Dive Brief:
- Walmart is working with Cropin, an artificial intelligence platform for food and agriculture, to improve forecasting for its fresh produce supply chain, according to a Friday press release.
- The retailer will use Cropin’s agri-intelligence platform and custom-built AI-powered solutions to improve yield forecasting, monitor crop health and predict seasonal transitions with greater accuracy, the announcement noted.
- The partnership aims to enhance Walmart’s scalable sourcing solutions in the U.S. and South America and builds on the retailer’s prior crop monitoring tech tie-ups aimed at strengthening its food supply chain.
Dive Insight:
Walmart’s partnership with Cropin comes as companies look to bolster their supply chains against disruptions like extreme weather and market volatility.
Cropin noted that the tie-up is happening in “an increasingly climate-impacted world.”
A report last year from Everstream Analytics said extreme weather events were the top risk facing supply chains in 2024. The USDA has estimated that 30% of food loss occurs during agricultural production and harvest, with weather, disease and pests having the biggest impact on the food supply chain.
Cropin said it uses crop readiness insights, quality forecasts and risk assessments to maximize produce shelf life. The technology company’s automated tools can also track sustainability measures like greenhouse gas emissions and water usage as well as provide granular, localized insights into crop health, pest outbreaks and extreme weather risks, the announcement noted. The technology can also forecast future crop yields and supply stability.
Retailers can use this information to improve product availability, reduce waste and fortify produce quality, Cropin noted.
Last June, Walmart announced a pilot of agriculture technology from Agritask to get real-time information on crops and improve sourcing decisions for produce. The crop supply intelligence company was tasked with deploying remote sensing and data analytics tools in various regions in the U.S. and Mexico and providing localized information on blackberry and cherry crops grown by certain Walmart suppliers.
