Global Agri-Food Supply Management - Assignment Example

Global Agri-Food Supply Management al affiliation Global Agri-Food Supply Management Current issues, challenges of global agri-food supply management Over the years there have been calls for the agri-food supply chain management to change. This is due to the fact that the food industry is facing many challenges which call for the supply management to change their practices (Hugos, 2011). Food security and global climate change are among the main factors that have been the reasons that have put the supply chain under pressure. This first part of this paper will discuss the changes, future and current issues of the agri-food chain supply management and will use global giant McDonalds as an example. The world is facing a growth in population. This growth in population calls for more food to be produced while practicing sustainability. This has put the supply agri-food supply chain under immense pressure as they try to keep up with the ever rising population. The supply chain needs to be more efficient than ever in order to reduce food wastage (Hugos, 2011). This has created room for various players within the industry to come up with innovations to solve these existing problems. Practicing sustainability is among one of the innovations. McDonalds is a company that largely relies on the agri-food chain. Recently the company has come up with various innovations with the aim of promoting sustainability. Due to the changes in world climate, growth in population as well as the ever rising cost of energy, the company’s management has come with some innovations. This is part of the company’s effort to protect the ecosystem, promote viability of farming to ensure the resources will be available for the future generations (Dittmann, 2013). In their attempt to promote sustainable sourcing, the company has come up with the following programs. Beef sustainability, sustainable packaging, recycling, supporting sustainable fisheries, sustainable coffee, sustainable logistics and sustainable poultry farming are some of those programs (Carter & Easton, 2011). One of the major challenges facing the agri-food supply chain is antibiotic resistance in food. This has led to a wide range of foodborne diseases. There have also been weeds that have proved to be pesticide and herbicide resistance. A good example is the pig weed that has become resistance and researchers claim that it will take close to five years to come up with an herbicide that will be able to deal with the pig weed menace. Another challenge is the reduction in insect pollinator population. This has directly affected food production as pollination is necessary for a good harvest (Ross & Ross, 2011). Some of the current trends include; automation. More and more people are using machines to plant, harvest, process and package food products. This has increased efficiency and reduced wastage. Due to the rise in energy costs, farmers and processors alike have embraced the use of renewable energy. A good example is biogas which is used in heating and lighting (Ross & Ross, 2011). The future of the agri-food supply chain management is hard to tell due to the challenges facing the industry today. However, the governments need to come in and take an active role in agri-food supply chain (Dittmann, 2013). This can be done by legislating laws that aim at improving efficiency, reducing wastage and embracing sustainability. However, that’s said, the future of the agri-food supply chain promises to be very complex and very vulnerable due to climate change, increasing population, shifting food preferences, urbanization and the increasing number of the middle class population throughout the world. Role of culture in supply chain Supply chain is one of those industries in the world that have a wide range of cultures. This is because supply chain is a huge industry and a company can have departments in different countries. The success of the company of the company will ultimately come down to the ability of the company’s management to marry these cultures together. This is because the success of any supply chain depends on the collaboration it has within its various departments. This is however not an easy task and can prove to be a tedious process. The second part of this paper will look at the role of culture in in promoting a competitive, green, efficient and responsible global supply chain (Hugos, 2011). Supply chain is based on the pillar of collaboration. Collaboration is meant to bring in the different cultures and departments together in order to set goals, share responsibility and laying the ground work on how the goals would be achieved (Cao & Zhang, 2011). Each collaborator has a role to play in this process. Working together is essential to ensure customer satisfaction and ultimately return on investment through earning revenue. The supply chain includes all employees, operations, suppliers and the customer. This people work together within a single system, which can be challenging. There is a lot of information that is passed on within the various departments as the chain flows from one department to another through to the end user which is the customer (Ross & Ross, 2011). It then becomes apparent that culture plays an important role in supply chain. This is because embracing cultural diversity will ensure that the supply chain is not disrupted and that there is flow of information. The management of should ensure that they embrace cultural diversity as it will eventually play a role in making the process successful. Efficiency can be improved by ensuring that management embraces cultural diversity. This includes respecting and getting to know the culture of their customers and employees from different countries. What one community might consider a taboo may not be considered by another community as being a taboo. This will ensure that also information flows from one department to another and this will lead to the supply chain being efficient (Dittmann, 2013). In order to be competitive the supply chain needs first to be effective. It also needs to quickly establish good relations with its customers and employees from different cultural backgrounds. Ensuring that the supply chain employees and customers are happy will ensure that the employees work hard and customers bring in return business. It is also important for the supply chain to embrace sustainable practices as part of promoting culture. This will ensure that the supply chain is not only efficient but also operates in and environmentally friendly manner. References Cao, M., & Zhang, Q. (2011). Supply chain collaboration: impact on collaborative advantage and firm performance. Journal of Operations Management, 29(3), 163-180. Carter, C. R., & Easton, P. L. (2011). Sustainable supply chain management: evolution and future directions. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 41(1), 46-62. Dittmann, J. (2013). Supply chain transformation. New York: McGraw-Hill. Hugos, M. (2011). Essentials of Supply Chain Management. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley. Ross, D., & Ross, D. (2011). Introduction to supply chain management technologies. Boca Raton: CRC Press/Taylor & Francis. Read More