Title: A framework for enhancing the fresh food retail supply chain performance: evidence from India

Authors: Rose Antony; Vivekanand B. Khanapuri; Karuna Jain

Addresses: Engineering Technology and Project Management (ETPM), National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai, 400087, India; School of Business Management, Operations and Decision Sciences, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Sciences (NMIMS), Mumbai, 400056, India ' Engineering Technology and Project Management (ETPM), National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai, 400087, India ' Engineering Technology and Project Management (ETPM), National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai, 400087, India

Abstract: The paper identifies the improvement initiatives for enhancing the fresh food retail supply chain performance w.r.t. time, cost, quality, customer service and profitability. To identify the critical initiatives, a thorough analysis of the literature followed by validation in two fresh food retail supply chains were carried using a case-based approach. Data were collected by conducting the semi-structured interviews among the senior executive selected using snowball sampling technique and responses were analysed using manual coding followed by validating through a text mining software. The software identified the probable relationships amongst the initiatives and with the performance measures. It also clustered the initiatives and identified their strength of relationships. Cross-case syntheses of two 'farm to fork' models were facilitated in developing the research propositions. The study presents a comprehensive framework of initiatives comprising of supplier and customer related initiatives along with a unique and prominent initiative in food, i.e., product and process initiatives.

Keywords: case study; fresh food retail supply chain; improvement initiatives; India; supply chain performance.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOM.2021.119804

International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 2021 Vol.40 No.3, pp.372 - 406

Received: 16 May 2018
Accepted: 04 Jul 2019
Published online: 21 Dec 2021 *

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