The agribusiness supply chain includes a number of processes such as supply management, production management, and demand management to customers through a competitive distribution channel. Each step of the way can be plagued with issues such as diversity of production and demand, bulkiness of produce, perishability, and seasonality. Highlighting t

The agribusiness supply chain includes a number of processes such as supply management, production management, and demand management to customers through a competitive distribution channel. Each step of the way can be plagued with issues such as diversity of production and demand, bulkiness of produce, perishability, and seasonality. Highlighting the complexity and importance of supply chain management within businesses handling agricultural products, Agribusiness Supply Chain Management addresses issues that help readers systematically approach decision making in the agribusiness sector. The book covers issues across various spectrums of business and government’s role in the agribusiness supply chain domain. It focuses on actors in supply chains, intrinsic issues that would impact the actors and then the support systems that are essential to make the supply chain achieve its effectiveness. The authors’ clear, well-structured treatment provides a logical approach to key activities of agribusiness supply chain management. They provide numerous case studies that span a wide range of issues and industries that readers can use to sharpen managerial decision making skills. In today’s world, companies compete on supply chains. With the many factors that can cause delays in deliverability, a well-designed supply chain is a must. Those who have the capability to establish a distinctive supply chain and create it as a strategic asset are leaders in their business; and in fact emerge as the best in class across industries and markets. This book helps readers develop best practices for making key marketing decisions and designing efficient and effective supply chains that meet global challenges.

This book focuses on three essential elements of agricultural supply chains: Planting and Growing, Processing and Selling, and Government Interventions. For decades, most agricultural economists applied macro-economic theory in decisions pertaining to the optimization of food production and distribution. However, few researchers used micro-economic theory to examine how individual farmers respond to market information, incentive pricing mechanisms and different market structures in the trade of agricultural goods. Examining challenges in agricultural supply chain operations through the lens of micro-economic theory is imperative because it can enable policymakers and social enterprises to develop and design market information provision policy, incentive contracts and market structures for improving farmer and consumer welfare. In each chapter, contributing authors motivate their research questions by providing the context and articulating the importance of their questions. They present their analysis to examine the respective research questions and explain their results. At the end of each chapter, they provide a short list of future research questions.

The development of a sustainable agricultural system is a critical concern for any nation in modern society. By implementing proper supply chain processes, available natural resources and food can be better utilized. Agri-Food Supply Chain Management: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice is a compendium of emerging perspectives on the development of an effective agricultural value chain and the optimization of supply chain management within the agriculture and food sectors. Highlighting theoretical frameworks, real-world applications, and future outlooks, this book is a primary reference source for professionals, students, practitioners, and managers actively involved in agricultural development.

Supply Chain is the core business process in an organization that create and deliver a product or service, from concept through development and manufacturing or conversion, and into a market for consumption. Supply chain objectives include cost reduction, value addition and reducing response time in profit-based organisations in contrast to the non-profit based where issues like quality of life, equal opportunity, literacy rate, etc. are the priority area. In the international market, it helps business organisations to provide customer value, coordination, information sharing to stakeholders and societal value in the educational supply chain with feasible relationships internally as well as externally. Better outsourcing, enhanced profits, customer satisfaction, quality outcomes, competitive pressure, e-commerce application, globalisation, efficient operation and increasing complicity factors require supply chain management. Transparency is recognised as the key principle of public procurement policy but governments do not make public procurement data public. Public procurement laws may say what information to publish but not how to publish it. Governments may have new procurement laws and e-procurement systems, but they do not have accessible public procurement data and that is why they do not make it public. E-procurement systems are difficult to use and require a lot of user training. E-procurement reforms are frequently unsuccessful and challenging. Role of Information Technology in Supply Chain Management It contributes to restructuring the entire distribution set up to reduce inventory costs and achieve higher service levels. It reduces lead time, monitors transactions and stock levels. It helps to maintain a better stockholder relationship and gain a competitive advantage and market sustainability. The flow of products, information between the chain actors and coordinating activities to manage the supply chain is ensured by IT.

An interdisciplinary framework for managing sustainable agrifood supply chains Supply Chain Management for Sustainable Food Networks provides an up-to-date and interdisciplinary framework for designing and operating sustainable supply chains for agri-food products. Focus is given to decision-making procedures and methodologies enabling policy-makers, managers and practitioners to design and manage effectively sustainable agrifood supply chain networks. Authored by high profile researchers with global expertise in designing and operating sustainable supply chains in the agri-food industry, this book: Features the entire hierarchical decision-making process for managing sustainable agrifood supply chains. Covers knowledge-based farming, management of agricultural wastes, sustainability, green supply chain network design, safety, security and traceability, IT in agrifood supply chains, carbon footprint management, quality management, risk management and policy- making. Explores green supply chain management, sustainable knowledge-based farming, corporate social responsibility, environmental management and emerging trends in agri-food retail supply chain operations. Examines sustainable practices that are unique for agriculture as well as practices that already have been implemented in other industrial sectors such as green logistics and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Supply Chain Management for Sustainable Food Networks provides a useful resource for researchers, practitioners, policy-makers, regulators and C-level executives that deal with strategic decision-making. Post-graduate students in the field of agriculture sciences, engineering, operations management, logistics and supply chain management will also benefit from this book.

This book examines supply and value chains in African agriculture, providing both a thorough analysis of existing practices and practical business models for future development. It examines why Africa is a net importer of food, despite its vast agricultural potential, using the tomato value chain in Ghana as a case study. The book explores commodity value chain structures; commodity clusters, arenas, linkages and business models; systematic constraints within commodity value chains; and value chain profiling in practice among others. It would benefit policy makers, policy implementers, development practitioners, agri-entrepreneurs, researchers and all those who have interests in the transformation of African agriculture. It will also be an excellent reference material for students of agriculture management, agribusiness, agricultural economics, and rural development.