While gourmet food wholesalers Australia can make a lot of money, their job has a lot of challenges. Food logistics may seem very easy but the process has a lot of potential complications. With the shipping industry always changing, it is advisable to work with competent distributors and wholesalers. This allows you to use the resources of the wholesaler or distributor to avoid the challenges that most shipping companies in the food distribution industry face. Here are some of the biggest challenges that food wholesalers and distributors face.
Temperature and humidity
The process of food fulfilment is an important part of your business because it can break or make your brand. Getting perishable food products from the manufacturer to the retailer or consumer is not an easy process. A slight mistake such as wrong humidity and temperature can make the food go bad or reduce the shelf life of the food.
To keep food fresh during transportation, humidity and temperature should be controlled. Fresh food produce should remain refrigerated and cool since bacteria grow in areas with high temperatures. If you are dealing with fresh fruits, it is important to keep them at temperatures below zero degrees Celsius. On the other hand, foods such as garlic and onions should be stored at similar temperatures but the levels of humidity should be lower because high humidity will destroy them.
For wholesale food suppliers that deal with perishable goods damaged by cold temperatures such as bananas and mangos, their ideal storage temperatures should be between 13 degrees Celsius and 15 degrees Celsius. Their humidity levels should be 85-90%.
Technology implementation
There is a growth in technology in the food industry. For good shipping companies to remain competitive and reduce food wastage, they should look for effective ways to deliver food to retailers whilst lowering costs.
Modern technology is one of the most significant ways of achieving this. For example, suppliers can use modern tracking equipment to quickly respond to demand whilst enabling partners to make changes to their delivery schedules. Even though the industry has seen the benefits of these useful technologies, most food shipping companies are struggling with their implementation. This is due to the difficulty of maintaining the technologies and the finances required.
Luckily, food suppliers can outsource a section of their business or all business processes from third-party logistics companies with the required capacity, expertise, IT systems and people to help them reduce expenses and handle the supply chain better.
Damage during transportation
Another challenge that food suppliers and shipping companies face is impact damage. This is normally faced when transporting beverages and perishable foods. No one wants to purchase food that looks to be in bad condition or damaged. If the food gets damaged during the transportation process, it will not get to the consumer.
Changes in demand
This is another common challenge that gourmet food wholesalers Australia face. Ensuring there is enough stock to meet the current demand but not too much supply goes to waste is a big challenge.
