Food Supply Chain Quality Research Articles

Challenges and hotspots in food supply chain quality management practices

Food supply chains face many challenges, including those associated with supply chain quality management practices. Supply chain quality management practices are activities and processes adopted to achieve quality goals. The practices can be quite challenging, especially for food supply chains that are sustainability-oriented, such as those found in alternative food networks. This paper introduces a notion of supply chain quality management practice hotspots to capture incidences of quality management practice challenges that manifest in food supply chains. An approach for identifying supply chain quality management practice hotspots is developed in the paper and illustrated with multiple case studies. Findings show that incidences of supply chain quality management practice hotspots exist in practice, and practitioners perceive the notion of supply chain quality management practice hotspots to be valuable, especially in providing insights into supply chain processes and use as a basis for performance improvement. The paper indicates that the severity of supply chain quality management practice hotspots is influenced by the importance placed on supply chain processes, supply chain practices, and the severity of the quality management practice challenges the supply chain faces. Implications of findings and recommended areas of future work are presented.

Agri-fresh food supply chain quality and organisational sustainability: an empirical investigation

Agri-fresh food supply chain quality and organisational sustainability: an empirical investigation

Agriculture Food Supply Chain Management System based on BlockChain and IOT

In agriculture supply chain management block chain distributed ledger underpinning cryptocurrncies bit coin, represent, new innovative technological approach to realizing system. they provide fault-tolerance, immutability, transparency and full tractability of stored transaction record, as well as coherent Digital representation of physical assets and autonomous transaction execution. Trace-ability is critical in managing food quality and safety. Traditional Internet of Things (IoT) trace-ability systems offer viable solutions for food supply chain quality monitoring and trace-ability. However, majority of IOT solution rely on the centralized server-client paradigm, which makes is difficult for consumers to obtain all transaction information and track the origins of product. Block chain is an innovative technology that has potential to significance improve tracebility performance by providing security and complete transparency. However, the current literature does not fully explore benefit ,challenges and development method block chain based food traceability systems. As result ,the to identify block chain and IOT based solutions for food tracebility.

Antecedents of IoT adoption in food supply chain quality management: an integrative model

PurposeThe introduction of quality management Internet of things (QM IoT) can help food supply chain members to enhance real-time visibility, quality, safety and efficiency of products and processes. Current literature indicates three main research gaps, including a lack of studies in QM IoT in the food supply chain, the vagueness of integrative adoption of new technology framework and deficient research covering both adoption attitude and intention in the same model. This study aims to propose an analysis model based on the technological–organizational–environmental (TOE) framework and reinforced by the collaborative structure to capture the importance of the supply chain network.Design/methodology/approachThe partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied to test the impacts of the adoption factors on QM IoT adoption attitude and intention among 197 respondents in food manufacturing in Thailand.FindingsThe results indicated that compatibility, trialability, adaptive capacity, innovative capability, executive support, value chain partner pressure, presence of service provider and information sharing significantly impacted the attitude toward QM IoT adoption, while adaptive capability, innovative capability and information sharing directly influenced the QM IoT adoption intention. Furthermore, the attitude toward QM IoT adoption positively impacted the QM IoT adoption intention.Practical implicationsThis study contributed to academicians by proposing a more solid adoption framework for QM IoT area. In addition, the business practitioners could actively prepare themselves for the QM IoT adoption, whereas the service providers could provide better and suitable service.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the building of a more solid framework and indicates significant factors that impact the attitude toward QM IoT adoption and adoption intention.

Research on Food Safety Control Based on Evolutionary Game Method from the Perspective of the Food Supply Chain

Food safety is related to people’s health and the sustainable development of the food supply chain, so it is of crucial practical significance to study food supply chain quality management. This paper employs the evolutionary game method to develop a tripartite evolutionary game model that reflects the interaction of interests among food raw material suppliers, food manufacturers, and consumers. It identifies the key factors that influence the decision-making of each game participant and attempts to use these factors to guide the behavior of the food supply chain members scientifically. The study results demonstrate that sustainable management of food supply chains can be improved by strengthening the intensity of government supervision, narrowing the production cost gap between high-quality and poor-quality food raw materials, improving the inspection ability of the food manufacturer, increasing complaint incentives of consumers, etc. Finally, this paper puts forward suggestions and countermeasures for the government to improve the supervision mechanism of food safety, thereby achieving sustainable management of the food supply chain.

A Dynamic Source Tracing Method for Food Supply Chain Quality and Safety Based on Big Data

The data of food quality tracing information have a few features, such as wide coverage range, many circulation links, complex data sources, low authenticity, and difficult information sharing. The continuous development of big data technology provides infinite possibilities for the construction of food quality source tracing systems. Currently, there are many studies on the application of food quality source tracing systems; however, most of them are in the field of food quality databases, and few have concerned about its application in the field of big data. Therefore, to fill in this research gap, this paper aimed to study a dynamic source tracing method for food supply chain quality and safety based on big data. At first, this paper summarized the variables of food supply chain quality and safety, constructed a Petri net model and a Bayesian network model for food quality prediction and source tracing, and realized the prediction of food quality features. Then, this paper applied two data analysis and processing methods—the density‐based clustering algorithm and the cosine similarity algorithm—to preliminarily process the collected quality tracing information of each link in the food supply chain and analyzed the influencing factors of food quality. Finally, experimental results proved the effectiveness of the constructed model. Relying on the real‐timeliness and authenticity of big data, this paper guarantees the credibility of the traceable information in the tracking process and improves the accuracy through real‐time stream processing of the updated data, providing unlimited possibilities for the comprehensive tracking of food sources.

Agri-fresh Food Supply Chain Quality (AFSCQ) and Organizational Sustainability (OS): An empirical investigation

Agri-fresh Food Supply Chain Quality (AFSCQ) and Organizational Sustainability (OS): An empirical investigation

Correction to: Impact of agri‑fresh food supply chain quality practices on organizational sustainability

Correction to: Impact of agri‑fresh food supply chain quality practices on organizational sustainability

Impact of agri-fresh food supply chain quality practices on organizational sustainability

Impact of agri-fresh food supply chain quality practices on organizational sustainability

A framework for managing the agri-fresh food supply chain quality in Indian industry

PurposeResearch in agri-fresh food supply chain quality (AFSCQ) has been given less consideration in developing countries as compared to developed countries and its role in achieving organizational sustainability has not been researched yet. Thus, this study aims to determine and combine numerous significant factors to establish a framework for managing AFSCQ practices favorable to organizational sustainability in the Indian context.Design/methodology/approachTo accomplish this, all-inclusive framework of AFSCQ has been established through succeeding phases of data collection, analysis using structural equation modelling along with refinement of data. The collection of data for this study was from the Indian food industry, which relates to agri-fresh food products.FindingsThe AFSCQ practices are conducive to enrich organizational sustainability, and then enhance economic, social and environmental performance indirectly. The study established relationships among the AFSCQ practices promising to enhance organizational sustainability.Originality/valueAFSCQ practices have a huge impact on organizational sustainability by means of practices that sum up activities along the whole supply chain. The organizational sustainability consists of economic, social and environmental sustainability.

Supply chain issues in SME food sector: a systematic review

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the significant supply chain issues in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) food industry. The objectives are to identify the major themes and the dynamic evolution of SME food supply chain (FSC) issues, the current research trends, the different modelling approaches used in SME FSC, and the most addressed SME food sector.Design/methodology/approachIn all, 3,733 published articles from 2002 to 2018 in the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science database were collected, from which 1,091 articles were shortlisted for the review. The authors used bibliographic coupling combined with co-word analysis to identify the historical relations of the research themes that emerged during the periods 2002–2014 and 2002–2018.FindingsThis research identified five major research themes such as production and distribution in alternative food networks, relationship, safety and standards in the FSC, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission impact of the farm food system, traceability and product quality in FSC and asymmetric price transmission in the FSC. Among the identified themes, GHG emission impact of the farm food system and traceability and product quality in the FSC have received increasing attention in recent years. The dairy sector is the most addressed sector (36 per cent), followed by fruits and vegetables (27 per cent), meat and poultry (18 per cent), seafood (10 per cent) and grains and oilseed (8 per cent). It is also identified that the dairy sector has received significant attention in the “GHG Emission impact of farm food system” theme. Similarly, meat and poultry sectors have received much attention in the “Traceability and product quality in the food supply chain” theme. Also, the authors identified that the empirical modelling approaches are the most commonly used solution methodology, followed by the conceptual/qualitative methods in the SME FSC.Originality/valueThis study maps and summarizes the existing knowledge base of supply chain issues in the SME food sector. The results of this review provide the major research areas, most commonly used approaches and food sectors addressed. This study also highlights the research gaps and potential future research direction.

Role of food safety and quality in Indian food supply chain

Food security and preserving food quality has become preemptive when food trade and transport are addressed. High level of quality standards are followed for food being sold in the market and ensure that it is safe for consumption and free from infections. Due to increasing customer demand and food trade, safety, quality and standards are becoming a matter of utmost importance for producers, sellers, distributors and government. From the production to the consumer, it moves through various stages of supply chain, which arises the need of regular monitoring and maintaining food quality standards in the entire supply chain. The purpose of this study is to review the food supply chain with major focus on food safety and regulatory framework, which could be useful for industry, academicians, researcher, and policymakers. This study also highlighted the criticality of safety and quality in the food supply chain, especially from logistics and distribution perspective.

Structural model of perishable food supply chain quality (PFSCQ) to improve sustainable organizational performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of perishable food supply chain quality (PFSCQ) and to suggest a structural model that counts the influence of PFSCQ practices on organizational sustainable performance.Design/methodology/approachOn the basis of comprehensive literature review, PFSCQ highly significant practices were examined and designated. These practices were classified into four dimensions: upstream quality (supplier quality), downstream quality (customer focus), internal quality (process and logistics quality) and support practices (top management leadership and commitment to quality, quality of human resource, quality of information and supply chain integration). The measurement instrument of organizational sustainable performance was also build on, containing three aspects: economic, environmental and social performance.FindingsAn inventive conceptual model that specifies a comprehensive image cover up core dimensions of PFSCQ and various aspects of organizational sustainable performance was suggested. This conceptual model can be used as “a directive” for theory developing and measurement instrument development of PFSCQ practices and organizational sustainable performance. More prominently, on the road to achieving additional insight, an extensive structural model that makes out direct and indirect relationships between PFSCQ practices and organizational sustainable performance was also developed. Practitioners can apply this model as “a path plan” for implementing PFSCQ practices to improve organizational sustainable performance.Originality/valueThe integration of quality and supply chain even now remains inadequate in the literature. Consequently, it is required to have a more focused approach in assessing quality issues inside the upstream, internal and downstream of the supply chain. This study concentrates on the practices which make better quality aspects of the supply chain, known as PFSCQ practices. Suggested research models in this paper contribute to conceptual frameworks for theory building in PFSCQ and sustainable organizational performance. It is also expected that this research can suggest a useful direction for determining and implementing PFSCQ practices as well as make possible further studies in this arena.

Assessment of top management leadership and commitment to improve perishable food supply chain quality

The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is a technique for arranging and examining complicated judgements by the ample and realistic framework. This study was performed to attain the relative significance of the factors affecting the quality of top management leadership and commitment in perishable food supply chain. Three popular perishable food industries were acknowledged in a brainstorming phase and an expert group has been made and it consists of all stakeholders of perishable food supply chain. The input from the result was used for the pair wise comparison of the factors affecting quality of top management leadership and commitment to PFSCQ. The contrast of the alternatives in AHP is based on the input taken from an expert team involving of perishable food supply chain stakeholders who exist in each of perishable food industry under study.

Assessment of top management leadership and commitment to improve perishable food supply chain quality

Assessment of top management leadership and commitment to improve perishable food supply chain quality

Agri-fresh food supply chain quality (AFSCQ): a literature review

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to deliver a structured literature review of existing literature on agri-fresh food supply chain quality (AFSCQ) over a period of 23 years (1994 to mid-2016) and provide a platform for practitioners and researchers trying to identify the existing state of work, gaps in current research, and future directions in the field of AFSCQ.Design/methodology/approachThe existing literature is classified on the basis of several classes like number of publications per year, journal-wise publications, studies across various countries, growth of empirical research, data analysis methods or tool used, issues related to supply chain quality as well as performance measurement (with respect to entity of analysis, level of analysis and element of exchange).FindingsMost of the research publications discuss issues in developed countries, while relatively lesser publications are available on issues in developing countries. Hence, larger opportunities in the field of AFSCQ are available in developing countries. Empirical research is also growing in the field of AFSCQ. Largely research publications make use of “case study” research approach and “statistical analysis” as a quantitative tool of research. The literature is also categorized under the various issues of supply chain quality such as sustainability management, information management, logistic management, collaboration and coordination management, strategic management, demand management, inventory management, food safety, performance management, supply chain integration, supplier management, quality management, etc. It was found that in the majority of articles, information management, sustainability management, and logistics management are very critical issues as far as AFSCQ is concerned. Performance measurement of agri-fresh food supply chain is also on a growing stage. It is also an integral part of AFSCQ.Originality/valueMost of the prior reviews are concentrated on a particular issue as production and distribution planning for agri-foods, temperature monitoring, corporate and consumer social responsibility, traceability system and ignore the wider perception. There exists a necessity of having a detailed review to cover up all the issues in AFSCQ. This review fills this gap in the extant AFSCQ literature.

Evaluating the effects of supply chain quality management on food firms’ performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the two kinds of supply chain quality management (SCQM) capabilities: intra-SCQM and inter-SCQM, and explore the effect of intra- and inter-food SCQM on food safety and quality, and the effect of food SCQM on domestic and export performance through food certification and corporate reputation.Design/methodology/approachSecondary data on food selling or processing firms in Western China were collected to test all the hypotheses. The data were then analyzed using the statistical technique of stepwise regression and inference was drawn based on the result.FindingsThrough utilizing secondary data sources, it is found that intra-SCQM promotes sales in domestics market with mediating role of corporate reputation, while the realization of overseas performance depend both on intra- and inter-SCQM with mediating role of food certification.Practical implicationsThe paper study on food supply chain quality problem, the suggested approaches can be easily realized by agro-food companies to achieve international competitiveness by implementing both intra- and inter-SCQM. Meanwhile to Chinese domestic companies, it is important to strengthen inter-SCQM and food certification in order to achieve competitive advantage.Originality/valueReview of literature indicated that there is a dearth of open literature that discusses food safety from the perspective of inter- and intra-organizational management. Furthermore, it was also observed that there has been no study that has taken the safety signaling perspective. The current research tires to shed some light on this important, but sparely discussed issue.

Perishable food supply chain quality (PFSCQ)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a literature review of the perishable food supply chain quality (PFSCQ). It includes all the products/process from the farm to folk of perishable food (milk, meat, vegetable, grains and butter). Design/methodology/approach – The methodology of a structured literature review involves selection of a representative sample of articles followed by classification of articles on the basis of research methodology and content of PFSCQ in the paper. Findings – Research toward PFSCQ has risen in last five years. Fewer articles are addressing issues of developing countries then developed countries. Majority of the articles involved multiple as entity of analysis (combination of supplier, distributor, manufacturer, retailer and consumer), information as element of exchange and chain as the level of analysis. A large number of articles involved “agri-food,” “dairy” and “pork” as perishable products. Majority of articles used “case study” methodology. Statistical analysis as a tool for problem solving was used in majority of articles. Performance measurement aspect is also on growth in PFSCQ literature. Information sharing, logistic management, strategic management, demand forecasting and integration among the various stakeholders of PFSCQ are some of the critical issues. Originality/value – Many literature reviews that aim at critical examination of supply chain literature are reported but none of them focussed exclusively on content of PFSCQ. Another unique feature of this paper is that the sample size of articles with respect to number of papers (481 papers) as well as number of journals (141 journals) is quite large. The paper spans a longer time span of 20 years (1994-2013) as well.

A case study on downstream supply chain of an Indian alcoholic beverage manufacturer

Purpose – This study aims to understand the structure of downstream network from a supply chain (SC) perspective using a case of an Indian alcoholic beverage manufacturing company. In the SC literature, many researchers and practitioners have studied the design of upstream supplier network. Very few studies have documented the design of downstream network comprising distributors, warehouses, retailers, etc. and current study attempts to contribute to this limited literature. In addition, this study also tries to understand the influence of downstream SC, if any, on top management strategies. Finally, it assesses the SC quality using the standard set of factors and provides insights for its improvement. Design/methodology/approach – Single case study approach has been utilized to understand the configuration of downstream SC. A distillery in southern part of India which distributes a variety of liquor products across the market has been chosen for this study. Different data collection approaches have been adopted to understand the distribution channels prevailing in the market. In addition to the internal documents, semi-structured interviews were conducted with salesmen employed by the distillery for different group of outlets, top management of the distillery, outlet owners and counter sales person. Findings – Different distribution channels constituting the downstream SC network of the industry in the market studied have been identified to be retails and bars, institutions, clubs, modern trade, maximum retail price and Mysore Sales International Limited. Each of the distribution channels has clearly defined their boundaries for reaching different segment of consumers. Significant influence of the existing distribution channels on strategic decisions such as new product development and pricing were noticed. Interesting inferences were obtained on the relationships existing between the distilleries and different distribution channels. Insights were also gathered on the regulatory role played by the government between the manufacturers and distributors. Few marketing and promotional strategies adopted by companies to strengthen their downstream relationships with distribution channels and, in turn, with consumers have also been discussed. The quality of alcoholic beverage SC has been assessed and was found to perform on par with the set standards of quality in robustness factors and enabling factors. Training factor needs to be further improved by providing salesmen with exposure to best practices. Effort also needs to be taken to improve in the complicating factors, i.e. the testability and time. Research limitations/implications – This study is limited to the experience of a single alcoholic beverage manufacturer in the Karnataka state in India. SC of alcoholic beverage industry in India varies across states and depends on State Government regulations. Hence, the obtained results and inferences cannot be generalized across the industries and geographies. Future studies can be carried out in different locations across the country to understand the structure and dynamics of downstream SC in this industry. Scope also exists to study how the deficiencies identified in the SC can be improved and how alcoholic beverage firms entering India adapt to the prevailing SC structure. Comparative study of downstream SC of different industries can also be conducted. Practical implications – Academicians and practitioners can consider this paper as a source to understand the configuration of downstream SC of alcoholic beverage industry. More than that, this study provides a counter-intuitive inference for researchers and practitioners that choice of distribution channels have influence on the strategic decisions such as pricing and product development. Therefore, it becomes necessary to factor in the target distribution channel at the product design phase itself. This study may also help in performing a comparative study of downstream SC – especially the distribution network of different industries and identify best practices that can be adopted across the industries. Application of the standard set of factors from the food SC quality assessment literature have been demonstrated in this study to assess the downstream SC of the alcoholic beverage industry studied. In addition, this study provides several insights by detailing the structure of the SC for other alcoholic beverage manufacturers who are planning to enter Indian market. Originality/value – According to author’s knowledge, it is believed that this is the first study to report the configuration of downstream SC of the alcoholic beverage industry specifically from India apart from describing their influence on strategic decisions of the company.

Quality control in food supply chain management: An analytical model and case study of the adulterated milk incident in China

Managing the food supply chain quality and risk has received significant attention in recent years especially in global emerging markets such as India and China. In this paper, we present a mutually supporting analytical model and exploratory case to study the managerial and policy issues related to quality control in food supply chain management with a focus on the Chinese dairy industry. Based on a general supply-chain model with acceptance sampling tests under uncertain product quality, we show that, depending on the sampling technology, the decentralized supply-chain structure may lead to a distortion in product quality. We also explore the effects of different pricing and regulatory options of vertical control on product quality and the distribution of the total supply-chain profit. In addition, we use an exploratory case study of the 2008 adulterated milk incident in China to investigate practical issues in ensuring product quality/safety in food supply chain management. Our analytical results and two comparative cases show that, instead of the common “poor quality” misperception of food products from global emerging markets, it is actually the poor vertical control strategy for managing the food supply chain quality and risk that caused the adulterated milk incident. A number of other important managerial and policy insights and implications regarding supply chain design, informational visibility, corporate social responsibility, and regulatory action in managing the global food supply chain quality and risk are also discussed.