Ray Collins

From serendipity to sustainable competitive advantage: Insights from Houston's Farm and their journey of co-innovation

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the importance of a strategic approach to collaborative innovation and the use of a value chain research methodology for identifying opportunities for co‐innovation.Design/methodology/approach – Value chain analysis is used to map three flows in the Houston Farms value chain; material flow, information flow and relationships. Having diagnosed the current level of co‐innovation we then identify improvement projects and opportunities for co‐innovation to reduce cost and add value, for the benefit of the value chain as a whole.Findings – The application of the value chain analysis methodology to the Houston Farms value chain revealed the importance of strategy and robust processes in key areas for co‐innovation – R&D and new product development. It also revealed that small businesses can enjoy a degree of success as a result of comparative advantage in certain areas but that sustainable competitive advantage cannot occur by chance – identifying the pote...

Impact and status of HACCP in the Australian meat industry

Purpose – A number of food safety systems have been implemented in Australia but information regarding the motivators, constraints, costs and benefits of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) as a food safety programme, as well as novel verification methods in the meat industry, has been lacking.Design/methodology/approach – Semi‐structured reviews were used as part of an industry‐level study of 50 per cent of businesses.Findings – Results show that the benefits of food safety systems incorporating HACCP within the meat industry in Australia have been widespread and significant. In particular, Australian firms reported a reduction in rejects/rework/out of specification products, reduction in customer complaints, improved product hygiene, improved morale and an increase in overseas markets. However, this has been at the cost of refurbishment for small businesses, training and the exiting of firms that have not complied/been able to comply with the HACCP requirements.Research limitations/implic...

Consumer behaviour and fruit quality: supply chain management in an emerging industry

Supply chains in new and emerging agricultural industries typically lack information linking product quality with consumer behaviour. This case study of the emerging persimmon industry in Australia and New Zealand demonstrates how adopting a supply chain orientation can address this situation. Assessing and modelling consumer response to product quality provides information that demonstrates to supply chain stakeholders how better product quality management can improve the performance of the whole chain. Emerging fruit industries, therefore, have more incentive to adopt a supply chain orientation if they understand quality‐related factors that drive consumer satisfaction and repeat buying behaviour.

The influence of storage time and temperature on chilling injury in Fuyu and Suruga persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.) grown in subtropical Australia

Abstract Non-astringent persimmon production in Queensland, Australia is mainly of the industry standard cultivar Fuyu, but cultivar Suruga may have improved storage and export potential. To study quality, storage and shelf life attributes, samples of both cultivars were assessed before and after exposure to temperatures of 0, 5, 10 and 20 °C, followed by 7 days at 20 °C to simulate shelf life. Fuyu fruit were increasingly damaged by more than 7 days at 10 °C or below, with 5 ° being especially injurious. Suruga could withstand these temperatures for at least 42 days at 0 or 10 °C, but 5 °C did produce some chilling injury (CI). This disorder was associated with a loss of yellow colour (the b scale, blue to yellow) but no other physical or compositional characteristic was consistently associated with the incidence of chilling injury. Suruga was less prone to CI than Fuyu, and thus may have greater possibilities for export.

The 'Locus of Value': A hallmark of chains that learn

The concept of knowledge as a strategic asset of a firm underpins the idea that the “learning” in a learning organisation can be a source of competitive advantage. The principles of learning organisations can also be applied to integrated supply chains, where they demonstrate the same potential to improve competitive advantage. Product flows in chains are linear, but relationships in chains may exist in clusters or nodes that are non‐linear because they involve more than two chain participants. Within these relational nodes, firms have enhanced prospects of learning from one another, and in the process they can create more value than could otherwise be possible. When added value is created through joint learning, a “locus of value” exists. We propose that a locus of value is the hallmark of a learning chain. It improves competitiveness and is difficult to emulate by competitors.

Development of a compendium of local, wild-harvested species used in the informal economy trade, Cape Town, South Africa

Wild harvesting has taken place over millennia in Africa. However urbanization and cash economies have effectively altered harvesting from being cultural, traditional, and subsistence activities that are part of a rural norm, to being a subculture of commonly illicit activities located primarily within the urban, cash-based, informal economy. This paper focuses on Cape Town, South Africa where high levels of poverty and extensive population growth have led to a rapidly growing informal industry based on the cultural, subsistence, and entrepreneurial harvesting and consumption of products obtained from the local natural environment. Through a process of literature reviews, database analysis, and key informant interviews, a compendium of harvested species was developed, illustrating the breadth of illicit harvesting of products from nature reserves, public open space, and other commonage within the City. The compendium records 448 locally occurring species (198 animals and 250 plants) that are extracted for medicinal, energy, ornamental, sustenance, nursery, and other uses. The sustainability of harvesting is questionable; nearly 70% of all harvested flora and 100% of all collected fauna are either killed or reproductively harmed through the harvesting processes. Furthermore, for the 183 indigenous flora species currently recorded on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, 28% (51) hold assessments ranging from Declining through to Critically Endangered. With respect to the more poorly assessed fauna (46 spp.), approximately 24% (11) have Declining or Threatened status.

The pattern and control of reproductive development in non-astringent persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.): a review

Non-astringent persimmon is rapidly expanding as a new fruit crop in warm subtropical regions of the world. Most research and development of this fruit crop has occurred in Japan, where there is a considerable amount of published literature on its performance. Much of this information is not readily accessible to other countries and needs to be interpreted and modified for other climatic regions. This paper reviews reproductive events from floral initiation to the completion of fruit growth. The timing and significance of these events is described in relation to the phenological cycle. Method of improving flowering, reducing fruit drop and altering the fruit maturity period are discussed.

Value-based consumer segmentation: the key to sustainable agri-food chains

Purpose – The final consumer has the exclusive right to define what constitutes value in a product or service. Under increasing pressures of globalization and urbanization, a consumer-focused approach to performance improvement in supply chains can lead to more satisfied consumers and improved returns to growers and retailers. This paper aims to demonstrate that such an orientation, though lacking in agri-food supply chains in developing countries, can mitigate threats to food safety, consumer health and environmental quality. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through random survey intercepts (n=418) at different retail outlets for fresh vegetables in Nairobi, Kenya in 2010. Multi-step cluster analysis (Ward Method, K-means) was used to classify fresh vegetable consumers, in terms of their product, production and marketing process preferences. Findings – Four heterogeneous segments in terms of value preferences, behaviour and personal profiles (p<0.05) were derived. They were labelled Pres...

South Africa's new Cooperatives Act: A missed opportunity for small farmers and land reform beneficiaries

Abstract Agricultural cooperatives are often viewed as appropriate vehicles to facilitate vertical coordination with, or horizontal integration between, small farmers who would otherwise be excluded from value-adding opportunities and discerning markets. In South Africa, renewed interest in development-oriented cooperatives saw the introduction of a new Cooperatives Act in 2005, along with support measures dedicated to ‘emerging’ cooperatives. This paper contends that the architects of the new Act discounted important trends in international legislation that would have made development-oriented cooperatives more versatile and given their members better access to capital and expertise through equity partnerships with private agribusiness firms. It is concluded that the new Act should be amended to admit non-patron investors as members, and to allow for non-redeemable and hence appreciable and tradable shares. Such innovations are emerging internationally, usually with a cap on non-patron voting power.

Effects of temperature and pollination on growth, flowering and fruit set of the non-astringent persimmon cultivar 'Fuyu' under controlled temperatures

SummaryA controlled temperature room experiment evaluated the effects of four day/night tem-perature treatments on flowering, fruit set and growth of ‘Fuyu’, the most important non- astringent persimmon cultivar grown in Australia. Fruit set of hand-pollinated flowers at 17/12°C and 22/17°C was similar and averaged 53.6 and 54.9%, respectively. In contrast, fruit set of hand-pollinated flowers at 27/22°C and 32/27°C was significantly reduced by 58 and 77%, respectively. For the three higher temperature treatments, fruit set of non- pollinated flowers was very low (<4.0%) compared with fruit set at 17/12°C, which averaged 50.2%. The greater fruit set of non-pollinated flowers at 17/12°C may have been due to a combination of increased flower size and reduced vegatative growth under these conditions. Higher shoot starch concentrations at anthesis were recorded with decreasing temperature, presumably due to reduced growth (17/12°C, 3.1%; 22/17°C, 1.9%, 27/22°C, 0.85%, 32/27°C, 0.90).