Delivering a presentation to Hort Connections, Damian George says as they stand today, in five years time, the current central markets will be unsuited to the population's needs and lifestyle because people are running time poor.
"I am not advocating the decentralisation of the central markets, as I believe our central markets serve a very important purpose in the supply chain," he said. "While state and federal governments are struggling to manage their increased growth, the decision to move central markets to outer city limits and build them in the 'silent generation mentality', will increase costs and have an effect on our daily lives and add cost to the supply chain."
He drew comparisons with Kodak and the switch from film to digital camera technology, adding that the average Australian is spending five and a half hours a day on media, which is increasing dramatically, which creates plenty of potential.
"As a company they (Kodak) had plenty of time to change and facilitate the technology to do so," Mr George said. "The problem was they lacked the foresight, particularly from the top of the ladder. The same lack of foresight is holding our industry back today. Due to 'silent generation mentality' we are failing to keep up with innovation in the digital age, with efficiencies and lifestyle changes that are readily available to us."
The HiveXchange recently expanded into the Asian market, realising the potential. He says Asia holds 60 per cent of the world's population, with the highest rate of growth and 3.6 billion internet users in the region.
"No-one can deny that our central market trade is decreasing," Mr George said. "Not one single central market here in Australia has increased its trade on the floor. If anything it is decreasing year in, year out. I believe the future solution is digital markets; smaller automated market hubs to receive and store fresh produce 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. That will decrease costs of transport, increase efficiency and add profit to the whole supply chain."
But HiveXchange denies that it will result in a drop in employment, with Mr George saying it is not about cutting out the middle man, but accessing better opportunities for better lifestyle throughout online trading. But the concept of trust has become an important building block in the digital marketplace, and one the company has had to overcome.
"So the scenario is we have got guaranteed trade orders through the digital markets the whole way through," he said. "Everything is captured. Everything is in there; and guaranteed payments. That's part of trust-based commerce. While the digital platform is dedicated to T-Commerce, trust based trading will take place without speaking a single word and moving the industry from being a land based market."
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