Australia’s invaluable foodservice supply chain

The foodservice industry.

Many don’t consciously think about it, but it is one of the most essential industries we have in Australia (and, for that matter, the world). While some may think of foodservice as pertaining to hospitality and catering, it runs far deeper than that. There are multiple chains to foodservice, from those who distribute food to those who serve it.

In other words, without the foodservice industry, it would be much harder for us to get our hands on, well, food.

From distribution to the world of hospitality

The foodservice industry can account for, but is not necessarily limited to, the following:

• Food manufacturing
• Food distribution (foods and kitchen utensils sold and distributed for retail and/or industrial)
• Retail – sale of foodstuff to consumers (e.g. supermarkets, local grocers, etc.)
• Hospitality / food prep & serving – including restaurants, catering companies, cafés, etc.

As there are multiple parts to the overall foodservice whole, one part of the chain failing can impact on several other parts. A quick example is a café that cooks up fresh little dishes every day. If the café’s food distributor fails to make a delivery on time or runs out of the required goods, then that café is left without the typical ingredients necessary to maintain its usual output of fresh dishes. This, in turn, can hurt its ability to cater to customers effectively and ultimately impact on profits.

With so many parts of the foodservice industry being inherently dependent on one another, it’s important that every part of the chain function efficiently. For food distributors that find they may be lacking in proper transportation means for their foodstuff, it’s advisable that they look into hiring the services of a third-party logistics provider.