The digital transformation of the food industry
12 December 2019
Digitalisation is at the heart of the rapidly evolving agri-food ecosystem, according to a major new report released by Lux Research. The report outlines the challenges the agri-food industry has faced in recent years and the digital tools that offer potential solutions to those challenges across food processing and production, supply chain management, and personalised nutrition.
Through a series of data-backed use cases, Lux’s new report, “The Digital Transformation of the Food Industry,” identifies a framework that agri-food industry players should use to evaluate and implement digital tools for solving specific business issues. The analysis reveals that a key challenge for players attempting to interface with digital technologies in food production is the tendency to act tactically from a tech-first perspective rather than acting strategically from an issue-to-outcome perspective. Lux’s digital transformation framework offers a method that industry players can follow to achieve successful testing and adoption of digital tech in food production.
“The ability to address consumers’ future needs is the driving force behind the rapidly evolving agri-food sector,” said Harini Venkataraman, lead analyst of the report. “To adequately meet this changing landscape, major industry players must act now to build a robust digital strategy that identifies the right set of digital tools for the right products to maximise the value-add for their respective businesses.”
The report finds that, while other industrial sectors have been quicker to implement digital solutions like artificial intelligence, augmented reality, industrial IoT, and robotics, the agri-food industry is making great strides to catch up. The impact on the sector will be significant as a means to address consumer demands for personalised product offerings and to manage a more integrated, digital, and omnichannel global supply chain.
“As companies in the food industry are trying to embrace digital transformation, this report is a critical resource to uncover the true potential of digital technologies applied to the right use cases,” said Venkataraman. “More than in other industries, digitalisation in food will be a common thread across the entire agri-food ecosystem to enable industry players to address consumers’ future needs. The fact is, food companies that resist the digital conversion will not be able to keep up with more digital-savvy innovators, and will face higher R&D costs, longer product development timelines, and shrinking market share.”
For more information about how the digitalisation of the food industry will impact both consumers and the agri-food industry in the coming years, you can download the report’s executive summary here.