How to Maintain a Food Supply Chain for Food Manufacturers and Caterers

Food manufacturing and food catering are some of the most essential sectors not just from the food and drink industry, but within social life as a whole. They are also dependent on each other. Food caterers obviously need food produced either locally or abroad, while food manufacturers make a sizeable amount of money from food caterers, either directly or indirectly. Effective maintenance is crucial for both sub-sectors.

MAINTAINING A FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN FOR FOOD MANUFACTURERS

In a food supply chain, food manufacturers lie between the farmers and the wholesalers. As their work implies, they are responsible for processing harvested farm produce into finished, consumable food items. This process is done under stringent conditions and many food commodities need to be moved through the supply chain quickly, due to their perishable nature. A lot can also go wrong in the process of shipping large stacks of partially perishable food items through the hands of wholesalers and retailers. The food products must remain in perfect condition, so it is necessary to effectively maintain the supply chain in this respect.

Database management and inventory maintenance arguably lie at the heart of food supply chain maintenance for food manufacturers. Efficient database management software must be adopted and utilised in taking stock of fresh produce and finished products, for easy tracking. Quality control measures must also be put in place to keep up with formal regulations and general industry standards.

Additionally, food products must be stored and packaged appropriately prior to dispatch. At KODGAV, we take quality assurance seriously, ensuring that our products are regularly tested in line with import and export quality assurance tests. We were nominated as a top AgTech company by BestStartupUK. With these in place, food manufacturers can then switch their attention to assessing the volatile behaviour and preferences of customers.

In the areas where the food wholesalers affiliated with food manufacturers operate, attention must be paid to customer trends. This would inform the decisions of food manufacturers, and support smart decision-making in the allocation of resources. The behaviour and preferences of customers can be evaluated through various means, such as periodic surveys. The demand of customers can also be identified from an increase or decrease in the number of food products demanded by wholesalers.

MAINTAINING A FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN FOR FOOD CATERERS

Food retailers lie at the penultimate part of the food supply chain. A food retailer may be a grocer or a caterer. Unlike food manufacturers and grocers, food caterers are not limited to one location. While food caterers operate at different scales and in different locations, they generally purchase food products in bulk. In order to keep up with multiple occasions and demands, they make these purchases frequently. See 3 quality places to buy sesame seeds in bulk.

It is not common to find food caterers buying food items directly from the manufacturers. Wholesalers and retailers are generally consulted instead. Buying from these middlemen, as it were, is a practical decision because products are obtained in adequate quantities for customer needs to be met. At KODGAV, we ensure food caterers can meet the demands of their customers by removing the middlemen (wholesalers) and providing various financing options. 

It could also be said that a mini-supply chain exists for food caterers in some instances. The other members of this mini-chain would be the distributors and the final consumers. To make this chain more effective, food caterers should maintain good working relationships with wholesalers/retailers and the agents who organise deliveries. In addition, a database can be created to take note of regular customers. These databases would give food caterers a clearer idea of their most frequently purchased food items, having this kind of information is powerful as it enables them to reorder these items much faster from the wholesalers or retailers, therefore maintaining a consistent and reliable supply to their customers. 

At KODGAV, we have effectively sourced and identified various ways to remove the middlemen in the food supply chain while ensuring food manufacturers and caterers get the highest quality products for less. Read how KODGAV is changing the game in cashew nut production.

We have also adopted different effective strategies to ensure that we meet general industry standards while also creating effective food for food manufacturers and caterers.

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