Factors Affecting the Supplier's Quality of the Perishables Supply Chain; Special Reference to the Hotel Industry in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Food is the main factor that anyone who measures the quality on a hotel or a restaurant. If there is good quality food, consumer will never forget to revisit that restaurant. If they are unable to maintain the food quality of perishables there can be many issues for hoteliers that directly affect the business. In this context, suppliers' quality, of the perishables supply chain plays vital role in the hospitality industry as it engages with many aspects, procurement, packing, transportation. storage, temperature, and maintenance. However, these challenges affect the final quality of perishable food items therefore, identifying these factors is crucial for hoteliers to develop strategies to mitigate them. Therefore, the current study investigates the most critical factors that affect the supplier quality of the perishables supply chain and finds the impact of variables on the quality of the perishable supply chain in the hospitality industry, in Sri Lanka. In this study, an online questionnaire was distributed among the people who work in the procurement section and the hotel chefs in the 3-star to 5-star hotels, in Negombo and Colombo. The convenience sampling method was used with 384 respondents, but the survey was concluded with 200 responses because of these data collected from managerial and executive level employees from selected areas in Gampaha district. The reports of the statistical outputs of the SPSS analysis, including reliability analysis, demographic factor analysis, cross-tabulation analysis, descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis, are included in the study. However, the outcome shows high internal consistency in the reliability test, positive ratings for temperature, storage method, packaging method, lead time, and transport method and there was a significant positive correlation between these variables and the quality of the perishable supply chain showing the positive impact. Further research suggests examining the impact of each perishable factor in depth by exploring the relationship between quality and food wastage.