A report by SITPRO Ltd. presents some interesting finding regarding the usage and cost of paper in UK's perishable food supply chain. Some of the key revelations are as follows:
1. UK's import perishable food supply chain generates 1 billion pieces of paper annually. Duplicate consignment data is keyed in at least 189 times every year.
2. Over 90% of paper documentation in the perishable food supply chain is destroyed.
3. The cost of document-related administration is estimated to be around 11% of the supply chain value per annum.
4. The cost of incorrect, delayed, or missing paperwork cost about 1 billion pounds per annum.
5. The total cost of generating paper documentation (4.5 million document sets) is estimated at 126 million pounds per annum.
6. The cost associated with paper results in higher prices for the consumers.
7. The industry absorbs more than 112 million pounds towards the cost of courier services used for transacting the paper documents.
8. In 2005 the industry expended about 13 million man hours for entering data, chasing late or missing documents or preparing claims for deferment monies deposited with HMRC (HM Revenue and Customs). The total cost of the expended man-hour is about 354 million pounds a year.
9. The cost of short delay in obtaining documentation or clearance due to the inability to present documentation in suitable time at the critical point of importation is estimated to be between 200% to 400% of the original consignment cost.
10. The report suggests that e-documentation could potentially save about 70% of the overall 1 billion pounds expended on paper related costs.
Source: SITPRO - The Cost of Paper in the Supply Chain - “Project Hermes” Perishable Foods Sector Research Report.