State of the Art 247methodology, the results of the project are presented. Finally, some con-
clusions and needs for future research are drawn.
State of the Art
To succeed in today’s competitive agri-food marketplace, two options
are available (Grunert, 1996) (Figure 13.1):
- organize production more efficiently
- meet consumer requirements
The organization of more efficient production relates not only to the
individual company, but involves all links in the market chain from the
supplier of raw materials to the farmer and to the final consumer. It con-
cerns a strategy that focuses on cost saving. In European literature this
concept is called Supply Chain Management (SCM). The SCM concept
is of particular interest for logistic control (Evans et al., 1993; Hander-
sson, 1995; Harland, 1995). Supply Chain Management is defined as a
concern with the linkages in the chain, from primary producer to final
consumer, with the incentive of reducing the transaction costs incurred
(S-Bridge, 1996; Wilson, 1996). SCM seeks to break down barriers be-
tween each of the units so as to achieve higher levels of service and sub-
FIGURE 13.1Competitive advantage and the agri-food chain.