Performance measurement in agri‐food supply chains: a case study

Abstract

PurposeMeasurement of the performance of entire supply chains is an important issue because it allows for “tracking and tracing” of efficacy and efficiency failures and leads to more informed decision making with regard to chain design. However, the choice of appropriate supply chain performance indicators is rather complicated due to the presence of multiple inputs and multiple outputs in the system. Therefore, this paper aims to evaluate the usefulness of a novel conceptual model for supply chain performance measurement in an agri‐food supply chain.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual model for integrated supply chain performance measurement is evaluated in a Dutch‐German tomato supply chain by means of a case study approach.FindingsThe proposed conceptual framework is found to be useful for measuring performance of the tomato supply chain. From the case study it is concluded that four main categories of performance measures (i.e. efficiency, flexibility, responsiveness, and food quality) are identified as key performance components of the tomato supply chain performance measurement system.Originality/valueThis research evaluates a novel concept for measuring the performance of agri‐food supply chains. This concept is the first step in developing an integrated performance measurement system that contains financial as well as non‐financial indicators combined with the specific characteristics of agri‐food supply chains. Based on a case study in the tomato supply chain, this concept is found to have potential.

Examining sustainability performance in the supply chain: The case of the Greek dairy sector

“…Responsiveness (together with cost) has been observed to be a dominant SCP indicator (Persson & Olhager 2002), highly relevant in the food SC sector as evidenced in the associated literature (Molnar & Gellynk 2009;Trienekens, et al 2008;Aramyan, et al 2007). …”

“…Dynamism and mobility, that is to say flexibility in delivering to extra points of sale, and in extra volume orders, has been noted as an important food chain sustainability factor, particularly for smaller actors (Ilbery & Maye 2005). Process flexibility can directly support sustainability management activities (Angell & Klassen 1999) as the ability to change the output levels of goods produced (Aramyan, et al 2007) enables the chain members to maintain competitiveness and sustainable practices (Sarkis 2001) and helps them to minimise wastage. Flexibility, supported by efficient logistics practices, is essential in the dairy industry to help the SCs flow (Sarkis 2001).…”

“…Product quality is also an important and widely used criterion for measuring SCP (Molnar & Gellynk 2009;Trienekens, et al 2008;Aramyan, et al 2007) and it becomes more important in food SCs.…”

“…This approach is supported by the literature which suggests that SCP measurement should include as many chain members as possible (Lai, et al 2002) and should assess the performance of the SC as a whole as well as the performance of each organization separately (Van der Vorst 2006;Gunasekaran, et al 2004). The literature also suggests that chain members should have a common set of performance indicators that will help them to compare their performance within the chain and to gauge the end performance of the chain (Aramyan, et al 2007). …”

Sistema de rastreabilidade para granéis sólidos agrícolas: o caso do açúcar.

“…Segundo Aramyan et al (2007) produto; as incertezas relacionadas tanto à produção quanto à demanda; a divisão da CS em quatro principais funções: produção, colheita, armazenamento e distribuição; e os benefícios da elaboração de modelos que considerem a CS como um todo, e não apenas a otimização de um determinado elo ou função. Comba et al (2013) descrevem o processamento ocorrido na indústria de alimentos da seguinte forma: diferentes lotes de matéria-prima são combinados e passam por processos físico-químicos e/ou microbiológicos.…”