The protein supply chain: navigating today’s challenges and anticipating tomorrow’s

The protein industry is changing. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has noted a stabilisation in meat consumption and forecasts anticipate a reduction. Despite this, protein producers have seen many years of strong growth in retail flows. So while the sector’s future is bright, it still faces challenges from outside the industry: geopolitical events that cause unexpected and wide-reaching disruption; growing focus on environmental considerations and increasing legislation; extreme weather events; influenza outbreaks, and national crises.

All this means that ’just-in-time‘ trade flows are vulnerable to a domino effect of delays. It’s clear that modern and efficient logistics, combined with a more resilient supply chain and innovative solutions for minimising disruption are essential to protecting margins.

As a global logistics partner, Maersk can rapidly respond to these unprecedented, wide-scale disruptions, and help you to find solutions to increase the predictability of your supply chain.

With Captain Peter, our unique virtual reefer cargo assistant and remote monitoring tool, suppliers can track the precise location of containers from delivery to destination. In the event of unforeseen circumstances, it’s far easier to pivot strategies, redirect goods or reduce bottlenecks when you know exactly where your produce is and when it’s due to arrive – increasing not only the predictability of your supply chain, but the certainty of cash flow.

In cases where the original transit time is changed, Captain Peter’s remote monitoring of temperature fluctuations is critical to avoid the possibility of product waste due to warm-up.

These ocean vessels had the necessary power to keep the containers at the correct frozen temperature for the entire duration, maintaining safety standards. 10% of our business is reefer, twice as much as the wider industry, giving us the scale and knowledge to find solutions to cold storage challenges.

To prevent an avian influenza outbreak, or other disruptions in the country of production or en-route, from impacting your supply chain, you could re-examine your storage strategy. Producers often store goods for their domestic market near the point of consumption. But the same can’t be said for international cargo: many suppliers choose to store it in its country of origin. Doing this means your goods are vulnerable to incidents outside of your control that may occur between the point of manufacture and destination.

But if you store protein near the point of consumption internationally, you avoid these incidents ruining produce or delaying transit times, while increasing your speed to market. After all, in the event supply is massively disrupted, available produce becomes increasingly desirable!

Maersk is supporting these shifts in warehousing strategies with the development of cold stores. The majority of new or upcoming cold stores – such as our latest facility in the Maasvlakte II area of the Port of Rotterdam – are located close to ports or within port areas. This means fast and affordable shunting from port to store, but also links to nearby road, rail or barge networks that allow for quick transportation when it’s time to move the goods. All of this means your produce can be held as close to the point of consumption as possible.

In line with our net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target for 2040, Maersk has deployed the world’s first methanol-powered ocean vessels – a low-emission alternative to traditional fuels – with a total of 25 vessels on order. Each has a capacity of 16,000 containers, contributing to the decarbonisation of our customers’ supply chains.

We’re also considering customer emissions during the cold storage process when developing our new facilities. The Maasvlakte II cold store is being built with sustainability in mind. Designed to meet the ‘Excellent’ level of the BREEAM framework, the facility will have solar panels installed alongside water and heat recycling facilities. Proximity to nearby rail allows for the greater utilisation of this mode of transport, saving 75% emissions compared to trucks. And the use of electronic trucks from APM to cold stores and on-terminal locations also reduces transport emissions.

Across the globe, the consumption of protein remains high, but the industry can be a precarious one and “just-in-time” logistics leaves producers open to vulnerability. By partnering with a supplier with global reach and local market knowledge, you’ll be supported in responding to disruption and building resilience – minimising risk and maximising opportunity.