A new white paper from leading supply chain specialist Fowler Welch is calling on food and drink suppliers and manufacturers to recognise and implement new technological advancements across the supply chain in order to meet the increasing demands of the tech savvy consumer.

The Supply Chain of the Future report focuses on technological developments made in recent years and how these have influenced consumer behaviour and expectations. The white paper addresses consumers’ ‘want it all’ attitude and how retailers are adopting new practices and inventing new technologies to meet these needs and capitalise on them.

Leading supply chain experts at Fowler Welch have launched the report to offer suppliers support and advice on how to develop existing and introduce new technologies to remain successful in an increasingly demanding and crowded market.

The report suggests that those businesses not adapting their supply chain to shopper habits and retailers’ reactions to this will risk losing out to the competition.

Nick Hay, CEO of Fowler Welch said, “We’re seeing that consumers’ use of technology for their shopping is only increasing their expectations of the retailer, which is in turn pushing the retailer to be more innovative in the way it engages with and services its customers. 

“The supply chain is having to react to these changes in order to meet demand, but a range of technological developments that aid collaboration, consolidation, data analysis and warehouse efficiency are entering the supply chain on a large scale, aiming to positively impact its ability to adapt successfully.”

The company is calling for greater communication and collaboration across all operations of the supply chain to increase efficiency and make the most of each other’s expertise in order to maintain margins – such as consolidation, logistics pooling and data sharing.