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The Journey of one Banana: A Supply Chain in Motion.
A few days ago I chatted with my brother on the telephone.
In the midst of our conversation, I could hear that he was chopping up something on a cutting board.
“What are you cooking,” I asked him.
“I’m making a banana smoothie. I ordered groceries the other day and had them delivered through Amazon Fresh. I was a complete idiot and forgot to double-check the order. So, instead of 4 bananas, I got 4 bundles of bananas.”
My instant thought was:
What an idiot. But, he’s my brother, and my older brother at that. So, I have a tendency to become rather critical of his oversights and misdoings.
After I got past my initial lapse of petty brotherly “love”, another thought hit me.
These are awesome times to be a consumer.
I mean, think about it. My brother, sitting in the comfort of his own home, was able to order his groceries and have them delivered directly to his front door. One hundred percent of the transaction was complete by the time the groceries arrived, and he didn’t even need to take a single step outside of his hallway.
The advancements and influences of eCommerce and online shopping have reshaped consumerism from the bottom up.
Comfort and convenience were in no shortage, during my brother’s shopping experience.
Realizing the lack of effort my brother had to exert in order to receive his food, began the engine to a frantic thought process. After doing a few barrel rolls, it finally landed on stable ground.
“Think about the journey the banana — you’re chopping up — took to your door!” I exclaimed.
The complexity of planning, transportation, collaboration, time and labor that went into the supply chain of that banana — being severed on my brother’s cutting board — stopped me in my tracks. I suddenly felt like a very small cog turning within a very giant wheel. It was a moment of clarity.
It felt like a moment I was required to share…
This is: The Journey of your Banana: A Supply Chain in Motion.
Farming
The global banana supply chain is a complicated one, dependent on multiple moving parts and the collaboration of multiple parties. There are resource-consuming elements required such as refrigeration, ripening centers, proper transportation and distribution centers.
But, without the initial farming/production of the banana, the rest of the supply chain would be redundant
The majority of banana export comes from 3 countries, which top the list for 2016: Ecuador, Guatemala and Costa Rica. Two other countries that produce a notable amount of bananas are Brazil and India. However, these countries keep the majority of their yield for domestic consumption.
In fact, only 15–20% of banana plants produced, worldwide, end up traded in the global market. Of the banana fruit traded globally, it’s worthy to note that the western world is most accustomed to Cavendish banana. This is our normal, yellow banana (fao.org 2015). Most likely the same banana my brother was chopping up to toss into a smoothie. But, why is this an important point?
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Topics
- Finance
Categories
- supply chain management
- sustainability
- supply chain
- supplier relationship management
- environment
- business
