Intelligent Agrifood Chains and Networks

Michael A. Bourlakis, Ilias P. Vlachos, Vasileios Zeimpekis, Michael A. Bourlakis, Ilias P. Vlachos, Vasileios Zeimpekis

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9781405182997
• eBook ISBN: 9781444339888
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Food Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Food has a fundamental position in society, ensuring health, happiness and political stability. Consequently, the management of food chains and networks is one of the most important aspects of the modern food industry. Yet food is difficult to handle along long supply chains, with a limited window for storage and handling time, and the risk of spoiling if incorrectly handled or processed. These issues can lead to logistical problems that can severely affect product quality and freshness.

Intelligent Agrifood Chains and Networks offers a timely discussion of the current state of food logistics, and indicates the major ICT problems that can occur during production, warehousing, transportation and retailing. Emphasis is given to new technologies and intelligent systems that are able to process time-dependent information, handle emergencies, and support logistics operations in food management. In particular, the authors show how telematics and RFID can be implemented in the supply chain. The book also includes real-life case studies, in which actual food logistics problems and their solutions are presented, demonstrating how systemic and logistics approaches may be combined.

The book is directed at academics, researchers, and students seeking the necessary background in terms of the interplay between the food supply chain and ICT. Its comprehensive review of current issues in the food supply chain will be of interest to managers and technicians working in the food industry, while its technological focus will be invaluable to food scientists and technologists working in research and industry environments.

1 Introduction

Michael Bourlakis, Ilias Vlachos and Vasileios Zeimpekis

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Food has a fundamental position and enjoys a central importance in our society as it ensures health, happiness and political stability. Consequently, the management of food chains and networks is one of the most important aspects of the modern food industry.

Typically in a food chain, the raw products are produced in one part of the world, are pre-processed, transported, refined, processed and repacked by a long chain of food and transport companies, and are finally distributed to the end customer in another country or continent. Food is difficult to handle along long supply chains, however, because it represents limited resources of biological raw material, has limited storage and handling time after entering the supply chain, and spoils easily if incorrectly handled or processed. These issues can lead to various logistic problems in modern food supply chains that can severely affect product quality and freshness (Bourlakis and Weightman, 2004).

Neverthelesss, the end consumer expects to purchase high-quality food for reasonable prices, and the modern food industry aims to meet these expectations. Consumers are increasingly demanding new information and greater detail regarding the growing and processing of food products. Conventional supply chains are having a difficult time adjusting to these new demands for information. As a result, producers continue to grow those products they are familiar with rather than the products consumers want.

In addition, the food industry is generally characterised by a fairly stable demand and is relatively predictable: with the exception of seasonal products, if food demand forecasts are precise enough, the supply chain can be organised to achieve maximum efficiency levels. Moreover, profit margins in this sector are often so low that this kind of optimisation is almost a necessity.

Today, most countries have put much emphasis on food safety and other quality attributes. This has resulted from food scares and the inability of some domestic regulatory systems to prevent contaminated products from reaching store shelves. Indeed the modern food industry is quite complex and problems in the logistics management of food, for example in storage and shipping, may result in serious consequences for consumers.

In the next few pages the key elements of the theme of this book, i.e. supply chain and intelligent (and information) technologies, will be defined and analysed. Specifically, supply chain management (SCM) can be seen as the management of relations to and from suppliers in order to provide better value to the customer at an acceptable cost. Christopher (1999, p. 29) stresses that SCM is ‘based upon the idea of partnership in the marketing channel and a high degree of linkage between entities in that channel’.

A significant part of SCM consists of logistics management and a definition of logistics is provided by Christopher (2005) as:

The process of strategically managing the procurement, movement and storage of materials, parts and finished inventory (and related information flows) through the organisation and its marketing channels in such a way that current and future profitability are maximised through cost-effective fulfilment of orders.

In the supply chain, products and services flow from suppliers through production, distribution and retail to the end customer. On the other hand, financial information and purchasing data move in the opposite direction (i.e. from consumers). The optimal integration of the product, information and financial flows is the essence of SCM. Furthermore, access to the best supplies, more efficient distribution and higher levels of customer service are sources of differentiation and competitive advantage (see, for example, Bourlakis and Bourlakis, 2005; 2006). Recurring problems in supply chains relate to stock-outs due to longer-than-forecast lead times or to excess stock resulting from over-optimistic forecasts (Zinn and Liu, 2001). The peculiarity of the food industry is the perishable nature of the core product. The latter requires specific handling times and conditions, as well as the need to monitor the origin of the product and the substances that go into it along the supply chain. The positive role that information and communication technology (ICT) can play in effectively tracking the information flows becomes evident in this case. Numerous definitions have been provided for ICT in general, but a definition linking ICT to logistics and supply chain management has been given by Fitzgerald and Willcocks (1994). They note that ICT is the supply of information-based technologies while logistics information systems are organisational applications, more or less information technology based, designed to deliver the logistics and supply chain information needs of an organisation and the defined stakeholders.

New and more sophisticated technologies are increasing the capacity to develop and introduce new processes and new products with distinct and differentiable traits. More specifically, emerging technologies, such as telematics and radio frequency identification (RFID), are very promising and can improve the processes of supply chain execution in the food industry by supporting a number of real-time applications such as product monitoring and control as well as support track and trace services (for a generic discussion for these issues, see, for example, Giannopoulos, 1996; Finkenzeller, 2003).

RFID comprises a reader/scanner/interrogator and a transponder that can read or write data content using a specified radio frequency (see, for example, Spekman and Sweeney, 2006). At a simple level, RFID involves tags that emit radio signals and devices called readers that pick up the signal. These wireless systems allow for non-contact reading and are effective in manufacturing and other environments. RFID has established itself in a wide range of markets, including livestock identification and automated vehicle identification systems because of its ability to track moving objects. It is a fundamental element of the EPCglobal Network.

Telematics is the convergence of computing and communications technologies using telephone or radio to link computers for the exchange of messages. This wireless communications system is designed for the collection and dissemination of information, and particularly refers to vehicle-based electronic systems, vehicle tracking and positioning, and online vehicle navigation and information systems. The basic premise of telematics is obvious: by giving access to any form of knowledge anywhere, it speeds up the diffusion of information, saves time, increases collaboration between individuals and groups, and improves the quality of decisions (see, for example, Goel, 2007).

By combining RFID technology and telematics, a series of real-time services can be offered, such as traceability and fleet/product management and control. Traceability and control of food items along the food supply chain makes it possible to gather information about the global handling history of items. This knowledge improves stable high-quality supplies and quality management, makes product recall easier, helps in reducing production, transport and storage times, improves delivery-on-demand and adds information value to food products for consumer declarations.

1.2 SCOPE AND STRUCTURE OF THIS BOOK

This edited book aims to investigate the field of emerging technologies in managing agrifood chains and networks from a number of perspectives. The main issues that will be tackled are as follows:

• Current status: Chapters 2–4 present the current state in food logistics and indicate the major problems that are faced during production, warehousing, transportation and retailing in connection with ICT.
• New technologies and future trends: Emphasis is given to new technologies and intelligent systems that are able to process time-dependent information, handle dynamic incidents (e.g. the increase of temperature in a storage area) in real-time and support logistics operations in food logistics management. These technologies include telematics (e.g. real-time fleet and product management) as well as RFID, which can be implemented in the execution part of the supply chain, including warehousing, transportation and retailing. These issues are covered in Chapters 5–9.
• New technologies in action: The book also presents real-life case studies in Chapters 10–16 that describe the solution to an actual food logistics problem that combines systemic and logistics approaches. These case studies show how RFID technologies and telematics have been implemented in production, warehousing, transportation and retailing in order to address real-life problems.

This approach means that there are a few introductory, and to some extent theoretical, chapters (Chapters 2–4) that will familiarise the reader with the scope of the book. From these chapters academics, researchers, students and other interested readers will gain the necessary background in terms of the interplay and interrelationships between the food supply chain and ICT. Building on that background, the new technologies are emphasised in Chapters 5–9 to increase the reader’s knowledge in that area. Lastly, Chapters 10–16 cover the practical and applied dimensions of the issues examined in the previous chapters, and case studies are illustrated. These case studies involve the use of intelligent information technologies by major food chain members, such as leading national and global food manufacturers and retailers (e.g. Arla, Alpha Beta Vassilopoulos/Delhaize Group, Nikas, etc.).

On a chapter by chapter basis the book is organised as follows.

Chapter 2 is written by Fintan Clear and presents the role of ICT in the food and drink manufacturing sector. It presents the structure of the sector, followed by an overview of food legislation, consumer trends and traceability. The way in which ICT supports manufacturing processes is examined and this is followed by an analysis of how ICT supports supply chain processes from the perspective of food manufacturers. The chapter provides some ICT adoption data and critiques of ICT implementation.

In Chapter 3, Michael Bourlakis discusses the issue of retail technologies in the food supply chain. More specifically, this chapter aims to introduce the reader to the food retail logistics function and its evolution over the past few decades, examining its key elements, such as composite distribution, outsourcing and warehousing. The major technologies used in the food retail logistics function are also analysed, including electronic point of sale and electronic data interchange.

Chapter 4 is written by Nikolaos Stragas and Vasileios Zeimpekis. It focuses on the analysis of the basic principles for effective warehousing and distribution of perishable goods in urban environments. More specifically, it presents the current status of warehousing and distribution in the cold chain, and describes a series of advanced technologies such as RFID, smart labels, data loggers and fleet management systems. It also proposes some future trends in the area of technology.

In Chapter 5 Spyros Fountas, Thomas Bartzanas and Dionysis Bochtis describe the advanced technologies and methods in the production stage in agriculture. They show how these can provide an efficient integrated in-field production system in terms of vital parameters such as product quality, resource usage, economic feasibility and environmental impact. It covers precision agriculture, field robotics, RFID technology, automated data recording and fleet management.

Chapter 6 is written by Charalambos Marentakis and it analyses the use of telematics in the efficient transport distribution of agrifood products. It gives a brief overview of the technological prerequisites and components of telematics systems and applications, and deals with the application of telematics in freight business operations. The chapter also describes the benefits that a company may gain by investing in information-gathering systems and shows how telematics can support the distribution of agrifood products.

Chapter 7 focuses on RFID technology and is written by Louis A. Lefebvre, Linda Castro and Élisabeth Lefebvre. The chapter starts with a review of RFID technology, including a brief description of RFID system components and a discussion of some barriers to its adoption. It then investigates the potential of RFID at all levels of the food supply chain. The chapter includes an analysis of the potential benefits of this technology for different core business processes in the food supply chain, namely traceability processes, quality control processes, warehouse and distribution processes, asset management processes and point-of-sale management processes.

In Chapter 8 Ilias Vlachos presents the results of his research in food quality and safety. The chapter reviews the relevant literature in food supply chain management and its effect on food safety. It then describes the method used to collect empirical evidence from the Greek food sector, presenting the analysis of the data and its interpretation. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the author’s research results and future research directions.

In Chapter 9 Ulla Lehtinen discusses the issues of traceability in the agrifood sector. The chapter underlines the importance of food safety and food quality, which has led to the development of traceability systems. The author provides information about the characteristics of traceability in the agrifood sector and describes the traceability standard EN ISO 22000:2005. The chapter also describes tracing and tracking technologies such as barcodes, microcircuit cards and voice recognition systems.

In Chapter 10 Michael Bourlakis and Ilias Vlachos review the e-business applications in the food sector with an emphasis on the wine sector. Evidence from a large quantitative survey conducted by e-Business Watch is used to develop a taxonomy of e-business applications. Precision vine-growing with satellite imagery is discussed in depth as a exemplary study of the practical achievements of e-business applications. Wine companies can gain great benefits throughout the supply chain from satellite imagery, but there is a matter of excessive costs for small companies. Wine cooperatives can better afford such a cost, as shown in the presented case of ICV.

In Chapter 11 Ilias Vlachos and Panayiotis Chondros discuss e-business evaluation and entrepreneurship in the Greek agri-food sector. The authors use a two-step cluster analysis to investigate and identify business groups in Greece with common attitudes towards digital penetration. They highlight the presence of significant groups with common digital attitudes towards e-business adoption.

In Chapter 12 Aristides Matopoulos presents the importance of ICTs in retail warehouse operations. The chapter initially overviews the characteristics of warehousing operations and then the order-picking process is analysed along with the most important methods currently employed, with the emphasis on voice-picking. A case study of a major international food retailer (Alpha Beta Vassilopoulos, which is part of the Belgian retail group Delhaize) is provided. The case study emphasises the way the warehouse for fruit and vegetables operates and, drawing from a real company project, presents insights from the implementation of radio-frequency picking and voice-picking technology.

In Chapter 13 Angeliki Karagiannaki and Katerina Pramatari describe work (in the form of a case study) undertaken for a company that deals with frozen foods. The work involves the requirement analysis, development and pilot implementation of a RFID-enabled traceability system. Based on the experience gained, several considerations are presented by the authors that could provide valuable feedback to other organisations interested in moving to a RFID-enabled traceability scheme.

Intelligent agrifood chains and networks in Japan are examined in Chapter 14 by Mihály Vörös and Masahiko Gemma. The chapter analyses the general concepts and roles of the local food systems towards the improvement of quality of life, and includes a section on the development of local food systems in Japan. Three cases of local food systems in Japan are analysed in connection to ICT: Budoubatake Farmers Market, Rokko Blessing Farmers Market and Michinoeki Farmers Market.

Chapter 15 is written by Vasileios Zeimpekis and deals with perishable distribution operations in an urban environment. The chapter describes a real-time fleet management system that continuously monitors the execution of the distribution plan, detects significant deviations that require rerouting, solves the related optimisation routing problem and transmits the revised plan to the vehicle, all in real time. The system has been tested in a leading Greek food manufacturing company (NIKAS), where each vehicle distributes a prespecified set of orders along a preplanned route.

In Chapter 16 Daniel Hellström and Henrik Pålsson analyse the value of visibility/traceability enabled by RFID technology in a diary distribution network. This real-life case study provides an in-depth description of a core problem, the RFID solution to the problem, the implementation process and challenges, a cost and benefit analysis with ROI calculations and a sensitivity analy...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Halftitle page
• Title page
• Copyright
• Foreword
• Contributors
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Food and Drink Manufacturing and the Role of ICT
• Chapter 3: Retail Technologies in the Agrifood Chain
• Chapter 4: Basic Principles for Effective Warehousing and Distribution of Perishable Goods in the Urban Environment: Current Status, Advanced Technologies and Future Trends
• Chapter 5: Emerging Footprint Technologies in Agriculture, from Field to Farm Gate
• Chapter 6: Telematics for Efficient Transportation and Distribution of Agrifood Products
• Chapter 7: RFID: An Emerging Paradigm for the Agrifood Supply Chain
• Chapter 8: Food Quality and Safety
• Chapter 9: Traceability in Agrifood Chains
• Chapter 10: E-business Applications in the European Food and Beverages Industry: Evidence from the Wine Sector
• Chapter 11: The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on the Organisational Performance of Microenterprises: Evidence from Greece
• Chapter 12: Warehouse Technologies in Retail Operations: the Case of Voice Picking
• Chapter 13: Leveraging RFID-enabled Traceability for the Food Industry: a Case Study
• Chapter 14: Intelligent Agrifood Chains and Networks: Current Status, Future Trends and Real-life Cases from Japan
• Chapter 15: The Use of Telematics in the Daily Distribution of Perishable Goods: The Case of NIKAS SA
• Chapter 16: RFID-enabled Visibility in a Dairy Distribution Network
• Chapter 17: Conclusions
• Index
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