Planning to make the supermarket obsolete
This week, Fortune profiled an interesting start-up that has emerged, which aims to offer a new perceptive on fresh produce. Condensing the conventional food supply chain, Farmigo is a direct from farm to consumer food service, founded five years ago. Its novelty lies in selling fresh produce bought directly from farmers, 10%-20% cheaper compared with traditional super market prices.
There are no middle men in the operation, which not only allows for cheaper operations costs but enables farmers to receive a larger share in the profits. All completed within a 48 hour period, customers place orders online, which is then carried out by a famer who then sends it to a centralized packing station. Farmigo then takes this it to community drop-off point for customers to collect.
Currently operating out of Brooklyn, orders have to be made by Sunday night for collection on Wednesday. The start-up hopes to soon begin offering multiple pick-up days, as well as reproduce the model and establish a network of farmers throughout the country.
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Moving from supply chains to supply ecosystems
A recently published journal article, titled “From Supply Chains to Supply Ecosystems: Implications for Strategic Sourcing Research and Practice,” has put forward some interesting hypotheses concerning how supply chains, due to the emergence of 3D printing and other innovations, could become something more like “supply ecosystems.”
The article puts forward the premise that current supply chain practices are beginning to function similarly to organic ecosystems, in a competitive sense, where organisms, contest for finite resources.
Some implications theorized by the article include: “Coopetition”´, whereby organizations although competing for resources, are dependent on one another to cooperate and collaborate for said resources. Another implication is that organizations will generate value for both themselves and other ecosystem members, as this is dually beneficial.
The article further hypothesizes that regionally based ecosystems will take over global supply chain networks.
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Factory explosion in China
On Saturday last weekend, a factory explosion in the industrial area of Kunshan, China, killed sixty-eight people and injured 187. Survivors of the blast suffered severe burns. The factory, owned by Kunshan Zhongrong Metal Products, supplied General Motors, among other companies.
Initial findings appear to indicate that the blast was caused by a dust explosion. Currently five senior Zhongrong executives are being questioned by police to help in the investigation.
To read more, click here.
