The 'Almacena Platform' is an online agritech marketplace aiming to connect the green coffee market. The platform works directly with green coffee suppliers and aims to connect these companies with importers and other buyers. According to Almacena, the buyers must sign digital contracts that ensure fair pricing across the board, as to avoid common pitfalls of the coffee marketplace that stem from price gouging and bidding.
The primary reasoning behind the pricing contract, though, is to protect the green coffee suppliers. Almacena works with small East African green coffee growers, whose profit margins are significantly beholden to the fluctuating market, often leading to these companies operating at a loss in certain market conditions. However, the pricing contract ensures consistent pay and work for the coffee-growing communities and companies.
Green Coffee Platforms
The Almacena Platform is Working to Connect the Green Coffee Marketplace
Trend Themes
1. Online Agritech Marketplaces - The Almacena Platform shows there is an opportunity to develop more e-commerce platforms for the agricultural industry.
2. Fair Pricing Contracts - The use of digital contracts to ensure fair pricing in the coffee marketplace presents an opportunity for companies to implement similar contracts in other industries.
3. Marketplace Transparency - The Almacena Platform's focus on transparency in the coffee market can inspire other industries to provide customers with more visibility into their supply chain and pricing.
Industry Implications
1. Coffee - The Almacena Platform is working to connect the green coffee market and there is potential for other companies to improve the coffee industry through e-commerce and pricing contracts.
2. Agriculture - The Almacena Platform's success and use of e-commerce can serve as a model for other agricultural suppliers and marketplaces to improve supply chain transparency and fair pricing.
3. Supply Chain Management - The pricing contracts used by Almacena can be a powerful tool in supply chain management and can be applied to industries beyond coffee production.