Grower News, Management

Horticultural supply chains: Streamlining operations to reduce disruptions and boost efficiency

Given the current challenges facing horticultural supply chains, it’s easy to feel concerned. Wildfires, pest outbreaks, market changes — the disruptions are frequent but not unmanageable.

It all comes down to operational efficiency and smarter logistics strategies. Keep reading to learn how greenhouse and field growers can streamline their supply chains so that no matter what happens, they’re able to adapt and come out the other side stronger than ever.

Strengthening supply chains for greenhouse and field growers

 Environmental volatility, fluctuating resource availability, and shifting global trade dynamics heighten the risk of supply chain disruption for greenhouse and field growers, threatening production timelines and market access. Proactive management starts long before delays materialize, requiring growers to adopt strategies that build resilience into every logistical layer:

• Collaborative logistics: Sharing transportation networks is considered equally beneficial to growers wanting to maintain freshness as it is for those wanting greater efficiency in the supply chain. The reason collaboration works so well is that it allows smaller greenhouse and field growers to pool resources and invest in better technology that ultimately strengthens the entire logistics network. It also means that businesses can lean on each other if there’s a delay or problem.
•  Integrating Transportation Management Systems (TMS): A good TMS will use a mix of real-time tracking and predictive analytics to help growers make better routing and scheduling decisions, and generally streamline their logistics for a lower error rate and higher output. 
• Diverse suppliers: One delayed fertilizer order or packaging delivery can derail an entire supply chain. That’s why it’s vital for growers to develop diverse supplier relationships so that if one falls short, there’s a backup ready to ease the strain.
• Risk management plans: If there’s one thing every farmer and grower knows, it’s that risk is inevitable. A great season can quickly sour due to ill-timed rain and an even better one can get overshadowed by the impact of a global pandemic. Having a plan in place for supply chain risk scenarios can ensure much quicker responses and in turn, less disastrous outcomes.

Overcoming disruptions: Key challenges in horticultural supply chains

Here are some of the key challenges we see horticultural supply chains struggling with and some of the ways they can be overcome:

• Climate variability: Natural disasters aren’t just a threat to crops but to transportation networks. Having a diversified logistics strategy and a TMS that responds to both real time and predictive data to reroute produce where necessary can help growers stay more agile in the face of climate variability.
• Market fluctuations: As random as some market fluctuations can feel, data analytics will often be able to flag patterns or predictive markers ahead of time so that growers can prepare their harvesting and transportation timetables accordingly.
• Transportation bottlenecks: Fresh goods make for extremely time-sensitive cargo. Even a small shortage in trucks or a sudden road closure can lead to revenue losses. Having alternative forms of transportation at the ready can ease this, as can better cold storage systems that maintain freshness even through delays.
• Compliance issues: Anyone trying to export produce or maintain their organic certifications knows just how stressful compliance can be in horticultural supply chains. Building more traceable, transparent supply chains with technology that tracks everything and makes data easily available for audits can make this issue more manageable.
• Sustainability pressures: Whether it’s from consumers, government entities, or stores that have strict sustainability guidelines,  it can often feel like sustainability is yet another pressure that complicates or slows supply chains. Using technology to optimize routing and fuel usage, however, can help growers stay on top of sustainability goals and optimize their supply chain at the same time.

Smart logistics: Using technology to improve efficiency and reduce waste

Partnering farmers with tech experts is proving to be one of the best ways to build supply chain resilience. Technology in general is helping to improve various aspects of horticultural logistics, especially when it comes to efficiency and waste reduction.

Automated warehouse management systems, for example, that use robotics and AI can streamline inventory management, packing and other tasks for greater efficiency. They tend to have a lower error rate and to be faster than manual options.

Cold chain management is another highly important part of smart logistics. IoT sensors and RFID tags can be used to track the location, temperature and humidity levels of fresh cargo so that an alert is sent for even the slightest change. This means that a breakdown in a refrigeration unit can be dealt with as quickly as possible and the consequences kept to a minimum.

Optimizing transportation to maintain freshness and meet market demand

Balancing market demand with freshness is an ongoing battle for growers. Sometimes, the distance from the farm to end-customers makes it challenging to maintain freshness. Mode optimization is essential to maintaining the balance between speed, cost and freshness. No two horticultural supply chains are the same. Partnering with a logistics service provider can you help you design a transportation solution that works for your unique needs. While refrigerated truckload may be the best option for most growers, you may find that a multimodal approach that combines truckload, air or even intermodal may be best for your needs.

A logistics service provider can leverage technology to help drive mode optimization decisions, measure performance, and suggest tweaks as needed. Whether you decide to partner with a logistics service provider or manage your logistics and transportation in-house, embracing technology is key to positioning your supply chain to meet customer demand without compromising on quality. 

Learn more on the Sheer Logistics website.