Agri-food businesses
Are you ready for the next shockwave?
The question for agri-food businesses isn’t if another supply chain disruption will occur, but when. From evolving regulations and volatile tariffs to the looming threats of extreme weather, natural disasters, geopolitical conflicts, and well, you name it, taking products to the consumers is a constant relentless threat. And when things go wrong, it’s not just about business; it’s about whether people can get food, if it’s any good, and how much it costs. Real lives and communities are directly impacted. In this era of constant flux, near real-time data and predictive analytics have moved beyond being mere advantages. They’re quintessential for agile data-driven decision-making, enabling quick pivots in establishing traceability and sustainability, supplier diversification, and logistical rerouting.
Brace for impact
Let’s face it, the last few years have really shown us how fragile our global supply chains can be, especially when it comes to food. And it looks like things are only going to get more unpredictable, hitting your bottom line with higher costs, frustrating delays, and just plain shortages. Think about it – the basics of food security, like just having enough and it being good quality, are really under threat, and fresh stuff is the most at risk. Whether it’s a local disaster or a global shock like COVID-19, or even persistent trade tensions, these can potentially cripple the economy. The pandemic was a huge wake-up call. One thing’s clear: ensuring reliable access to safe food amidst these escalating threats is non-negotiable for food systems; it is a fundamental imperative for the resilience of our global food systems.
The unfolding scenario of 2025
The year marked by widespread geopolitical unrest has ushered in an era of unprecedented supply chain risk. Between the Russia-Ukraine war, red-sea crises, emerging complexities of EUDR implementation, trade wars, and global shifts towards nationalism and protectionist policies have already presented a fresh wave of formidable challenges. Results? Fluctuating raw material availability, volatile price structures, and persistent logistical bottlenecks – issues that necessitate a fundamental strategic rethinking.
So, what’s the fallout for consumers?
Potentially empty shelves for some items, and a tangible increase on household budgets, – think pricier and scarcer everyday items like bananas and coffee in major markets like the US.
What about businesses?
A hit on market share, and the bottom line.
All this underscores the urgent and critical need to proactively address these multifaceted challenges. Let’s delve deeper into the strategies that can empower food and agri-businesses to navigate this turbulent landscape effectively.
The why and how of mitigating supply chain disruptions
Relentless why: from low-cost sourcing to a world of shocks
Not long ago, the primary focus for chief supply chain officers and procurement managers at large corporations was often the relentless pursuit of the lowest-cost producers. Or, for the eco-conscious with a sustainability mandate, the emphasis might have also included identifying suppliers with the most robust green and ethical credentials. In the context of the current global landscape, such a straightforward approach seems dated.
The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic served as a brutal awakening. It ripped through meticulous supply chains, leaving shelves bare and maritime ship lanes choked with stalled vessels. In response, many companies initiated a strategic diversification of their supplier base, often prioritizing a shift towards nearshoring – for instance, US companies increasingly looked to Mexico and Canada as alternatives to Asian manufacturing hubs. However, even this geographically closer sourcing strategy remains vulnerable to the disruptive force of tariff wars.
The paramount challenge now confronting global food and agri-companies lies in adapting to a world increasingly battered by the dual forces of climate change and geopolitical tremors. Ingredient prices are soaring to unprecedented levels, while the consistent availability is tanking with limited arable land. Climate change is not a fancy word or an abstract concept; it is actively devastating harvests, driving up costs, and fundamentally threatening the very foundation of global food security. Consider the situation in Japan, where escalating rice prices, driven by a confluence of heatwaves, surging demand, and distribution complexities, are significantly impacting consumers. Or India, where the pervasive effects of climate change could slash the production of staple crops like rice and wheat by a staggering 6-10%. Agri-food businesses must adopt proactive strategies to future-proof their supply chains, farmers require support and resources to transition to climate-smart agricultural practices, and governments must prioritize national food security strategies.
The tricky fix for perishables (and why visibility is your shield)
While stockpiling shelf-stable commodities like coffee might seem a logical buffer against disruption, the question of long-term viability remains. The real conundrum lies in managing the supply of highly perishable goods such as avocados, bananas, and strawberries. Companies face difficult strategic choices: aggressively pursue productivity enhancements, seek out more resilient sourcing regions, or absorb the inevitable additional costs – a precarious proposition in an environment defined by inflation-sensitive consumers who may readily seek alternatives. The undeniable truth is that limited visibility into field operations only amplifies the inherent risks associated with perishable supply chains. Conversely, enhancing visibility directly paves the way for improved productivity – a critical area of focus. Without comprehensive, real-time visibility, businesses are effectively spending more resources, alienating crucial partners, and missing pivotal opportunities as market dynamics rapidly evolve – not to mention creating a fertile ground for avoidable disruptions.
The how: visionary companies are developing robust strategies
Think investing in advanced predictive analytics, implementing proactive risk mitigation frameworks, diversifying their supplier networks, and leveraging AI-powered sourcing and supply chain intelligence. And, with impending regulatory hurdles like the implementation of EUDR looming, these organizations are strategically deploying technology to enhance traceability and transparency, crucial for maintaining the integrity and compliance of their supply chains. This unwavering focus on visibility, enabled by advanced satellite monitoring, allows tracking of food products throughout cultivation, ensuring both food safety and quality.
The most common disruptions in the fodd supply chain are
Climatic
Logistics and infrastructure
Geo-political
conflicts
Trade & regulatory barriers
These contextualized technologies empower companies to anticipate potential disruptions with greater accuracy and proactively implement dynamic reconfiguration strategies to mitigate risks, while simultaneously boosting the transparency and resilience of their operations. The right platform can equip companies to swiftly adapt to changing circumstances by providing –
- Complete visibility at a farm level at any given time point, for data-driven decision-making
- End-to-end traceability to significantly improve productivity and effectively mitigate risks
- AI-powered regional analytics and sourcing intelligence to identify alternate sourcing geographies in direct response to geopolitical sanctions or natural disasters.
Securing comprehensive, real-time data that extends right down to the individual farm level is absolutely critical in navigating the delicate and interconnected nature of the global food supply chain. Additionally, cultivating stronger, more resilient relationships with a diverse array of suppliers and logistics partners can provide essential alternative options when traditional routes and established networks face disruption.
Let’s now examine some compelling case studies that illustrate these principles in action.
Farm-level visibility
Seeing is believing (and yielding more)
Take potato farmers, for instance. Across continents, Cropin collaborates extensively with potato growers, empowering them to harness the transformative power of AI-powered data-driven insights for more sustainable and efficient farming practices. One of our most advanced and impactful potato deployments is with PepsiCo in the Indian subcontinent. PepsiCo India’s innovative Lay’s Smart Farms initiative is transforming agriculture through the integration of Cropin’s sophisticated satellite monitoring and data-driven intelligence, delivering tangible benefits such as real-time actionable insights, timely disease early warnings, and ultimately, the empowerment of the farmers. The demonstrable result? PepsiCo India can now predict potato yields with greater accuracy, leading to more streamlined and efficient supply chain planning. Our Disease Early Warning system helped prevent blight disease, which could decimate entire harvests, causing yield losses of up to 80%. Our Weather Advisories could equip farmers with the knowledge to make climate-smart decisions, while our intelligent alerts optimized the utilization of crucial input resources, including water, pesticides, and fertilizers. Leveraging Cropin’s granular, farm-level insights, PepsiCo India has established a more secure and efficient supply chain for their widely loved Lay’s potato chips. Plus, this technological partnership is significantly boosting farmers’ earnings by a substantial $55 per acre.
End-to-end traceability
From farm to fork, no secrets allowed
By leveraging advanced satellite monitoring technologies, Cropin enables precise and verifiable traceability right back to the individual farms of origin. Our platform also conducts comprehensive deforestation risk assessments by meticulously analyzing geolocation data and historical land use patterns. We facilitate seamless data integration across the entire supply chain, actively empowering farmer engagement to adopt modern sustainable agricultural practices. We also offer a dedicated sustainability module designed for compliance verification, including precise percent overlap analysis for effective risk mitigation. Going beyond just ticking boxes of regulatory requirements like EUDR, our detailed tillage and cover crop analysis actively help cultivate truly sustainable food. A compelling case in point is our partnership with chocolatier Loacker, a brand synonymous with quality and sustainability. We empowered Loacker to geotag their extensive network of farm plots, meticulously monitor the usage of critical inputs, and deliver timely and localized weather and pest/disease alerts. Cropin essentially provided the technological infrastructure to digitize, effectively manage, and continuously monitor their farms. It enabled data-driven decisions that boosted productivity and overall profitability. The tangible outcome? Loacker can now confidently and transparently stand by its unwavering commitments to both comprehensive traceability and genuine sustainability.
AI-powered regional analytics & sourcing smarts
Finding the right fields, right now
Consider our strategic partnership with Walmart, the retail giant. Cropin is deploying scalable AI-powered sourcing solutions across their US and South American markets. Our advanced agri-intelligence platform is tailored to optimize Walmart’s complex fresh produce supply chain by enhancing the accuracy of yield forecasts, closely monitoring crop health, and predicting critical seasonal shifts with greater precision. The direct result of this technological integration is a more consistent and reliable stream of high-quality, perishable goods reaching Walmart’s shelves, leading to fewer instances of empty shelves, a substantial reduction in food waste, the ability to offer more competitive prices to consumers, and ultimately, the delivery of fresher, higher-quality produce to Walmart shoppers.
No two farming regions are alike. Farming patterns, sowing periods, and even pricing and procurement – they all vary. And sometimes even dramatically, in an impactful application of our technology, we equipped a major food processor with sourcing intelligence, enabling them to pinpoint the most promising potato-growing regions within China for strategic expansion, in response to rapidly growing consumer demand.
Fresh produce supply chains
Adapt or perish in a world where disruption is the norm
Escalating frequency and intensity of global supply chain disruptions demand a radical shift from traditional, linear fresh produce supply chains to agile, resilient, and data-driven models. Real-time intelligence powered by AI and predictive analytics is crucial for anticipating threats and enabling dynamic sourcing – quickly shifting from crisis- to stability. End-to-end visibility, as showcased by Cropin’s tangible impact with PepsiCo, Loacker, and Walmart, is no longer optional. It has become the foundation for proactive risk mitigation, optimized resource use, and ensuring a stable, safe fresh produce supply for consumers amidst constant volatility. The future of fresh food security and the success of businesses operating within this critical sector hinges on this agile, data-powered revolution.
In conclusion, the recent disruptions have hammered home one undeniable truth for supply chain leaders: expect the unexpected. Agri-food tech platforms like Cropin Cloud are at the forefront of this transformative change, offering agri-food businesses a powerful and proven blueprint to not just weather the inevitable storms but to actively thrive in an environment defined by inherent uncertainty. These innovative platforms pave the way for truly sustainable sourcing practices and the continuous, reliable delivery of essential goods to consumers worldwide, regardless of the challenges that tomorrow may bring.
Author Bio
Aditya Shah
Aditya Shah is the Global Director of Strategic Partnerships and Business Head for APAC at Cropin, where he plays a key role in shaping the company’s global growth strategy through innovative collaborations. With over a decade of experience, he has been instrumental in establishing high-impact partnerships with industry giants like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, bolstering Cropin's technological leadership. Aditya also spearheads strategic collaborations with development organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank to drive positive impact for marginalized farmers. A creative thinker, he passionately advocates for blending attitude, skills, and knowledge to fuel true innovation across the agri-food ecosystem.
