DOLE ASIA HOLDINGS ( PTE ) LTD
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“Using technology we can much better predict the volumes and the pricing of our crops ”
— Arindam Sengupta , VP Strategic Sourcing & Procurement
our costs lie in procurement , we have to be competitive and make sure that our supply chains are very affordable .” One such measure has seen the exploitation of seasonal differences around the world . “ The peaches that we buy are typically from Greece and China ,” says Sengupta .“ The problem is that they have similar seasons in the same hemisphere . Peach season is between one and one and a half months , so we had to buy a whole year ’ s supply in that time , placing a constraint on quality and a risk with climate . Now we look at different hemispheres strategically . Typically , the same fruit is grown in the northern hemisphere in a different season compared to the southern hemisphere , so we ’ ve gone out to South America and South Africa to locate , identify and develop new sources to mitigate that risk .”
Another development has been the streamlining of Dole ’ s procurement structure , supported by its procurement excellence team . “ We are moving from a very decentralised procurement structure with a lot of buyers to a much
AUGUST 2019