Food consumption is changing along with consumers’ income levels and lifestyles. Consumers today are more interested in food quality, freshness, and safety and prefer food that is more convenient to cook and eat. Such changes in consumption patterns require changes in retail practices. To meet the need for fresh perishable food, suppliers must maintain the optimum temperatures from farm to shop, and retailers should follow hygiene control measures to prevent contamination and record traceability data throughout supply chains to ensure food safety.
Digital technologies such as the Internet of Things and AI have transformed the food retail sector, especially supermarkets and convenience stores. Sales data are collected and analyzed by AI for predicting changes in customer demand. The accuracy of predictions has improved, enabling retailers to offer the right quantities at the right times and right prices to maximize profits. In addition, self-checkout service, automated stores, and e-commerce are making retail more convenient with less human contact.
Current consumer preferences have also increased food and packaging waste. These are global environmental issues affecting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which call for responsible consumption and production. In response, many retailers no longer offer free plastic shopping bags and are reducing or recycling single-use food containers.
This course will enhance participants’ understanding of consumer demand as well as modern technologies and know-how for effective management in the food retail industry. This will facilitate transformation of the food retail sector in member countries to provide better-quality, safer products to consumers, manage retail businesses more effectively, and contribute to meeting the SDGs.
The APO developed this course with the support of Professor Emeritus Takayuki Mori, University of Marketing and Distribution Sciences, Japan.
Course Objectives
The main objectives of this course are:
This e-learning course will cover the following modules:
Module 1: Overview of food retailing
Module 2: Preserving the quality of food products
Module 3: Digital transformation of the food retail sector
Module 4: Providing safety and reliability to consumers
Module 5: Responsible consumption and production
Important Notes:
1) Participants who register to take this course and pass the final examination with a score of 70% or higher will be eligible to receive the APO certificate. Please note that the final examination can be taken only once. Therefore, the most appropriate time to take the examination should be chosen carefully. The self-assessment quizzes are for personal evaluation only and are not related to the final examination results.
2) Participants who perform well in this course and receive the APO certificate will be given preference, on a merit basis, for selection to attend follow-up face-to-face multicountry APO projects on similar topics, when nominated by their NPOs and if slots are available.
3) Notes 1 and 2 are applicable only to participants from APO member countries. Participants from nonmember countries are welcome to take the course for self-improvement, though they will not have the opportunity to attend follow-up face-to-face multicountry APO projects.
4) Each module is in a prerecorded video format in which the expert delivers presentations by explaining each slide. Participants can access the video by clicking on the link provided under the title of each module.