Resilience in food processing supply chain networks: empirical evidence from the Indian dairy operations

Abstract

PurposeThis paper identifies sources of disruptions that impede resilience in the dairy supply chain in an emerging economy context.Design/methodology/approachA case study approach is used. The unit of analysis is the Indian dairy supply chain (IDSC). Data were collected from nine major dairy cooperatives and five major private firms operating across the Indian states. A total of 28 face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with two individuals from each case dairy organisation during January 2016 to December 2017.FindingsDisruption sources in the IDSC are both external and internal and impact the quality of products and the distribution network. Compared to developed economies, in an emerging economy context such as India, the number of disruptions is very high. These disruptions negatively impact resilience and affect efficiency, flexibility, responsiveness and product quality.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings stress the importance of integration across upstream and downstream processes in the IDSC. However, contextual factors should also be considered when designing the supply chain configuration. Small supply sources may be conceptualised as distributed sources that can be consolidated on the move using logistics and IT-enabled solutions. Moreover, the underlying processes of the dairy supply chain need to adapt to the external environment, and internal causes of disruptions should be eliminated through process redesign.Practical implicationsThe findings highlight that the efficient operation of the IDSC is challenged by disruptions, the fragmentation of various stages and poor support infrastructure. The findings may be useful in managing supply networks which have linkages in emerging economies.Social implicationsThe upstream stage of the IDSC involves many small- and medium-sized unorganised producers. The overall inefficiency and poor value generation across the entire IDSC constrain the livelihood and interests of these unorganised producers. Therefore, supply chain design needs to be aligned with social context.Originality/valueThe central contribution of this article is to present sources of disruptions that impact dairy supply chain performance in an emerging economy context. Areas requiring process improvement are also highlighted.

Financial constraints and nonlinearity of farm size growth

“…Earlier agricultural economics and finance-related work investigated nonlinear associations between agricultural productivity, access to credit from formal and informal sources and farm size (Feder, 1985;Akudugu, 2016), as well as the effect of input credit on smallholder farmers' output and income. Farm size and its growth can be driven or mitigated by various factors related to farms (Bakucs et al, 2013;Akimowicz et al, 2013;Fert} o, 2020, 2021a, b), resilience in food processing supply chain networks and Financial constraints and farm size growth food supply value chain characteristics (Jose and Shanmugam, 2020;Sharma et al, 2020;Prakash, 2022). Farm size growth can require investment that is related to farm financial leverage and has implications for farm production performance.…”

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“…With the world's growing complexity and competition, supply chain integration (SCI) has become critical to maintaining a competitive advantage (Prakash, 2022; Singh et al ., 2022). SCI has grown as a point of importance to businesses in the contemporary global marketplace, describing the coordination and cooperation between various supply chain members, from suppliers to the final consumers (Piprani et al ., 2020).…”