Developed by fourth generation fruiterers, Anthony and Paul Joseph, from one of Australia's leading fresh produce suppliers, Alfred E Chave, Phoenicia provides unprecedented transparency with access to live sales and market data together with real time visibility of supply and demand, connecting growers, merchants and buyers.
Anthony says it was launched to industry at Hort Connections in June, but they’ve been trading through the platform since December.
“For our local industry to prosper, we need to start operating more efficiently, harnessing the power of technology to drive operating efficiencies and reduce unnecessary waste," he said. "With supply chains shortening and there being such disconnect in supply and demand in the fresh produce sector, we saw an opportunity to leverage available technology to bring a new level of transparency and efficiency to the horticulture supply chain that will benefit all supply chain stakeholders. To improve the long-term sustainability and meet the forecast global growth over the next 20 to 30 years we need to start working smarter and eliminating unnecessary waste generated by opaque supply chains."
The platform is comprised of three user profiles; grower, merchant or agent, and buyer and has been designed to enhance the existing supply chain and better connect growers to their customers. Anthony says it is the way of the future for the fresh produce industry.
Through Phoenicia, growers have real time visibility of the wholesale price of their produce and can receive timely demand signals to efficiently and effectively plan production and schedule activities such as planting and harvest. For buyers, it means they will now have a better understanding of available supply and pricing to make more informed decisions faster. All trades are overseen by a merchant who is responsible for quality control, distribution, consolidation, cold storage, warehousing and financial settlement. Mr Joseph says Phoenicia has aligned its functionality with the requirements of the newly introduced Horticulture Code of Conduct, as well as many other efficiency benefits for growers.
Phoenicia invites growers, merchants and buyers to start trading on Phoenicia.