Procurement in Short Supply Chains: Lessons Learned from the Tourism Industry

Abstract

This paper explores the procurement management strategies adopted in 100 five-star hotels operating in a highly touristic area in South Greece. The study identifies and discusses the benefits and the challenges of managing short supply chains in the selected region. Design/methodology/approach: Quantitative data were gathered by using a questionnaire with 16 closed-ended and 3 open-ended questions. The sample included the Managing Directors and some Administrators. The questionnaire was filled in between April 2017 and June of the same year. Findings: The majority of the respondents prefer to do business with local suppliers for a variety of reasons, the most important being the boost of local economy and immediate delivery which improves response time. High prices of local products and the availability of sufficient quantities were found the main concerns for the smooth running of operations. Research limitations/implications: The research uses data from two prefectures of Crete; a wider sample including other prefectures in Greece and in South Europe would provide a more holistic view on the effectiveness of short food supply chains. Originality/value: This paper makes a contribution by examining how short supply chains can be developed in local economies. This paper explores the procurement management strategies adopted in 100 five-star hotels operating in a highly touristic area in South Greece. The study identifies and discusses the benefits and the challenges of managing short supply chains in the selected region. The majority of the respondents prefer to do business with local suppliers for a variety of reasons, the most important being the boost of local economy and immediate delivery which improves response time. High prices of local products and the availability of sufficient quantities were found the main concerns for the smooth running of operations. Supplier selection criteria are also discussed.

The Impact of COVID-19 Crisis upon the Consumer Buying Behavior of Fresh Vegetables Directly from Local Producers. Case Study: The Quarantined Area of Suceava County, Romania

“…Short food chain supply (SFSC) systems provide multiple benefits (of economic, social, environmental, cultural, and health nature) for people and society as a whole: new job opportunities in the agri-food sector at local level [ 54 ], encouraging knowledge transfer, counter-balancing the effects of population migration [ 55 ] or gentrification, supporting the local services and suppliers by sustaining the stores of small producers and farmers’ markets, preserving cultural heritage, including promotion of tourism [ 56 ] and local gastronomy, and improving the quality of life by securing access to healthier food [ 57 ].…”

Práticas Gerenciais em Operações e Cadeia de Suprimentos Turísticos Durante a Crise Pandêmica no Brasil:

“…Práticas Gerenciais em Operações e Cadeia Produtiva do Turismo Durante a Pandemia no Brasil: Estudo de Caso de Juiz De Fora (MG). Rosa dos 14(3), 938-960. http://dx.doi.org/10.18226/21789061.v14i3p960 941 destaque aos serviços hoteleiros (Dos Santos & Matschuck, 2015;Thomas-François, von Massow & Joppe, 2017;Masa'deh et al, 2017;Thomas-François, Joppe & von Massow, 2018;Arifin, Ibrahim & Nur, 2019;Le, Wu & Zhong, 2021); operação de restaurantes (Smith & Xiao, 2008;Wang et al, 2013;Cho et al, 2018;Petersen, Charman & Kroll, 2018); ambos os setores anteriormente mencionados (Shi & Liao, 2013) e relacionamento com operadores hoteleiros e turísticos (Guo & He, 2012), em atrações turísticas (Pimentel & Carvalho, 2020;Pimentel, 2021b), bem como para toda a cadeia produtiva do turismo (Zhang, Song & Huang, 2009;Zhong et al, 2016;Szpilko 2017;Argyropoulou et al, 2019;Mandal & Saravanan, 2019;Palang & Tippayawong, 2019;Nguyet et al, 2021;Pimentel, 2020;2021a). Ainda, questões específicas sobre gestão foram analisadas, como o comportamento do cliente (Sigala, 2014;Xu & Gursoy, 2015;Xu & Gursoy, 2015;Bire et al, 2021;Huang & Zhang, 2022), e o risco financeiro da cadeia produtiva do turismo (Chen, Tsai & Liu, 2018).…”

The role of sustainable tourism in improving local communities' livelihoods in South Beach area, Durban.

“…Local businesses have realized the value of sourcing locally, though, and are working to create policies that will encourage multiplier effects and decrease the need for imported goods (Argyropoulou, 2019).…”

“…Researchers have pointed to local governments to find solutions in establishing direct sourcing schemes and ensuring the achievement of local economic linkages, as Argyropoulou (2019) emphasises that to guarantee that small local businesses also profit from tourism government must create policies that encourage the sourcing of tourism products and services locally. However, initiatives to promote local linkages have already been under way in tourism destinations like the UK, where incentives like accreditation for hotel chains that buy locally, promotional materials for hotels to use in their brochures, and governmental subsidies were developed to entice hotels to buy from local farmers (Ashley, 2005).…”