Instant Insights: Optimising agri-food supply chains
About this ebook
The first chapter provides an overview of agri-food supply chains and explores the unique characteristics which differentiate them from other manufacturing supply chains. The chapter also provides a framework for designing future agri-food supply chains.
The second chapter reviews recent advances in agri-food traceability systems and technologies, as well as barriers to their implementation. The chapter also explores possible improvement pathways and policy interventions to promote deployment of advanced food traceability systems.
The third chapter considers food governance and how it frames crisis management and product recalls in food supply chains. The chapter also addresses the use of Blockchain systems within public-private partnerships for food governance.
The fourth chapter highlights the causes of food losses and waste (FLW) and outlines strategies to prevent/reduce FLW along the supply chain, including investments, good practices, behavioural changes and coordination within the food chain.
The final chapter explores the role of decision support systems in improving data management in agri-food supply chains. The chapter also provides an overview of organisational models used in data communication along the supply chain.
About the author
Professor Sander de Leeuw is Chair in Operations Research and Logistics at Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands. He is also Adjunct Professor of Supply Chain Management at Nottingham Trent University, UK. Professor de Leeuw is European Editor for the Journal of Business Logistics and has over 20 years of experience, including management consultancy for companies such as KPMG. He is internationally known for his research on online retail logistics as well as his work with NGOs on humanitarian aid supply chains.
Dr Rodrigo Romero Silva is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Operations Research and Logistics at Wageningen University and Research. He is also Assistant Professor in Industrial Engineering at Universidad Panamericana, Mexico. Dr Romero Silva formerly conducted research in operations analytics at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Amongst other responsibilities, he is on the Scientific Committee EUROSIM 2023. His expertise is in simulating resource use in food supply chains and other production systems.
Dr Louise Manning is Professor of Sustainable Agri-food Systems at the Lincoln Institute for Agri-food Technology at the University of Lincoln, UK. With over 30 years of experience in both industry and research, and over 125 peer-reviewed publications, Professor Manning is internationally-renowned for both her research and consultancy work on food safety and quality, agri-food systems, food integrity and crime. She is an Associate Editor for the British Food Journal and is a member of the Board of Trustees for Rothamsted Research. Professor Manning has previously edited Developing smart agri-food supply chains: Using technology to improve safety and quality, published by Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing in 2021.
