Rachel Duffy

THE IMPACT OF SUPPLY CHAIN PARTNERSHIPS ON SUPPLIER PERFORMANCE.

In this paper, We present a framework of buyer‐supplier relationships used in an empirical study to investigate how the development of more collaborative relationships between UK retailers and fresh produce suppliers, affects the financial performance of suppliers. Relationships between key partnership characteristics and performance are described and empirically tested. In addition, multivariate analysis is used to identify the dimensions of buyer‐supplier relationships that make the greatest relative contribution to the explanation of the performance construct.

Measuring distributive and procedural justice: An exploratory investigation of the fairness of retailer‐supplier relationships in the UK food industry

A report on UK supermarkets published by the Competition Commission in October 2000 concluded that there was evidence that multiple food retailers were abusing their position of power and engaging in practices that adversely affected the competitiveness of suppliers. To address these adverse effects it was recommended that a code of practice be introduced to govern retailer‐supplier relationships. The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) is co‐ordinating a project that is designed to monitor the extent to which multiple retailers are complying with the principles set out in the code of practice. This paper presents the findings of exploratory research, conducted as part of this project, to investigate suppliers’ current perceptions of the fairness of their trading relationships with the multiple retailers.

Reconnection in the UK food chain: Bridging the communication gap between food producers and consumers

Purpose – This paper reports the findings of a research project that investigated the extent of the information gap that exists between the British agri‐food industry and consumers to help assist the industry in its efforts to re‐connect with consumers and the wider public.Design/methodology/approach – The first stage involved an information audit to examine the communication activities of the providers of information about food and farming, which was conducted using desk research and personal interviews. The second stage involved qualitative and quantitative primary research to examine the information needs and knowledge amongst consumers, one of the key target groups identified in the first stage of the project.Findings – The review of the communication activities of organisations in the agri‐food industry identified an extremely fragmented delivery to consumers and a distinct lack of resources to effectively communicate the information that exists and evaluate its impact on the attitudes, perceptions a...

Chapter 4 – Concepts of collaboration: supply chain management in a global food industry

Less than a decade ago, the days of the giant conglomerate seemed over; they were too big, too complacent and too inflexible. However, the US economy has grown fast since 1992 with many big organisations becoming flatter, less bureaucratic and hierarchical in structure. The big corporation of the 21st Century looks like being a loose alliance, a confederation of small entities, held together by knowledge and competencies, shared values and integrated missions. The edges of these amorphous organisations will become more fuzzy, but, their control, through patents and contractual agreements seems likely to grow. The knowledge economy requires ‘big science’ and only big corporations with big R&D budgets look likely to be able to afford it. Of course the human brain cannot continue to accommodate an exponential growth of knowledge and the 300 year old explosion of knowledge was flattening off by the 1960s. It is this diminishing returns to Research and Development that means the future belongs to the big corporation with deep pockets.

Justice in UK supermarket buyer‐supplier relationships: an empirical analysis

Purpose – To explore the nature and scope of good and bad practice in the relationships that UK supermarkets have with their suppliers of own‐label products in the main commodity sectors (meat, dairy, fresh produce).Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents the results of a postal survey of supermarket suppliers, which formed part of a wider study of corporate social responsibility in UK supermarket supply chains.Findings – The results demonstrate the heterogeneity in relationships between supermarkets and their suppliers of own‐label products in the main commodity sectors the extent to which retail and supply chain strategy is likely to influence the way in which supermarkets deal with suppliers. Best practice was most evident in the two supermarket supply chains where supply base rationalisation has virtually ceased and the adoption of lead suppliers and sole suppliers has been most evident in recent years.Research limitations/implications – Postal survey limited to suppliers in three commodity s...

Engaging suppliers in CRM: The role of justice in buyer–supplier relationships

Given the crucial role of suppliers in collaborative supply chains, it is surprising that little attention has been paid to the nature and management of supplier relationships in the implementation of a retailers Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy. To address this gap in the extant literature, the theory of organizational justice is used to explore the extent to which perceived fairness in buyer–supplier relationships supports or inhibits supplier engagement with the CRM process. The rationale is that suppliers who feel fairly treated by key retail customers are more likely to invest resources in the acquisition and use of data central to the retailers CRM strategy. By empirically testing a conceptual model linking downstream CRM to upstream SRM, the results provide evidence to indicate that customer data use is significantly influenced by perceptions of fairness, particularly with respect to the distribution of rewards, and the transparency of decision-making processes. As a key criticism of CRM centers upon the failure of organizations to exploit the full potential of customer data, the results highlight the usefulness of understanding the relational linkages between buyers and suppliers and the consequential behavior of suppliers in terms of engagement with customer data vital to the success of retailers’ CRM strategies.

Value perceptions of farm assurance in the red meat supply chain.

Purpose – Farm assurance has become a market qualifier for livestock producers supplying UK supermarkets. However UK producers perceive that food safety and welfare standards imposed on UK producers are not imposed to the same extent on livestock producers overseas, whose share of the UK market has grown steadily over the past decade. In light of these challenges this paper aims to examine the perceived role and value of farm assurance along the length of the red meat supply chain, in order to determine the potential for turning a supply chain cost into a supply chain benefit and increasing returns to UK producers.Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from the key supply chain stakeholders (primary producers, processors, retailers and consumers) in the red meat industry.Findings – The research indicates that the potential benefits of price premiums and preferential market access have not been fully captured. Findings indicate that this is due to a misalignment of t...

Effective partnerships for agri-food chains: the impact of supply-chain partnerships on supplier performance in the UK fresh-produce industry

This paper presents a framework of buyer–supplier relationships used in an empirical study to investigate how the development of more collaborative relationships between UK retailers and freshproduce suppliers affects the financial performance of suppliers in such relationships. Relationships between key partnership characteristics and performance are discussed and empirically tested. In addition, multivariate analysis is used to identify the dimensions of buyer–supplier relationships that make the greatest relative contribution to the explanation of the performance construct.

Exploring supermarket loyalty card analysis to identify who buys fairtrade

The aim of this paper is to show how supermarket loyalty card data from a panel of over 1.7 million shoppers can be analysed to provide insights to profile the fairtrade shopper in order to enhance making targeted marketing decisions. The paper demonstrates the huge marketing potential that loyalty-card-based shopper segmentation can bring to objectively describe who buys fairtrade products, compared to profiling shoppers through a claimed/reported behaviour data-set. A paired-samples t-test is used to test the degree of appeal of fairtrade tea, coffee, chocolate, drinking chocolates, banana and sugar categories in Tesco to life-stage and lifestyle shopper segments in terms of their retail sales values over 104 weeks. The results show that analysing loyalty cards based on actual behaviour provides a more detailed picture of how specific fairtrade food product categories appeal to the various life-stage and lifestyle shopper segments.