliaji wa bidhaa na kutoa uwezekano wa kuunda bei ya nguvu kulingana na maisha ya rafu ya bidhaa." Kwa mfano, kulingana na BCG4, kupitishwa kwa ufumbuzi wa dijiti kunaweza kuashiria akiba ya kila mwaka ya $ 120 bilioni. Zaidi ya kuzingatia hizi, kwa kuzingatia kwamba sehemu kubwa ya hasara ni unasababishwa na hali mbaya ya kuhifadhi bidhaa, upatikanaji mdogo wa chakula, uharibifu unaosababishwa wakati wa usafirishaji au kutotimiza mazoea bora katika hatua ya utunzaji wa vifaa, makampuni yanaelekea kupitisha suluhisho za dijiti kutoa majibu ya kusadikisha kwa masuala haya. Kulingana na utafiti wa hivi karibuni, mapinduzi ya dijiti yanaingilia kati kwa njia kubwa kuhakikisha kufuatilia chakula, kupunguza taka, kuongeza mapato na kuongeza ufanisi wa mchakato: 36% ya makampuni ya kilimo na chakula, kwa sababu ya utekelezaji wa suluhisho za dijiti, wamepata kupunguzwa kwa wakati na gharama zinazohusiana na mchakato wa ukusanyaji, usimamizi na usambazaji wa data. Katika hali hii, tunaona ukuaji wa kudumu wa thamani ya jumla ya minyororo ya baridi, ambayo hadi 2022 itafikia thamani ya jumla ya $ 271.3 bilioni, na CAGR ya 7%; wakati hadi 2020 $ 250 bilioni itatumiwa katika suluhisho za IoT kwa traceability ya chakula, ambayo ni 40 katika sehemu moja ya mifumo ya traceability kwa vifaa, na CAGR ya 30%. "Kitu kingine cha kuzingatia ni upatikanaji wa kutosha wa data ya kufuatilia, ubora na bidhaa za jumla, ambazo hazishiriki vizuri kwenye mlolongo, na mara chache hufikia watumiaji. """ Maersk, kampuni kubwa ya usafirishaji wa kontena ulimwenguni, imechagua Wenda 7 kama moja ya kampuni 10 bora za kuanza ulimwenguni zinazopigana na taka ya chakula. Wenda, mwanzilishi wa Italia aliyeungwa mkono na wawekezaji wa Ulaya, aliweza kutambua mapema umuhimu wa matumizi ya huduma za dijiti na suluhisho za kupunguza taka ya chakula, na ameunda Kituo cha Usimamizi wa Habari kwa ufuatiliaji wa mlolongo wa usambazaji wa juu unaotumiwa na watendaji wakuu wa chakula na vinywaji, kuboresha ubora, usafirishaji na mauzo. "Kuna jukwaa la wavuti ambalo linaweza kusaidia watendaji wote wa chakula na vinywaji wanaofanya kazi na bidhaa zinazoweza kuharibika au nyeti: ""Data loggers"" huingizwa katika kila sanduku, pallet au kontena ya usafirishaji wowote, ili kukusanya data za mazingira (geolocalization, joto, uadilifu wa chakula), na data hutumwa kwa Wenda Information Management Hub, jukwaa la wavuti ambalo linajumuisha, kulinganisha na kusindika." Baadaye, unaweza kufuatilia hali ya bidhaa kwa wakati halisi na kutoka kwa hatua moja ya kudhibiti kupitia uchambuzi wa ubora wa hali ya juu ulioingizwa katika Hub, kupata maarifa ya pointi za hatari katika mlolongo wa usambazaji, kuhakikisha huduma bora ya bidhaa na kuboresha michakato ya ndani. Kwa njia hii, unaweza kuwa na mwisho-kwa-mwisho usambazaji mnyororo uwazi kuhakikisha uwazi, kuongeza bidhaa'shelf maisha na kuongeza ufanisi. Kwa njia hii, unaweza kupata mwonekano wa mnyororo wa usambazaji wa mwisho hadi mwisho ili kuhakikisha uwazi, kuongeza maisha ya rafu ya bidhaa na kuongeza ufanisi katika kampeni za kukumbuka: wazalishaji, wauzaji na wauzaji wataweza kupunguza hasara na taka ya chakula, ambayo leo inaonekana kuwa haikubaliki. "Mkurugenzi Mkuu wa FAO José Graziano da Silva alisema: ""Tunafanya kazi kwa pamoja, wakulima na wavuvi, watengenezaji wa chakula na maduka makubwa, serikali za mitaa na kitaifa, watumiaji binafsi, kufanya mabadiliko katika kila kiungo cha mlolongo wa chakula cha binadamu ili kuzuia kupoteza chakula kutokea kwanza, na kuitumia tena au kuifanyia kazi tena wakati hatuwezi." """Hatuwezi kuruhusu theluthi moja ya chakula tunachozalisha kutupwa au kupotea kwa sababu ya mazoea yasiyofaa wakati watu milioni 870 wanakabiliwa na njaa kila siku." Kwa maelezo zaidi, kwa kujua zaidi juu yetu au kupanga demo ya Wenda Information Management Hub, tunakualika kutembelea tovuti yetu: www.wenda.com.