Cómo los cambios en el comportamiento del consumidor y la distribuciónafectan a la competencia de los productores y procesadores de alimentos

Abstract

This paper analyses the changing competence requirements which members of the food chain face in their pursuit of competitive advantage. Two groups of trends serve as point of departure: more dynamic and heterogeneous consumer demands, which can be analysed in terms of consumer demands for sensory, health, process and convenience qualities, and changing roles for retailers in the food chain. Based on these trends, it is argued that competencies which can increase producers' level of market orientation get increased weight in the attainment of competitive advantage, and three types of competencies are singled out as especially important: consumer understanding, relationship management, and new product development. The development of market-related competencies aimed at exploiting trends in consumer behaviour and retailing will also entail changing forms of cooperation among members of the value chain, which favour both new ways of adding value but also new ways of matching consumer heterogeneity with heterogeneity in agricultural raw materials. Cómo los cambios en el comportamiento del consumidor y la distribución afectan a la competencia de los productores y procesadores de alimentos RESUMEN: Este trabajo analiza el cambio en los requisitos de la competencia de los miembros de la cadena alimentaria cara a conseguir sus propósitos de obtener una ventaja competitiva. Dos grupos de tendencias sirven como punto de partida: una más dinámica y heterogénea demanda por parte de los consumidores, que se puede analizar en términos de demanda de calidad sensorial, de salud, de proceso y conveniencia; y por otro lado, un cambio en el papel de los distribuidores en la cadena alimentaria. Basándose en estas tendencias, se discute que la competencia, la cual puede incrementar el nivel de orientación al mercado de los productores, incrementa el peso del logro de la ventaja competitiva, distinguién-dose tres tipos de competencia como especialmente importantes: el entendimiento del consumidor, la gestión de las relaciones y el desarrollo de nuevos productos. El desarrollo de las competencias relacionadas con el mercado y destinadas a explorar las tendencias del comportamiento del consumidor y la distribución supondrá cambios en la forma de cooperación entre los miembros en la cadena, lo que favorecerá nuevas vías de añadir valor y también de encajar la heterogeneidad del consumidor.

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