How to reduce costs in fresh produce wholesale
The biggest controllable costs in produce wholesale are order handling, waste, labelling errors and delivery. All four respond to automation.
Key points
- Online ordering cuts order-handling cost by up to about 95 %.
- Customers maintain their own orders and details.
- Automatic labels remove re-labelling and rejections.
- Energy, inputs and waste are both cost and carbon.
Order handling
Phone, text and email orders cost staff time and create errors. Online ordering lets customers place and change orders within your cut-off rules and maintain their own details; Producepak customers estimate order-handling cost reductions of about 95 %.
Waste
Real-time stock and FIFO picking reduce product that ages out. Fewer errors mean fewer credits and returns.
Labels
Labels generated automatically for each customer and product remove manual preparation and the cost of rejections.
Energy, inputs and carbon
Rabobank research on food and beverage value chains shows that the largest sources of carbon – energy, raw inputs, transport and waste – are also major costs. Efficiency gains in those areas reduce both, and often reduce exposure to price volatility.
Delivery
Route planning by AI and consolidated pick lists reduce driver hours, fuel and truck count. See distribution software.
See the Producepak wholesale solution.
Frequently asked questions
What is the biggest hidden cost in produce wholesale?
Usually order handling and corrections: phone and message orders, re-keying, credits for errors and the admin behind them.
Can customers change orders online?
Yes, within the cut-off schedule you set.
