With the world population hitting the 8 billion mark in November, 2022, there is an increase in food demand, specifically plant proteins, like soy. This has led to an increase in soy production leading to a market worth $123 billion. But agricultural deforestation and environmental degradation are a result of increased soy production, hence determining the urgency to streamline soy supply chains.
Considering the global nature of the spy supply chain, addressing its negative effects and related spill-over effects requires proper initiatives and policies on national, sub-national and global level. Further, investors must cut down the risks in soy supply chains by engaging directly with the portfolio organizations and also by taking up multi-stakeholder alliances. So, without further ado, let’s look at the technology-enabled procedures to streamline the soy supply chain.
Opting for IoT or Internet of Things
The IoT structure features interconnected gadgets and machines to compute and transfer data without any form of human intervention. This structure simplifies and streamlines agricultural resource assembly, examination and distribution in soy manufacturing with the use of sensor-based machines and tools. Nowadays, the use of sensors featuring image regulation enables soy manufacturers to keep an eye on their crops even if they are not present physically at the fields. These sensors also deliver real-time data about nutrient and water requirements of their soy crops, which can help soy framers boost production, decrease waste and improve global soy supply chain management at the same time.
Checking the Supply Chain Process Thoroughly
It is essential to have a superior quality process review in place to understand the current business state while identifying different methods to streamline the soy supply chain. Fully-integrated soy supply chains help identify pain points or problem areas, helping businesses take proper action to reduce costs and pass on the savings to the customers.
Soy Crop Monitoring through Drones
Another important technological advancement that is helping streamline the soy supply chain is drones. More and more soy farmers can now use drones to get aerial shots of their fields while the soy manufacturers can use them to view their large business areas from above. All in all, this larger picture perspective helps the farmers and the manufacturing unit owners to detect all issues even before they arise thus making it easier to manage the soy supply chain. Moreover, highly advanced drone technology can also be used to spray crops at a faster pace than the conventional tools and machines.
Smoother Manufacturing Plans with Automated Demand Predictions
Advanced technology plays an important role in the constantly evolving soy supply chain arena. It is transforming the way suppliers manage the soy supply chain, starting from robotics and AI-powered predictive analytics to automation. Soy manufacturers can always improve their productivity with the use of advanced technology in soy manufacturing and supply chain.
One major technological innovation in the field of soy supply chain is automatic demand predictions with the use of automated forecasting tools that examine consumer data through machine learning algorithms and predict soy future demand accurately. Further, businesses can use such predictions to strategize their manufacturing schedules accordingly, thus cutting down on soy manufacturing costs while improving customer satisfaction at the same time.
Automated demand predictions that enable manufacturers to modify their manufacturing strategies as per changing customer demands further helps them avoid underproduction and overproduction issues that may lead to expensive inventory problems. Added to this is computer-based demand forecasting that helps soy manufacturers in using the best scopes of expansion and growth while also capitalizing on the new market trends and entering the new markets.
Joining hands with Reliable Supply Sources
Next, you must join hands with the suppliers as they can keep the soy supply chain well-oiled. From reliable and timely delivery of soy to following quality, suppliers can make the business successful. Therefore, all soy manufacturers should have a strong bond with trustworthy suppliers. Only then, you can minimize disruptions in the soy supply chain and accomplish good growth.
So, what to look for in suppliers?
- First, check their communication channels, willingness and capacity to solve problems,
- Secondly, see their response times.
- Thirdly, determine their potential to offer instant updates on prospective problems and Capacity to change soy order status
Considering a supplier’s geographic location is crucial while understanding how it matches your soy supply requirements. Always examine a supplier’s logistics and shipping potentials, the ability to adhere to delivery deadlines, and their lead times. Remember, the proximity of the suppliers to your business will reduce soy shipping costs and improve supply response time.
Adopting Automation
Automation involves locating repetitive activities, mainly error-prone and time-consuming, and then using automation technology to reverse the results they produce. Automation makes the process-oriented tasks in soy supply chain management more efficient while reducing manual production, documentation, shipping, and inventory management errors. Businesses can also automate all important aspects of the soy supply chain, with departments like warehouse, transportation, and back-office benefitting the most.
Multi-dimensional monitoring can automate all these crucial departments of the soy supply chain by providing real-time tracking. Hence, manufacturers know the exact location of the supply vehicles and get notifications about possible delays. Optimizing soy transportation, through automation significantly reduces delivery time and cost. Automating the soy supply chain also involves the use of drones and trucks to transport soy more flexibly and without huge expenses.
Conclusion
To conclude, technological advancements and new innovations coming up every day can truly change the face of the soy supply chain worldwide. Besides, cutting down on the use of resources, different imaginative solutions that are a result of technology are actually offering soy manufacturers and suppliers easy access to important production tools.
Other procedures, like automatic irrigation systems; drones for pest management and crop monitoring and genetic variation methods for increasing yields have enhanced soy production and streamlined its supply chain. And with more research in the pipeline, there’s more progress expected in the adoption of sustainable soy supply chain techniques that further ensure global food security.
