V&V Walsh value chain capability development program

Summary

In August 2014 a joint venture was developed between V&V Walsh (Western Australia) and Grand Farms (China), one of the largest red-meat importers in China. Initial market forecasts estimated that there was capacity for increased scope for the export of lamb and mutton product to China through Grand Farms Chinese distribution channels from V&V Walsh supplying WA processed and packed sheep meat products.

The alliance presented an opportunity for the sheep meat industry in WA to increase production to supply rapidly growing emerging markets in China. This was an entirely new market and represented a growing demand for WA sheep meat product and would require expansion of livestock production as well as development of new supply relationships and new sheep production enterprises to achieve the increased volume requirements.

MLA identified that the V&V Walsh-Grand Farm supply chain offered an ideal opportunity to develop a pilot program and to test a range of projects which together would aim to sustainably increase lamb production in response to a developing marketing opportunity, improved supply chain efficiencies and ultimately returns to farmers and the WA sheep industry as a whole.

The V&V Walsh Value Chain Capability Development Program (the Project) was established in 2016 with the project was jointly funded by V&V Walsh, Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) and the then Department of Agriculture and Food WA (DAFWA, now DPIRD). A dedicated resource in the form of a supply chain manager within V&V Walsh was appointed (Dale Miles, November 2016) to facilitate implementation of the agreed strategy with the objective of developing value offerings through novel value chain design and business model innovations to consider alternative procurement options for increased livestock supply to satisfy developing market opportunities.

The scope of the value chain innovation strategy included initiatives in the following key business areas:

• Whole of value chain innovation
• Innovation resource planning
• New products and markets
• New business systems
• New value chain designs.