What the report is about?
The report aims to assist the Southern Rock Lobster (SRL) industry with refining the live export supply chain to China. Research has identified issues relating to the cold chain, particularly at the domestic air freight stage, and practical solutions have then been proposed to address them.
The researchers spoke to and met with 29 stakeholders across the supply chain to conduct this analysis, including fishers, exporters, CTOs, freight forwarders and airlines. Desktop analysis was also completed. This research was conducted over a period of 3 months.
Background
Project 2018-176 was commissioned in order to improve export outcomes for the SRL industry – with particular focus on exports to the Chinese market. Exporters have experienced increased issues relating to lobster mortality in the supply chain and maintaining effective temperature control, which has impacted upon returns to industry.
Feedback from industry stakeholders engaged during the project identified the domestic supply chain and specifically air freight operations as critical areas of focus. This research therefore targeted understanding challenges and opportunities at this stage of the supply chain, and crucially, the ways in which the industry can collectively address the pain points and refine the live export supply chain.
Aims/objectives
There are three key objectives that the research team agreed with Southern Rocklobster Limited and the FRDC at the start of the project. These were:
- Develop a full understanding of the supply chain for Southern Rock Lobster into export markets, to be able to pinpoint the key challenges faced in ensuring quality and maintaining temperature control.
- Understand the range of options for improvements to the export cold chain, considering best practice, technologies and efficiencies. This includes opportunities for temperature control, regulatory reform and collaborative infrastructure.
- Identify the innovations and initiatives likely to have the most significant impact on the quality of Southern Rock Lobster exports, and practically prioritise these for future implementation.
Methodology
The research team followed four phases of work, designed to contribute to the project’s outcomes in a logical way.
- The first phase (2 weeks) focused on kicking off the project with confirmation of the research focus and the goals of the research. A collaborative kick-off meeting was conducted, and a review of background information and contact lists for stakeholder consults.
- The second phase (5 weeks) focused on reviewing the current value chain, with the research team speaking to/visiting 29 stakeholders to uncover pain points experienced by SRL exporters across the supply chain, and then conducting additional analysis to verify and add detail to the identified issues.
- The third phase (4 weeks) formulated a range of solutions to address identified supply chain issues. Each solution was workshopped, discussed with industry stakeholders to verify suitability, and researched.
- The fourth and final phase (2 weeks) focused on creating an implementation plan for the proposed solutions, with timelines and activities listed for Southern Rocklobster Limited and other industry stakeholders to action.
Results/key findings
Southern Rock Lobsters (SRLs) are a premium, high value product, where the end product quality is a key indication of the performance of the export supply chain. Catch quality by fishers and subsequent handling must be effectively managed throughout the supply chain as the product is highly sensitive to poor handling and temperature variation during transit.
The key findings of Project 2018-176 include the identification of key issues faced in the live export supply chain for SRLs, proposed solutions to address them, and implementation work packages to assist the industry with actioning the aforementioned solutions.
Issues
The 14 issues identified are grouped into four main themes as illustrated below. Issues are explored in depth in the results section of this report.
Solutions
To address the specific challenges and choke points identified in the current state export supply chain assessment, solutions have been formed which detail how Southern Rock Lobster Limited can support the industry through particular initiatives. These are structured within three classifications, which broadly align to how disruptive and innovative the solutions may be for the SRL industry. The solutions are explored in depth in the results section of this report.
Implementation work packages
Six programs of activity have been developed to support the SRL industry with implementing supply chain solutions that address the issues identified in the review. The timeframes, costs and complexity of each package varies. The formed work packages will facilitate the industry to work towards the incremental and innovative solutions through general industry engagement, stakeholder incentivisation and a combined program of activity. The fundamentally disruptive solutions are broken down from the significant projects into targeted activities. Work packages are explored in depth in the results section of this report.
Implications for relevant stakeholders
The findings detailed within this report have implications for all stakeholders engaged across the SRL live export supply chain – particularly at the domestic end. SRL exporters in particular will need to action change if they are to realise the maximum benefits of the proposed solutions. This will range from minor initiatives such as AVE labelling, to significant endeavours such as fundamentally changing the way that supply chain transactions are managed and contracted.
Cross-industry collaboration will be required if the industry is to progress these interests as a whole, meaning that Southern Rocklobster Limited will be required to take on a leadership and coordination role, whilst other supply chain stakeholders such as freight forwarders, CTOs and airlines will need to be incentivised and engaged for many of the solutions to be progressed.
