ABSTRACT
Background: The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has stressed why a change towards resilient, robust and sustainable supply chains is more imperative than ever. This is especially true for supply chains of perishable foods, where issues such as the bullwhip effect cause not only economic but also environmental damage.Objectives: The key objectives of this study are to gain a deeper insight into correlations regarding the causes of the bullwhip effect and to see how a sinusoidal stimulus is affecting the generation of food waste. Method: A simplified beef food chain was modelled in Tecnomatix Plant Simulation®. As the bullwhip effect consists of a simplified parameterisation of an excitation duration (period length) and its height (amplitude), these two variables were used to generate a sinusoidal stimulus. The simulation results were statistically verified and checked for commonalities and differences with the already established scientific knowledge. Results: While the expected higher sensitivity of the front links of the supply chain to waste generation can be confirmed, the results of a long stimulation period suggest that the negative effects of the bullwhip effect do not increase indefinitely. Conclusion: The analysis of the results has shown that previous theories can be transferred, but that the variation of the variables entails new insights for the interdependencies of the amplitude and period length and their influence on the output variable waste. Contribution: The study contributes to a more holistic understanding of the bullwhip effect and, in particular, its implications within a perishable food supply chain. © 2023. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.
ABSTRACT
Consumers increasingly prefer more direct and more transparent food distribution channels, such as short food supply chains (SFSCs). Nonetheless, SFSCs face a variety of issues and challenges in their creation and functioning, resulting in limited performance and sustainability, as well as in difficulties of upscaling. This study aims at improving our understanding of SFSCs’ issues/challenges through a systematic review of the most recent literature. We perform a full-text content analysis of 44 studies, looking for answers to the research questions: At which parts of the SFSCs do the issues/challenges occur? How can we characterize the issues/challenges in SFSCs? While doing so, we offer a holistic perspective on SFSCs. We make use of the SCOR model to define SFSC processes as well as to describe the nature of these issues/challenges. The findings of this study shed light on the nature and strategic-tactical-operational level of the issues/challenges in SFSCs and point out the limitations in the existing literature such as the SFSC processes that are neglected. The holistic approach we suggest and the insight on SFSCs’ issues/challenges we provide can help researchers offer effective solutions and strategies to support the overall development of SFSCs.
ABSTRACT
The short food supply chain (SFSC) is an emerging sustainable supply chain practice that facilitates a direct connection between farmers and consumers by eliminating several intermediaries of complex supply chains. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Agri-food supply chain has increased the need to establish more sustainable food supply chains practices for supporting local communities. This study aims to investigate critical success factors (CSFs) in SFSC impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. CSFs in SFSC was identified from a comprehensive literature review, followed by a selection of eight CSFs, based on inputs from experts in the agriculture sector for analysis. The influential and prominent CSFs in SFSC and their causal relationships are determined using Grey Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (Grey-DEMATEL) approach. Individualised and tailored service offered to consumers, organic production by promoting home garden concepts, and direct and ethical relationships between producers and consumers are the most influencing CSFs to implement SFSC impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2021 IEEE.