The supply chain of milk in China is the source of some good lessons in how to achieve best results from the manufacture of a product, it has been claimed.
Investors in the Chinese milk industry are regularly shown state-of-the-art milking farms, which turn out milk through the most up to date technology available and "gleam", according to a Financial Times report.
But mostly, milk comes from several sources such as family-run farms and has to pass through several buying stages before it reaches the consumer.
Such a supply chain is not just costly but potentially bad for the health of the product, too.
"The supply chain is so fragmented that the opportunities for contamination or sabotage are just enormous," David Peerless, an analyst with Evolution Securities in Shanghai, said to the FT.
Companies in the UK may well choose to update their own supply chains in order to maximise efficiency and reduce the chances of contamination, or simply wear and tear, on their products.
The best way to implement those changes may be to hire a third party supply chain management company.
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