The global food supply chain system is confronted by many challenges such as climate change, loss of arable land and feeding 9.3 billion people by 2050. Currently, up to 1/3 of food produced is lost along the supply chain. In addition, current supply chain decisions focus mainly on cost reduction and on-time delivery, without considering their impact on the environment. Hence, there is a need to improve the quality of food supply chain decisions to maintain long-term security and sustainability of global food manufacturing activities.
PROJECT AIM
This overall aim of the project is to take advantage of recent advances in information technology to improve FSC decisions through utilisation and application of the concepts and principles proposed by the 'Internet of Things (IoT)' to reduce resource consumption and other negative environmental impacts.
METHODOLOGY
A specially designed 'health check' method and associated tools will be used to analyse and assess the environmental sustainability of a food supply chain. Then, a bespoke IoT based model will be used to collect, collate and monitor real-time data related to specific environmental impact associated with various FSC decisions. This data together with relevant collective know how across various actors within a FSC will be used to improve resource efficiency and reduce the overall environmental impact.
