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Purpose-The aim of this empirical paper is to study information sharing in fresh food supply chains, with a specific goal of reducing waste and facilitating sustainable performance. The study focuses on material and information flow issues, specifically on sharing demand and shelf-life data. Design/methodology/approach-This work has been designed as an exploratory case study in three fresh food supply chains, milk, fresh fish, and fresh poultry, in the Nordic countries. The cases are based on interviews and data from the databases of the companies involved. Each case focuses on analyzing information flow, particularly the current order patterns and forecasting and planning process, and material flow, focusing on the supply chain structure. In two cases significant changes have been made to forecasting processes and material flow, while the third case intends to identify the most beneficial uses of shared information to create a sustainable fresh food supply chain. Findings-The performance of the perishable food chain can be improved by more efficient information sharing. The key to improved operations is how and for which purposes the shared data should be used. In addition, changes in the supply chain structure were needed to speed up the deliveries and ensure shelf availability. The cross-case analysis revealed that improved performance was obtained with parallel changes in information sharing and usage and in material flow. Originality/value-Few studies approach the problem of waste and sustainability from an integrated supply chain perspective. This paper links data sharing with the sustainability performance of the supply chain as a whole.

Ruibin (2018) Decision-making in cold chain logistics using data analytics: a literature review.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand how companies design sales and operations planning (S & OP) contingent on the planning environment (PE). Design/methodology/approach – On the basis of the literature, the paper creates an analytical framework identifying the main constructs related to the PE and S & OP design, which is the basis for gathering and analysing qualitative data from eight cases in the food industry. The findings highlight the relations between S & OP and the PE, and are used for generating three propositions. Findings – Responding to the complex and uncertain PE, the companies set up S & OP on a stock-keeping unit (SKU) level, with the possibility of re-planning and a flexible planning horizon, thus differing from what has generally been suggested in the literature. In addition, the companies are aligning the inputs, activities, and outcomes of the S & OP process to the PE. Particularly important environmental contingencies are uncertainty connected to demand and supply, frequent product launches, and production network complexity. Product-related variables have a lower impact on the S & OP design. Research limitations/implications – The present study is limited to one industry only and a comparison between industries with larger data sets would be valuable in future studies. The study selected cases based on their S & OP maturity; further studies need to explore the effect of the alignment of S & OP and the PE on the planning performance. Originality/value – In the literature, S & OP is presented as a generic process with a strict formal design that is equal for all companies. The study provides insights into how companies adjust S & OP according to the PE.

Purpose -This paper explores tactical planning in grocery retailing and proposes how process and integration mechanisms from sales and operations planning (S&OP) can enhance retail tactical planning. Design/methodology/approach -This work follows an explorative design with case studies from the grocery retailing industry in Finland, Norway, and the UK. Findings -The tactical planning process focuses on demand management and securing product availability from suppliers in order to reach sales targets. Less attention is directed towards balancing supply and demand or towards providing a single plan to guide company operations. Planning appeared to be functionally oriented with limited coordination between functional plans, but it did include external integration that improved forecast accuracy.Research limitations/implications -The study involves grocery retailer cases with variable level of S&OP maturity. The propositions need to be investigated further through action research or additional case studies to confirm their validity. Practical implications -The study proposes a design of an S&OP process in retailing and propositions for improving tactical planning integration. Originality/value -The study complements research on retail tactical planning by taking planning process and integration viewpoints. The research suggests that retailers would benefit from a formal and company-wide S&OP process to unify different market-oriented plans to a single set of numbers, thus better balancing supply and demand without sacrificing the emphasis on demand planning.

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Food waste has become a major concern globally, leading to high economic, environmental and social awareness, as well as inclusion in international policy documents. In the developed world, the retail stage has the greatest potential for waste reduction as it balances demand with supply, stimulates demand (thus affecting waste at the consumer level) and sets standards to the supply and the products (thus affecting food loss upstream). To precisely direct managerial intervention towards products with high waste-mitigation potential, the waste impact needs to be quantified. Previous studies measuring waste have examined individual metrics exclusive of each other, which affects the ranking of products. The present study proposes a method for prioritising waste based on combined monetary and environmental indicators, and it demonstrates the applicability of the method through empirical data from Scandinavian retail stores. The contribution of the proposed metric is that it results in a unique score comprising economic and environmental impacts for every single product, thus directing the managerial intervention more precisely. In addition, it enables choosing a weight for the economic and the environmental indicators, thus adding to the previous literature that looks at the products either through an economic or environmental perspective, exclusive of each other. Applying the method confirmed the previous research at a product group level that bread, meat and fruits/vegetables are the highest wasters. In addition, for some products, such as meat and fruit, the dependency between economic and environmental impacts is weaker, whereas it is stronger for others (e.g. bread and biscuits), thereby necessitating a method to gauge waste in both dimensions.

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