Values-Based Supply Chains

Abstract

Values-based supply chains (VBSCs) have emerged as a structure to enhance the viability of mid-scale farms while preserving jobs and rural economies. They involve partnerships between producers, processors, distributors, retailers, and food service operators who share environmental, economic, and/or social values. We developed case studies and interviewed key informants to analyze the impacts of access to capital, regulations, infrastructure, and business acumen on the success of VBSCs. Communicating the benefits of VBSCs’ products to customers, as well as to the VBSC partners, was instrumental to the success of the VBSCs in our case studies. However, our key informants emphasized that additional communications are needed to develop markets for VBSCs’ products. Scale-appropriate infrastructure is also required, but funders are not convinced that these investments are secure. Successful VBSCs operate with economies of scale to broaden demand for their products while also generating fair returns to producers and other supply chain partners.

Logistics Best Practices for Regional Food Systems: A Review

“…If funding for acquiring a new facility is unavailable, alternatives (e.g., repurposing existing facilities such as that of a food bank) should be examined [143,185]. Paying for access to existing supply chain infrastructure or leasing options can also eliminate up-front investment costs [139,155,186,187].…”

“…Therefore, it is important for RFSCs to implement inventory tracking systems that will help them to build customer trust and comply with legal traceability requirements [173,214]. Producers and intermediaries that share this information with their customers via labels and packaging make their products more competitive in the market [154,168,185]. However, the cost and inconvenience associated with implementing inventory tracking systems may require that producers be incentivized to participate, such as being awarded with long-term contracts [215].…”

“…If producers, aggregators, and buyers are all able to monitor the RFSC's production capacity, quantities purchased, and any unmet demand, they can improve future planning efforts and potentially increase productivity over time. This allows producers to plan their production accordingly and lower their business risk [185]. Therefore, food hub managers should conduct pre-season crop planning with both buyers and producers to more consistently match supply and demand throughout the season [119,155,190].…”

“…They also plan to have the plant become a federally-inspected facility to enable them to distribute their products across state lines [231]. Developing processing facilities has allowed Colorado Homestead Ranches, a distributor of natural beef products raised by family ranches in Gunnison, Colorado, to establish greater economic control of its supply chain and to provide processing capacity to other meat producers in the region [185]. Lorentz Meats in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, is able to efficiently run its processing unit by keeping its three key customers in constant communication with them about scheduling [46].…”

Farm to Childcare: An Analysis of Social and Economic Values in Local Food Systems

“…Conventional broadline distributors carry a wide range of products in addition to produce, focus on wholesale purchasing, and have the goal of driving down prices to improve overall supply chain efficiency and profitability . Values-based supply chain frameworks incorporate ideals like "local," "sustainable," and "organic" into distribution activities that are often carried out by food hubs 2 or other alternative agri-food actors (Conner et al, 2011;Feenstra et al, 2011;Feenstra & Ohmart, 2012;Hardesty et al, 2014). Values-based supply chains differ from conventional supply chains (and thus conventional distributors) because they intentionally serve small and midsized farms and work to communicate and share risk at every link in the chain (Stevensom & Pirog, 2008).…”