Services.
Procurement
Since the earliest days of the pandemic, news and social media have reported on its disproportionate damage to local businesses. In turn, local sourcing is more top of mind than ever.
“People have become more diligent about understanding what’s happening in their communities,” shares Vijay Desai, President of Specialty Supply Chain. “Our clients increasingly want to know how we can support their local sourcing efforts.”
Local and sustainable sourcing has long been part of our company DNA. Our company's sustainability plan strives to do right by people and the planet. This includes sourcing ethically, inclusively, and responsibly—so we increase access to economic opportunities in the communities we serve while minimizing our impact on the environment. This strong foundation must be personalized for every account, as true impact is only possible if we have a full picture of the procurement possibilities in each market.
The local sourcing conversation seeks to answer crucial questions: Which metrics are most important to the client? What products are available in the market? Who are the viable suppliers? Which local farm produce businesses are owned and operated by people from diverse backgrounds, geographical locations, etc.? How can we onboard even more local suppliers to our supply chain?
Shared goals help this complex process proceed smoothly. “As we have these supply chain conversations, there’s often a lot of overlap between our priorities and what the client is looking for,”.
Processing
The conventional definition of procurement excluded locally processed foods, such as roasted coffee, tea and locally produces wines, jams, sauces. That, too, is changing. “Today’s clients and consumers are interested in what we are doing to support mom-and-pop shops, entrepreneurs, and restaurants in their market. With that in mind, we seek to not only increase locally sourced products, but also work with local businesses to drive positive economic impact in the communities we serve,”.
With “local” well defined, we can build a program that suits the client’s goals. This evolved definition is by which we can incentivise our farm clients to develop a custom processed foods as demanded.
Distribution
Farmers need security, while institutions require consistency.
Businesses throughout the supply chain need to be able to plan ahead. That’s where we come in, providing long-term purchasing commitments that bridge the gap. These contracts help local farms and businesses prepare for the coming season without overproducing while our clients receive the exact produce required for their needs programs, often with some cost savings.
We have recently started a new venture where we supply On-Demand Fruit and specialised Wines to our clients who in turn supply the same to their retail platforms.
Advisory Services
The local sourcing landscape is bound to evolve as the economy recovers and as definitions of “local” become ever more granular. We stand ready to innovate, leveraging our extensive data, technology, and supply chain relationships.
“From farm to plate, there is significant amount of complexity in the local supply chain—but our commitment does not waiver,”. “Our procurement and supply chain makes local sourcing a priority to ensure we are optimizing the full reach of our networks and, most importantly, supporting our local supplier and business communities whenever we can" and in the process advising both the Farm producing organisations as well as our procuring client as to how to innovate and use the most efficient cost saving process, technology and yield increasing organic inputs.