Supply chain

A supply chain is the total process from raw materials to the consumer. In the supply chain analysis research is done among other things at the lead times, emissions, and suppliers. The analysis gives a broader picture of not just a product, but the way from raw material to product.

This supply chain analysis is done on the production process of coffee from bean to cup.

The process reaches from Farmers through Processors, Exporters, Suppliers and Roasters to the final stage before customer consumption: Retail.

Farmers

The beginning of coffee is on a coffee farm in the bean belt. The bean belt is a belt around the earth with exactly the right conditions to grow coffee. As can be seen in figure 1, the bean belt is roughly located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. With an estimated 2.6 billion kilograms of coffee grown in 2023, Brazil is the largest producer of coffee in the world. Brazil’s coffee production counts for roughly one third of global production (1,2)

Coffee production is a manual labour-intensive process. Farmers work long days for little to no money. Institutions like Fairtrade make sure that farmers earn a fair amount of money for their products. This costs more money for the coffee companies but is better for the living and working conditions of the farmers. (3)

Processor

When the beans have grown for about 8 months they are harvested and dried. The drying is done at a drying plant. This drying plant is often operated by a corporation of farmers. After six to nine days the sun has dried the beans enough. The moisture levels of the coffee beans went down from 60% to 10%. (4,5) The dried coffee is then sold to exporters that ship the coffee overseas.

Exporter

The exporters ship the coffee from the coffee belt countries to, in this case, Europe. If one assumes that coffee is exported from the biggest coffee producer, Brazil, a ship has to travel roughly 10,000 kilometres. These ocean freighters consume so called “bunker fuel”, a leftover of refining oil. It is extremely polluting and contributes to global warming. The journey takes between two to three weeks. (6,7) Distances and lead times can vary greatly depending on the region that the coffee is grown in. Some high-end coffee is flown with planes instead of shipped. This process does decrease the lead time but increases pollution and costs.

Supplier

When the beans have arrived in the harbour, the supplier transports the dried beans from the harbour to the processing plant. This can be done via truck, trains, or barge. Depending on the location of the coffee production facility. If one assumes the same facility location as Nespresso, a barge is less convenient, because of the location in the mountains of Switzerland. The lead time and emissions differ significantly per transport mode.(8,9)

Roaster

Most coffee companies have their own roasters. In the roasting process the beans are roasted to their final form. The roasting itself takes about 7-20 minutes. Assuming that packaging is also happening in this stage, the total lead time can go up to 3 to 4 days. The product is now ready to be shipped to sales points (10,11)

Retail

The final stage of the supply chain is the retailing of the product. The product can be sold via supermarkets, own stores or via a web shop. This multichannel strategy tries to attain as many customers as possible. The products are driven by truck to the supermarkets and own stores. An advantage of this is that the delivery vehicles can be powered by electricity or hydrogen, due to the lower transport volumes and distance. (9,12,13,14)

Total supply chain

If all these processes are put together one can see the full emissions, lead times and other information.