Elements of instability and lack of visibility in meat supply chain stand amplified in the face of recent pandemic. This outbreak has exposed inefficiencies in a more staple meat supply chain around the globe. Disruption due to closure and temporary suspension of meat plants far and wide is compelling consumers to evaluate their choices and consumption patterns.
Key Challenges currently facing Meat Supply Chains
At core of this COVID-19 outbreak, supply chains are experiencing a strong demand & ample supply of cattle, but reduced industry processing capacity is the crux of the problem. Here is what is happening:
Livestock is being euthanized. With social distancing in place and absence of meat processing workers due to several positive cases, animals could not be taken care of in physical spaces such as feedlots and CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operation). Livestock storage, expenses related to feeding, and health of these animals have also led to mass culling.
Meatpacking plants are at the centre of the disruption. A lot of them are either suspended or are running reduced capacity because of lack of the workforce. Conforming to new disinfection guidelines is also posing to be a challenge.
Retailers such as grocery stores are unable to tend to the demand for fresh meat that lifts off within a week. Inflated prices are not very appealing to customers who are demanding more because they are eating out less and preparing all their meals at home, possibly a few also hoarding supplies.
Food Services such as restaurants and schools are also portraying a major challenge, plummeting meat sales. The reason – preparation/ packaging of meat for sale to a restaurant or school are way different from that for grocery store supply.
Lack of meat supply chain visibility is probably the biggest point of concern. This is causing a ripple in unfulfilled supply because input material i.e. processed meat is not being sourced like before, because of shutdowns. Also, a lot of meat processors still work with traditional spreadsheet system with no real-time insights. With spreadsheets floating in the system, data unification is a distant dream.
Traceability for the source of meat is an absent element. Factors such as health of the animals used in this chain raise critical concerns about the quality of the input for supply chains.
Over time, these supply chains have moved from decentralized processing and selling to more centralized avenues. Their centralized processing capabilities have jeopardized their functioning during a pandemic. Decentralized supply chain elements have a clear advantage over the centralized setup in terms of control flexibility while the latter gets completely impacted in the face of disruption.
A very visible example comes from Tyson- largest meat processor in the United States. Tyson Foods slowed production and closed plants in Dakota City, Nebraska, and Pasco, Washington, along with the Perry plant; with many workers testing positive for the virus and centralized facilities further propagating the impact.
The road ahead with Meat Supply Chains
Traditionally designed to be fast and cheap, non-resilient systems seem to have taken a hit with a single tug i.e. the present pandemic. It is now time to reflect and focus on building transparent and resilient meat supply chains.
Informed consumers can trigger the accountability in the chain once they start demanding it at the local level i.e. groceries and delis. These retail points can further pressurize the distribution centres and push the change up the supplier scale. With everyone asking for transparency about how the chain moves, resiliency can get built into the meat supply chains.
Local butchers and ranches can become the hotspots for scoring the produce, even if it is for a while. The development of secondary markets seems to be the best option in sight. They can easily be held accountable for their meat production practices, invoking resiliency from the grassroots.
The need of the hour is to modify meat supply chains with ample traceability and ecologically safe structure so that we can prepare them for any future disruption.