Feeding the city: solutions beyond the FSC 2016?

Ard Jan Vethman — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:43:59 +0000

In the upcoming BioVision conference in Lyon (March 8-11), the Future Supply Chain 2016 report will be represented in the panel discussion on ‘feeding the city’. The detail of the discussion can be found on the conference website, but it is interesting to see how some of the themes of the FSC 2016 report will be taken one step further.

Under the header of urban agriculture, local sourcing is taken to its logical conclusion and brought as close to the consumer as possible. The solutions can be as well established as allotment gardens and as advanced as the 3D city farms. Growing food in these environments can be done in modern ways using hydro culture, but even less technical solutions can give us a new perspective on the future role of agriculture. Originally, urbanisation meant that agriculture had to disappear in favour of concrete buildings. It may now find a way back to the city for very good reasons!

The Future Supply Chain vision calls for action from all stakeholders

Kees Jacobs — Tue, 27 May 2008 14:13:58 +0000

The Future Supply Chain report includes a call to action for retailers and manufacturers of consumer goods to rethink their supply chains and establish new ways of working together. But this call to action is not just meant for retailers and manufacturers. There are three clear additional stakeholders that will play a crucial role in moving forward: logistics service providers, governmental bodies (e.g., city authorities) and shoppers.
Logistics service providers of course already play a major role in the physical distribution of consumer goods. And in many cases they are facilitators for collaboration between retailers and manufacturers. But the Future Supply Chain vision encompasses concepts for infrastructure sharing that go beyond the current practices. Smart LSPs have a unique chance to become strategic contributors to a much more sustainable supply chain.
Increasingly governments are urged to solve critical problems around (city) distribution caused by traffic congestion and environmental impacts (e.g., CO2 emissions). Traditionally they look for solutions that treat the symptoms, but do not address the root causes. The Future Supply Chain vision provides a toolkit that can help address some of these root causes – and thus help in solving these problems in an innovative way. For city authorities (e.g., mayors) it would be worthwhile to see how, together with retailers, manufacturers and LSPs, they can make significant steps forward.
Finally, consumers and shoppers play a crucial role. They ultimately drive the value chain: they are the originators of the demand signals that should trigger the supply chain. And in the future they will probably take new things into consideration regarding their (buying) behavior, such as sustainability aspects. For example, there is a clear sustainability argument for home delivery, in the context that most consumers currently take their (nearly empty) cars to go shopping. Efficient mechanisms for neighborhood delivery via pick-up points or at home will result in much lower carbon emissions.
The call to action for whoever reads this blog is clear: promote the Future Supply Chain vision to all stakeholders – retailers, manufacturers, LSPs, (city) authorities and shoppers.

Future Supply Chain 2016 » Future Supply Chain 2016 Report

Feeding the city: solutions beyond the FSC 2016?

The Future Supply Chain vision calls for action from all stakeholders