Fresh Vegetable Supply Chain Research Articles

Increasing the sustainability of a fresh vegetables supply chain through the optimization of funding programs: A multi-objective mathematical programming approach

Purpose: This research develops a model to improve the quality and freshness of sold vegetables through a funding program between farmers and retailers. Through this program, retailers who are interested in the distribution of first quality vegetables provide funds to farmers to increase their production this type of vegetables through the acquisition of new machinery, technology, or training.Design/methodology/approach: The problem is solved through a multi-objective mathematical programming model that simultaneously optimizes the supply chain profits, the waste of vegetables, the economic unfairness among farmers, the unfairness in the distribution of funds, and the freshness of sold vegetables. The ?-constraint method is used to obtain several non-dominated solutions to the problem after linearizing the non-lineal equations related to the unfairness objectives.Findings: Results show that it is possible to improve the indicators related to the vegetable waste, the economic unfairness, the unfairness in the distribution of funds and the freshness of vegetables while maintaining similar to optimal profits for the supply chain. Interesting trade-offs between the five objectives are identified, which can be used by supply chain members to select the most appropriate solution to be implemented in the real supply chain.Originality/value: This research models aspects relevant to the agri-food sector that have not been previously modelled for the problem under study. The main novelties of this paper are the consideration of the limited shelf life of the vegetables as well as the requirement of ensuring a minimum freshness at the moment of their sale, the price dependence on the quality and freshness of vegetables, the optimization of vegetable waste and the freshness of vegetables sold, as well as the joint optimization of the five previously defined objectives.

Sustainable Emerging Country Agro-Food Supply Chains: Fresh Vegetable Price Formation Mechanisms in Rural China

Price formation mechanisms along the supply chain determine the economic viability of effective agro-food supply chains in emerging countries with small-scale subsistence-based agricultural activities. This study offers an analysis of the price formation mechanism along the Chinese fresh vegetable supply chain. It analyzes the features of market transactions in the upstream and downstream greenhouse cucumber supply chain, and presents an elastic model of pricing in the fresh and raw vegetable market in China. Based on the daily procurement price data of 78 cases in Lingyuan (Liaoning Province, China), and the wholesale price of 78 cases in Xinfadi (Beijing, China), the Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) unit root test, co-integration test, and Granger test were applied to reveal the relationship between the prices. Findings indicate that the price of fresh and raw vegetables is formed at the wholesale market, where after it cascades from wholesalers to direct buyers (primary merchants) and farmers, and is passed on to retailers and consumers, where the final market price is formed. Farmers exhibit bounded rationality decision-making, that is, they can only passively accept price fluctuations. Buyers (primary merchants, wholesalers’ agents, and retailers) at each level extract fixed rewards, while making no additional contribution to the price fluctuations along the chain. The wholesalers enjoy an oligopolistic competition market and can better take advantage of the asymmetric information to accommodate market demand.

An Application of RapAgRisk (Rapid Agricultural Supply Chain Risk Assessment) Method on Fresh Vegetables for Identifying and Reducing Damage during Delivery to Consumers

Vegetables have distinctive properties that are easily damaged, so handling and delivery time will be the important factors in the whole supply chain. Identification and mitigation of the damage is very important to prevent damage to vegetables and maintain resale value. This study uses the Rapid Agricultural Supply Chain Risk Assessment (RapAgRisk) based on the risk management standard ISO 31000:2009 to conduct a risk analysis. The field research uses sample of the actors in the supply chain from the farm producer to the point of sale. The research was done by taking convenience sampling through in-depth interviews with the actors of the supply chain. The research location in fresh vegetable production centers in Magelang (Central Java Province), and Sleman (Yogyakarta Province). Research result showed risk factor of the weather, natural condition, biological and environmental, related markets, logistics (infrastructure), and operational management in the supply chain of fresh vegetables. At the level of farmers and collectors, each have four risks while at the merchant level, there are five important risks getting attention for follow up. Mitigation each of these factors lead to the reducing damage and it can be applied to maintain the quality of the vegetables and increase the selling price. Keywords: Fresh vegetables; RapAgRisk; Risk management; Risk mitigation; Supply chain

A Model of Trust and Collaboration in a Fresh Vegetable Supply Chain in Central Philippines

It has been asserted that farmers are the most disadvantaged group among all members of the supply chain for fresh vegetables in the Philippines. This paper attempts to refute such claim by presenting a model of a mountain barangay in Central Philippines and identifying the different economic, socio-cultural and environmental factors present that enable farmers to enjoy optimal prices for their produce. The trust participants in the supply chain have for one another enables them to collaborate, resulting to benefits for all parties. Key informant interviews and participant observation were the main research methods used in data gathering. The author found that trust is necessary for effective collaboration and aided by efficient access to market information, and a minimum of government participation, can result in favorable outcomes for all participants in the supply chain. Farmers are able mitigate much uncertainty, attain higher income, and enjoy recreation during market days.

Indicator microorganisms in fresh vegetables from “farm to fork” in Rwanda

Microbial safety of ready-to-eat vegetables is currently a global concern. We studied indicator microorganisms in fresh vegetables from “farm to fork” in Rwanda, to identify possible trends in microbial counts along the supply chain in a developing country. A total of 453 samples were taken across the vegetable supply chain (farm, market and food service establishment level) and analyzed for indicator microorganisms; Enterobacteriaceae, Listeria spp., aerobic plate count and coagulase - positive staphylococci. The sampling at farm and market covered 11 types of vegetables commonly eaten raw in salads. Results show that the mean count of Enterobacteriaceae and Listeria spp. in vegetables were respectively 5.8 and 4.6 log cfu/g at farm, 6.3 and 4.9 log cfu/g at market, 6.0 and 5.1 log cfu/g upon arrival at food service establishments, and finally 3.3 and 2.9 log cfu/g in ready-to-eat salads. Aerobic plate count and coagulase-positive Staphylococci were on average 6.8 and 4.6 respectively at start of salad preparation and 4.9 and 3.0 in the final product. Unit operations like washing with or without sanitizers, trimming and peeling significantly reduced indicator counts by on average 2.1 log cfu/g from start to end of salad preparation. Results also show that 91% (51/56) and 22% (12/56) of ready-to-eat salads prepared by food service establishments met the guidelines for coagulase - positive staphylococci (104 cfu/g) and presumptive Listeria spp. (102 cfu/g). The high counts of these indicator microorganisms along the vegetable supply chain, raises concern about the potential presence of foodborne pathogens. This study calls for improved adherence to GAPs and GHPs in the fresh vegetable supply chain so as to minimize the potential risk from foodborne pathogens.

A production planning model considering uncertain demand using two-stage stochastic programming in a fresh vegetable supply chain context.

Production planning models are achieving more interest for being used in the primary sector of the economy. The proposed model relies on the formulation of a location model representing a set of farms susceptible of being selected by a grocery shop brand to supply local fresh products under seasonal contracts. The main aim is to minimize overall procurement costs and meet future demand. This kind of problem is rather common in fresh vegetable supply chains where producers are located in proximity either to processing plants or retailers. The proposed two-stage stochastic model determines which suppliers should be selected for production contracts to ensure high quality products and minimal time from farm-to-table. Moreover, Lagrangian relaxation and parallel computing algorithms are proposed to solve these instances efficiently in a reasonable computational time. The results obtained show computational gains from our algorithmic proposals in front of the usage of plain CPLEX solver. Furthermore, the results ensure the competitive advantages of using the proposed model by purchase managers in the fresh vegetables industry.

Assessment of the Supply Chain Factors and Classification of Inventory Management in Suppliers’ Level of Fresh Vegetables

Inventory policy decisions at each tier in the supply chain of fresh vegetables is considered significantly regarding to th e short period shelf life (perishable) factor and cost efficiency of the product distribution. The object of this study is su ppliers of fresh vegetable and its supply chain in the Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia .T he evaluation of the i mportance factors of supply chain performance is analyzed based on the combination of methods Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR). The result shows that the most in fluencing factory to the supply chain performance is factor of attribute costs (31.04%) with a sub-attribute product gua rantee fee (48.90%). Meanwhile, the most preferred alternatives is modern m arket as weighted at 34.6%, followed by regular-restaurants (32.5%), and franchise-restaurants (18.4%), and traditional markets (15.4%) is the least pref erred. In case of inventory management, there are two types of inventory: inventory speculation for non-unique produ cts, and inventory postponement for unique products of fresh vegetables.

An RFID-Based Tracing and Tracking System for the Fresh Vegetables Supply Chain

The paper presents an innovative gapless traceability system able to improve the main business processes of the fresh vegetables supply chain. The performed analysis highlighted some critical aspects in the management of the whole supply chain, from the land to the table of the end consumer, and allowed us to reengineer the most important processes. In particular, the first steps of the supply chain, which include cultivation in greenhouses and manufacturing of packaged vegetables, were analyzed. The re-engineered model was designed by exploiting the potentialities derived from the combined use of innovative Radio Frequency technologies, such as RFID and NFC, and important international standards, such as EPCglobal. The proposed tracing and tracking system allows the end consumer to know the complete history of the purchased product. Furthermore, in order to evaluate the potential benefits of the reengineered processes in a real supply chain, a pilot project was implemented in an Italian food company, which produces ready-to-eat vegetables, known asIV gammaproducts. Finally, some important metrics have been chosen to carry out the analysis of the potential benefits derived from the use of the re-engineered model.

The impact of RF technologies and EPC standard on the fresh vegetables supply chain

The impact of RF technologies and EPC standard on the fresh vegetables supply chain

Quality-oriented fresh vegetable supply chain: A pilot in Ahmedabad, India

A pilot vegetable retail store named ‘Clean-n-Fresh’ was designed and operated at the campus of Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad. The aim was to deliver fresh produce of a better (and specified) quality preferred by the consumers. The consumers in the area were people with middle and higher income levels who indicated willingness to pay a premium of up to 20 per cent for clean and fresh produce. The processes and equipment for sorting, cleaning, washing, trimming etc. were specially developed for economy of water, electricity and space. Analysis of over a year of operational data showed that the extra costs incurred for vegetable treatment were about Rs. 1.5-2/kg (US$0.03-0.04/kg), which were within the selling price limit stipulated by consumers. The store began to break even after about six months of operation. This paper describes details of the engineering and business design and a summary of one year of operation.

Food Mileage: An Indicator of Evolution of Agricultural Outsourcing

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to report the finding from study on distance traveled by fresh vegetables from farming location to consumer in traditional and organized retailing. The focus is on the five fresh vegetables and final consumer destination is the city of Chennai. Research methodology: The research is primarily exploratory in nature and research instruments include interviews and survey through questionnaire with players in the fresh vegetable supply chain viz agents, auctioneers, wholesalers, traditional retailers, organized retailers and customers. Additional data collected thorough secondary source, existing literature on Indian retail. Findings: ‘Food miles’ is relatively recent concept in the fresh vegetable retailing. Entry of organized retail to India and its exponential growth, specifically in fresh vegetable marketing, has impacted the whole spectrum of supply chain practices. Shorter food miles is an indicator of near sourcing and longer food miles of fresh vegetables is an indicator for agricultural outsource. The result of this study reveals that significant increase in food miles in case of organized retailers. The capitalization of emerging opportunity by the agribusiness is shift towards outsourcing of agriculture. Research limitations: Being an early work in the area of food mileage of fresh vegetables in Indian context, there is no reference data available related to food mileage. Speed at which fresh vegetable reaching its destination has not been studied as time taken between any two points was not observed. This is the limitation of this study and also scope for further future research. The research study is not finding factors related to the food mileage.

Institutional Quality and Income Distribution

Institutional Quality and Income Distribution