Search results for "supply chain."

A multi objective approach to short food supply chain management

2017

Conventional supply chains, involving several stages and various intermediaries, are affected by some well- known forms of inefficiencies and drawbacks. Besides the increase of market price consequent to multiple marginalization, such supply chains generally suffer of significant post-harvest losses and product waste. In this context, short food supply chains have been recently proposed as different systems capable of delivering higher quality products while promoting sustainability and efficiency. Across the EU, a growing number of consumers choose to buy food products on local farmers' markets, associating local products with higher quality standards (freshness, nutritional value), health…

Environmental Benefits and Economical Sustainability of Urban Wastewater Reuse for Irrigation—A Cost-Benefit Analysis of an Existing Reuse Project in…

2020

Besides benefits associated to increased water availability for irrigation, reuse projects of urban water can also provide positive environmental impacts, as they contribute to improve water quality of the receiving bodies by diverting wastewater from their outlet. This represents a typical win-win situation where significant synergies can be achieved between urban and agricultural sector, and the environment. These favorable conditions, however, do not necessarily imply that water reuse is either feasible from an economic perspective nor that the underlying supply chain is going to be triggered, if certain conditions are not met. Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) is considered a sound, theoretic…

Innovations in Logistics and Supply Chains in the Light of the Global Patenting Activity

2017

Innovative activity in the sphere of logistics and supply chains carried out by many entities is reflected in the registered patents and in the commercialization of the results of basic and applied research. Observation of these activities can reveal the direction of further evolution of logistics and supply chain transformation. Business patents portfolios or R&D activities, including those supported by public funds reveal what the main actors in the innovation market see as technological gaps in the sphere of logistics and supply chain. It also unveils their patented (protected in the form of patent) solutions that are currently available – initially as high-capacity solutions and as a ma…

Consumers’ Sustainability Perceptions of the Supply Chain of Locally Produced Food

2010

This article is based on a qualitative focus group study regarding consumer perceptions about the sustainability of locally produced food supply chains. Sustainability perceptions were analyzed through thematic content analysis, where the most important economic, environmental and social themes of the supply chain were emphasized. According to the research findings, the socio-cultural aspects encompassing locally produced food form the most important sustainability dimension for consumers. Although the sample size is small, consisting of 19 consumers and limited to Central Finland, the findings suggest that the sustainability of local food should be promoted via socio-cultural arguments alo…

Satisfaction and loyalty in B2B relationships in the freight forwarding industry: adding perceived value and service quality into equation

2018

This paper focuses on analysing the determinants of satisfaction (service quality, perceived value), as well as its possible influence on customer loyalty of freight forwarders to freight transport service providers (by road/maritime/air) in Spain. To this end, we propose a causal model tested using information from 205 freight forwarders collected through personal interviews. The model was estimated using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) approach. Moreover, the existence of differences in the perceptions on the analysed variables between transport modes is tested through ANOVA. Results show that service quality has an influence on customer satisfaction, both directly, as well as through per…

Performance Evaluation for a Sustainable Supply Chain Management System in the Automotive Industry Using Artificial Intelligence

2020

Increasing the sustainability of a system can be achieved by evaluating the system, identifying the issues and their root cause and solving them. Performance evaluation translates into key performance indicators (KPIs) with a high impact on increasing overall efficacy and efficiency. As the pool of KPIs has increased over time in the context of evaluating the supply chain management (SCM) system&rsquo

Dyadic relations between the main contractor and its suppliers : a case study to clarify critical factors in Metso Paper Ltd

2015

L’organisation des circuits courts par les intermédiaires.

2016

The dissertation deals with the institutionalisation of proximity in agri-food markets and the place occupied in this process by non-economic intermediaries (employees of associations, researchers, members of staff from the ministry of Agriculture, advisers of the chambers of agriculture). By varying the scales of investigation, from the national to the departmental level, and by articulating qualitative and quantitative methods, this work points out the paradox that constitute the development of those intermediary agents, as proximity is progressively defined and objectified as a virtuous component of the merchant relationship. On the basis of a sociology of merchant institutions attentive…

Economic Sustainability of Italian Greenhouse Cherry Tomato

2014

Greenhouse tomato cultivation plays an important role in Sicily, being the primary production area in Italy, due to its favorable pedo-climatic conditions that permit extra-seasonal productions. In Sicily, more than half of greenhouse tomato production is derived from the Province of Ragusa on the southeastern coast, where especially cherry tomato typologies are cultivated. Over the last decade, the Ragusa Province has registered a decrease both in terms of greenhouse tomato area and harvested production due to several structural problems that would require restructuring of the tomato supply chain. Thus, since recognition of real costs and profitability of tomato growing is a vital issue, b…

Multilevel Governance for Climate Change Adaptation in Food Supply Chains

2019

The vulnerability of food supply chains to climate change is higher compared to other industries due to its dependency on climatic conditions, temperature and water supply. As a robust response to the vulnerability of food supply chains, it is essential to find ways of linking the concepts of sustainable development, climate change adaptation and risk governance into one paradigm. The risk governance of food supply chains is conducted by and across both private and public spheres. Hence, in this chapter, we introduce a dual system of governance to match the objectives of climate change adaptation, and discuss the multiplicity and potential integration of both corporate-led private governanc…