How Digitalization of the Supply Chain will Reduce Global Food Waste

The scale of the global food waste problem is staggering.

According to reports, 1.6 billion tons of food are lost or wasted every year, equating to a total value of $1.2 trillion being wiped from the supply chain. With one-third of the total amount of food produced globally being misused, the industry needs to look towards innovation and digitalization to combat this ever-growing trend.

Through embracing technology and digitalizing the food supply chain, a move can be made towards reducing the amount of food waste and loss within the industry. Not only that, but it can also help ensure there’s enough resource to sustainably support the future global population.

With the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals setting a target of halving food loss and waste by 2030, Ian looked at how the digitalization of the supply chain could help decrease global food waste.

THE NEED FOR INNOVATION TO REDUCE WASTE

Although food waste is evident across the entire supply chain, the vast majority comes at the very beginning (during production) and at the very end (during consumption). The former of these is more common within developing countries, where the infrastructure is of a poor standard and cannot handle the food thus creating waste, whilst the latter is more pronounced in developed countries with waste being caused by both retailers and consumers.

According to the Boston Consultancy Group (BCG), the amount of food waste created in the supply chain is set to rise 1.9 per cent from 2015 to 2030. You may think this is a small rise, but when put into perspective with the current 1.6 billion tons wasted every year, this figure will increase by 30.4 million tons.