TOC Supply Chain Management Solution for Food Processing Industries

Abstract

TOC as an ongoing business improvement process based on five sequential step provides a scientific knowledge base for aligning an organization's operations with its business strategy. Its application in food processing businesses lies in high health and safety awareness among consumers, systematic rationalization, vertical integration for reducing production & demand uncertainties and recent impetus to rural industrialisation. The paper aims at comparing firm practices & customers’ perceptions regarding supply-chain linkage variables. The responses regarding aforesaid variables were obtained through sets of questionnaires administered on 85 SSI manufacturers located within Industrial Estates and 200 wholesalers & retailers from Kathua block of district Kathua using systematic random procedure. It further identified suitable factors resulted after purification through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) also indicating moderate to high degree of linear association among supply chain factors. Finally, the paper designs trade promotion strategies that induce retailers to use price discounts, displays or advertising to spur sales & shift inventory from the manufacturer to the retailer and the consumers. Responses on 36 key drivers of supply chain performance statements recorded on “Firm orientation” and “Customer orientation”, collected from channel intermediaries after purifying through factor analysis and applying “t” test enticed “quantity discounts” as a major constraint The paper suggests the ordering lot sizes of 1000 or more units in manufacture-distribution retail supply chain for securing transactional and overall channel efficiency. It directs future researches at exploring and solving multiple constraints in dissimilar businesses through the use of a single strategic action.