___________________________________________________________________________________ Digital supply chain
challenges posed by climate change and global food security , and meet changing consumer expectations .
Building digital-era skills and culture
While large-scale automation will replace some jobs , it will supplant them with new ones . Already , early AI adopters in the food industry have experienced an uptick in the demand for high-skill jobs . However , this puts the food industry in direct competition with other sectors for digital talent . Those that focus on upskilling existing talent and making the most of the expertise from reliable technology partners therefore stand in the best stead to succeed , because attracting fresh talent may prove to be much more expensive .
Advancing automation for safety and efficiency
For the food industry , automation holds great promise ; the scope for automating manual processes in the food value chain extends all the way from the farm to the dinner table . For example , robotic farming , combined with crop-status analysis , can save time while quantifying yield potential and environmental impact of crops . In warehouses , automated storage and retrieval systems can manage a variety of food products under different storage conditions . Meanwhile , at packaging facilities , restaurants and retail stores , robotics can automate repetitive processes with remote oversight and minimum human intervention , reducing human errors and food contamination .
When accomplished at scale across the food value chain , automation will enhance the industry ’ s ability to overcome
A digital future
The uncertain and quickly changing world we live in continues to exacerbate the challenges faced by the global food industry , but technology offers huge opportunity to solve them and help the industry to thrive . By making the most of the technologies available , food industry leaders can drive a ground-up transformation of their supply chain while developing a better understanding of their customers through data-driven insights . ■
For a list of the sources used in this article , please contact the editor .
Arvind Pal Singh www . cognizant . com
Arvind Pal Singh is Vice President , Products & Resources Consulting , GGM at Cognizant . Cognizant engineers modern businesses , helping clients to modernize technology , reimagine processes and transform experiences so they can stay ahead in our fast-changing world .
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