Designing a Model for Intelligent Management of Agri-Businesses Supply Chain
سحر اسدزاده منجیلی
1
(
دانشجوی مقطع دکترا مدیریت بازرگانی (گرایش بازاریابی)، گروه مدیریت بازرگانی، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، واحد زنجان، زنجان، ایران
)
فیروزه حاجی علی اکبری
2
(
استادیار گروه مدیریت بازرگانی، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، واحد زنجان، زنجان، ایران
)
نبی اله محمدی
3
(
استادیار گروه مدیریت بازرگانی، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، واحد زنجان، زنجان، ایران
)
الکلمات المفتاحية: Intelligent SCM, Agri-businesses, SC Strategies, Effective actions,
ملخص المقالة :
Ensuring food safety, preventing market imbalance of supply and demand and market inflammation as well as improving production efficiency and productivity, transparency, traceability of distribution networks and supply chains of active agri-businesses in the field of basic and strategic products such as rice, tea, olives and citrus and the realization of many positive micro and macro consequences depend on intelligent supply chain management. Therefore, the purpose of this applied research was to present a model based on the effective factors of intelligent SCM of agri-businesses and to present SC strategies and effective actions. In this regard, in addition to library studies, field studies were conducted through in-depth interviews with 33 public and private sector experts from Guilan, Mazandaran and Zanjan provinces who were selected by theoretical and non-probabilistic sampling. In order to analyze the data, qualitative data-based and coding methods were used. The validity and reliability of the data collection tool were confirmed. Based on the research findings, 1556 open codes, 75 axial codes and 9 selective codes including economic and financial factors, marketing and sales, production and operational, institutional, infrastructure and logistics, communication and information, technological and innovative, climatic, environmental, biological and political were identified and the initial model designed based on effective factors by qualitative analysis method and using Maxqda2020 software. After removing 29 sub-factors with a repetition rate of less than 7, the final model was presented based on 46 sub-factors. In final, 8 SC strategies and 34 effective actions in order to succesfull intelligent SCM proposed.
Designing a Model for Intelligent Management of Agri-Businesses Supply Chain
Abstract
Ensuring food safety, preventing market imbalance of supply and demand and market inflammation as well as improving production efficiency and productivity, transparency, traceability of distribution networks and supply chains of active agri-businesses in the field of basic and strategic products such as rice, tea, olives and citrus and the realization of many positive micro and macro consequences depend on intelligent supply chain management. Therefore, the purpose of this applied research was to present a model based on the effective factors of intelligent SCM of agri-businesses and to present SC strategies and effective actions. In this regard, in addition to library studies, field studies were conducted through in-depth interviews with 33 public and private sector experts from Guilan, Mazandaran and Zanjan provinces who were selected by theoretical and non-probabilistic sampling. In order to analyze the data, qualitative data-based and coding methods were used. The validity and reliability of the data collection tool were confirmed. Based on the research findings, 1556 open codes, 75 axial codes and 9 selective codes including economic and financial factors, marketing and sales, production and operational, institutional, infrastructure and logistics, communication and information, technological and innovative, climatic, environmental, biological and political were identified and the initial model designed based on effective factors by qualitative analysis method and using Maxqda2020 software. After removing 29 sub-factors with a repetition rate of less than 7, the final model was presented based on 46 sub-factors. In final, after discussing and concluding, 8 SC strategies and 34 effective actions in order to succesfull intelligent SCM were proposed.
Keywords: Intelligent SCM, Agri-businesses, SC Strategies, Effective actions
Introduction
Today, providing the best performance has become the main concern of business managers and they strive to achieve superior performance by taking various actions. One of these actions is to pay attention to the supply chains of agricultural businesses, so as sustainable food supply chains have become one of the topics of concern for businesses, government organizations and customers (Dwivedi et al., 2020: 161). Also, due to the rapid industrialization of agriculture, increasing global food demand, and increasing concerns about food quality and safety, the concepts of sustainability and supply chain transparency have become very important for the agricultural and agri-food sector (KumarMangla et al., 2018: 379). Therefore, what distinguishes the supply chain of these products from other supply chains is the importance of factors such as quality and food security and variables related to climatic conditions, and also the possibility of endangering the health of these products by unsanitary and unsafe factors (Rajabzadeh et al., 2021: 123).
Despite the importance of agricultural and food supply chains, these chains face various problems and barriers; For example, Salehi et al. (2021: 458-460) identified issued such as lack of proper planning and strategic orientation, inadequate performance appraisal system, lack of knowledge of IT-based approach, lack of participation and support of managers, lack of financial support Incompatibility and incompatibility between supply chain structure and information systems, high number of brokers at different levels of supply chain, lack of IT infrastructure, high investment cost, resistance to change, lack of sufficient knowledge and skills, lack of development Qualitative performance, low labor productivity, poor marketing management, and lack of teamwork in marketing as the barriers to agricultural supply chains.
Also Rajabzadeh et al. (2021: 121) introduced issues such as lack of farmers' knowledge of product demand and lack of proper planning for harvest time, managerial and technical limitations in storage and the weakness of the use of new technologies and a large volume the loss of agricultural products in developing countries due to the widespread use of traditional methods in various sectors, including the storage of these products; Sepahian et al. (2021: 25-24) also mentioned existence of many shortcomings in the market and marketing system, improper and unplanned import of products, superficiality and not paying attention to the market category and related concepts, lack of understanding market structure and weakness in identifying behavioral interactions of market participants as the reasons for the failure of the agricultural supply chain network. Khodabakhshi & Nemati (2020: 179) also considered problems of pricing, innovation, packaging, quality of raw materials, marketing, competitors; Zarei et al. (2019: 235) also classified barriers into technical-infrastructural, social and service, policy-making, economic, educational and extension, and environmental which hindering the development of the supply chain of agricultural products. Baniasad & Bagheri (2018: 119) also mentioned the lack of proper structure, the existence of many intermediaries and high prices to the consumer as problems in the distribution chain of agricultural products and due to the lack of a comprehensive business model in the field of agricultural products.
Alkahtani et al. (2020: 11) pointed out the lack of development of supply chain management fits with technology and innovation development, lack of sharing information and products between chain partners due to lack of technology and creating distance with customers and adopting traditional approaches to supply chain management; Sharma et al. (2020: 3) also mentioned the difficulty of production operations, seasonality of production, low standard and product quality, trade constraints and inventory storage and inability to trace, inadequate infrastructure and supplies, environmental issues, climate changes, vague rules and regulations, poor management decisions, financial issues, political instability; and Gazi (2020: 277) found that agricultural supply chain facing challenges include inadequate marketing, lack of transportation facilities, high transaction costs, multiple market intermediaries, lack of awareness, and ther social and economic. Ganesh Kumar et al. (2017: 88), also mentioned the smallholder ownership, high cost of cultivation and marketing, scattered agricultural supply chain, poor marketing infrastructure, massive loss of agricultural products (between 30% and 60%) due to warehousing and inefficient storage, lack of effective packaging and branding and lack of standard certifications, lack of sufficient market information, poor guaranteed purchase price, low returns and productivity, difficulty in accessing financial resources and working capital, availability, lack of sufficient information for production, lack of knowledge required to use fertilizers and pesticides; farmers' lack of mastery in asset management and their inability to implement appropriate portfolio improvements in the production process, lack of use of new technology, poor product quality, etc. were among the challenges of the agricultural supply chain.
In this study, during the pathology performed by the researchers, it was found that the supply chain of basic and strategic agricultural and food products of Zanjan, Guilan, Mazandaran provinces, which are rice, tea, citrus and olive, according to Table 1, faces many issues and challenges.
Table 1: Supply chain Challenges of selected agricultural products
Rice | Tea | Olive | Citrus |
· Lack of capital for packaging and modernization (shortage of processing industries) · High costs of packaging, bulk sales and low profit · Violations such as mixing rice by some factories · Lack of financial capacity for standardization in paddy units · Weak supervision of production units · Elimination of the enactment of the national standard · Traditional production and trade practices · Existence of intermediaries and brokers · Small paddy lands · Rising prices of inputs and fertilizers · Rice imports during the harvest season · High product demand and the possibility of imbalance between supply and demand · Low water stress and irregular rainfall | · High cost of tea production · Farmers do not enjoy the benefits of dry tea · Lack of necessary infrastructure in gardens and factories · Lack of factories with new technologies · Low capacity in necessary financial support · High prices of packaging machines and labor costs, small and small tea factories · Consecutive changes in tea industry laws or instability in the tea industry, · Lack of supervision of responsible and monitoring devices on the supply and sale of tea in the market · Weak distribution network of product supply in large and chain stores · Traditional thinking in the manufacturing industry · Low mechanization coefficient and traditional production process from the garden to the factory, · Weakness in packaging, unattractive and without added value · Improper import of low quality tea and supply in elegant and attractive packages | · High production costs · Lack of proper packaging · Improper import and smuggling · Lack of export system · Lack of attention to customer tastes · Lack of industrial units for olive production and processing · Low productivity and yield per hectare · Water shortage problem · Expensive labor · Agricultural pests and frost · Lack of standard warehouse · Improper condition of roads and infrastructure · The presence of brokers and their role in decision-making and decision-making in the field of buying and offering prices · Product quality produced · Product distribution problems in the market | · High production costs · Cut subsidies and lack of support · Lack of proper transport car and container · Weakness in the production and export chain · Lack of large and important sorting units in the province · Lack of liquidity and lack of economic stability · Reduction of investment for conversion factories · Shortage processing industries · Shortage of warehouses and cold storages with high capacity(traditional storage) · The presence of brokers throughout the chain · Weak market monitoring · Lack of guaranteed purchase, gardeners' insurance, lack of purity and incentives for production · Credit problems of manufacturers · Insufficient familiarity of gardeners with modern scientific gardening, use of non-specialists and untrained people · Insufficient knowledge of marketing methods, · Decision-makers' inattention to private sector criticism |
Source: authors
According to Table 1, the supply chain of active businesses in the studied agricultural products facing with challenges such as supply and demand, infrastructure and logistics, government, policy and legal, economic and financial, climatic, environmental and biological, political, distribution, marketing and sales, technological, production and operational, which affect negatively the effectiveness and efficiency, transparency and traceability of the agricultural business supply chain, and caused slightest excitement in the market and treathed food security. From the perspective of researchers such as Kumar et al. (2020: 1003), Ghazinoori et al. (2020: 71), Kwamega et al. (2018: 1), Ganesh Kumar et al. (2017: 89), Zecca & Rastorgueva, (2014: 20), Bavarsad et al. (2019: 1), and Babayi Meybodi & Roustapisheh (2017: 37), Sepahpanah et al., (2020: 109), Rajabipoor Meybodi et al. (2021: 267), Baniasad & Bagheri (2018: 122) and Khosravipour & Shoaybi (2020: 69), one of the important measures that are necessary to overcome the problems and inefficient performance of agricultural businesses and improve the process of supply chain of agricultural products, the use of supply chain management to Smart face and as one of the new management methods in the agricultural sector.
Considering the importance of managing the supply chain of agricultural businesses and the need for comprehensive attention to increase the efficiency of the chains of 5 important horticultural and agricultural products, including rice, olives, tea and citrus (kiwi and orange), especially in the face of global challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic, rising food prices, wars and geopolitical issues, international sanctions and the difficulty of global exchanges for Iran with countries exporting agricultural products, the purpose of this study was to present a model based on factors affecting the intelligent management of agri-businesses supply chain in Guilan, Mazandaran and Zanjan provinces as the main producers of basic and strategic products such as rice, tea, olives and citrus.
Liturature review
Agri-food Supply Chain (ASC)
The concept of supply chain was introduced in the 1980s and was widely used in the 1990s; Because in the 1990s, in parallel with improvements in production capabilities and processes and the application of reengineering models, many business executives realized that in order to continue to be present in the market, only improve internal processes and flexibility in the company's capabilities not enough; Rather, the materials and services received from various suppliers have a significant impact on increasing the capabilities of the organization in order to meet the needs of customers, and suppliers of parts and materials must produce and distribute materials with the best quality and lowest cost. Product suppliers should also be closely linked to producer market development policies. Managers also found that it is not enough to just produce a quality product, and providing products with the criteria desired by the customer (when, where and how) and with the quality and cost they want, created new challenges (Gazi, 2020: 280 ; Esfahani Zanjani et al., 2020: 221-223).
Thus, supply chain in general is a collection of information and materials related to the flow of goods and information among supply chain member organizations, conversion of materials into products and distribution of those products to end customers (Gazi, 2020: 280). From another perspective, the supply chain is a set of activities such as: (1) ordering and purchasing raw materials, (2) converting raw materials into semi-finished (semi-finished) and final products, and (3) delivering final products with high quality is well defined for customers using a distribution system (Makinde et al., 2020: 752). But specifically, in the field of agriculture and agri-food products, agricultural supply chains include development activities from "farm to fork" and agricultural activities including cultivating land to produce crops, processing and production, testing, packaging, warehousing, transportation, distribution and marketing (Sharma et al., 2020: 3). The agricultural supply chain is also defined as a set of actors engaged in agriculture, distribution, processing and marketing of agricultural and horticultural products "from farm to fork" (Mirabelli & Solina, 2020: 414); Or an agricultural supply chain, consisting of suppliers of agricultural raw materials and inputs, processing and processing companies, and several retailers (Alkahtani et al., 2020: 13).
Agri-food supply chain management (ASCM)
Supply chain management is a broad concept that has originated from many different perspectives such as procurement, logistics and transportation, industrial organizations, marketing, strategic management and many others (Sayyadi et al., 2016: 55 ). Wei et al. (2021: 4) using the view of Mentzer (2001) defined supply chain management as a systematic and strategic coordination and cooperation of traditional business features and business tactics operating throughout the supply chain in order to improve the long-term performance of companies individually and the entire supply chain. Makinde et al. (2020: 752) considered supply chain management to include the coordination and integration of various activities to ensure the optimal flow of raw materials through production performance to the end user in the market to satisfy the customer. Weerabahu & Nanayakkara (2019: 866), citing the view of the World Supply Chain Forum, defined supply chain management as an approach to integrating key business processes from key suppliers that provide value-added products, services and information for customers and other stakeholders to the end consumer (end user).
In particular, agricultural supply chain management was first defined by a group of Dutch researchers, mainly from the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands. In agricultural businesses, supply chain management means the timely arrival of agricultural products to the market (Gazi, 2020: 277). From another perspective, agricultural SCM refers to the management of the relationship between the supply of raw materials for agricultural production, production processing, logistics and product distribution (Luo et al., 2018: 1); Also, SCM in agribusiness implies managing the relationships between the businesses responsible for the effi cient production and supply of agricultural products from the farm gate to consumers with the broad objective of meeting consumers’ requirements in terms of quantity, quality, and price. SCM provides an integrated approach to plan the improvements required in the management of their agricultural production and marketing systems to meet future challenges (Chojar, 2009: 17).
Research Backgrounds
After reviewing the articles of the valid index, finally 56 articles (from 2005 to 2021) in the field of supply chain management were collected and after studying the abstract and findings, 38 articles that were directly and indirectly related to the supply chain management of agricultural products were selected as research backgrounds, which due to limitations some of them are mentioned in Table 2.
Table 2: Research Backgrounds | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Purpose and Findings | Total Info. | Title | Source |
Purpose: To explain the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food supply chain (FSC) and then discusse the technological interventions to overcome these impacts. Findings: They concluded that these technologies would make food processing activities smarter, which would ultimately help to run the FSC smoothly during COVID-19 pandemic. | Product: Supply chain in food industry Method of analysis: descriptive and analytical | Improvement strategies of food supply chain through novel food processing technologies during COVID-19 pandemic | Chitrakara et al. (2021: 1) |
Purpose: This study aims to understand upstream farmers’ positions in different types of vegetable SCs and identify ways of enhancing sustainable vegetable SC collaboration. Findings: The study found that cooperative SCs are the most appropriate for Vietnamese farmers. It also identified the key activities needed to engage farmers with cooperative SCs and the mechanisms that the cooperative needs to develop. Cooperative SCs can be enhanced only when farmers are motivated to engage in SC activities and when the cooperative implements a robust management mechanism. | Product: Vegetable supply chain Country: Vietnam Method: In-depth study | Improving vegetable supply chain collaboration: a case study in Vietnam. | Yang et al. (2021: 54) |
Purpose: To analyze the situation and formulate strategies for developing the olive supply chain in Rudbar city, Gilan province. Findings: To implement supply chain development strategies, practices such as: "promote the planting of high-yielding and customer-friendly varieties", "promote modern irrigation practices such as drip irrigation", "construction of seedling nursery for ease of access to seedlings of high yielding varieties", "the assignment of public land with supportive facilities to increase the area of under cultivation", "encouraging agricultural university graduates to build mechanized orchard through especial support schemes", "organizing olive festivals to promote regional brand and increase sales" were introduced. | Product: Olive Supply Chain Spatial scope: Roudbar County, Guilan Province Analysis Method: SWOT Analytical Framework and Strategic Action Planning Matrix Data collection method: interview and questionnaire | Strategic Planning for Developing Supply Chain of Olive in Roudbar County, Guilan Province | Soleymani taklimi et al. (2020: 98) |
Purpose: To investigate the role of ICT in agri-food supply chain and determining the impact of supply chain management (SCM) practices on firm performance. Findings: The results indicate that ICT and SCM practices (logistics integration and supplier relationships) have a significant relationship. Furthermore, SCM practices (information sharing, supplier relationship and logistics integration) have a significant and positive impact on performance of the organization. | Product: Agri-food supply chain Country: India Method of analysis: Structural equation modeling with Smart PLS software. | Exploring the relationship between ICT, SCM practices and organizational performance in agri-food supply chain | Kumar et al. (2020: 1003) |
Purpose: To analyze the agri-food supply chains to identify possible fields of intervention that improve logistics and the management of the entire supply chains by introducing technologies and devices in the 4.0 perspective. Findings: The paper identifies technological innovations that can improve distribution logistics and management of the entire supply chains. The paper presents a first survey of companies in the agri-food sector and a preliminary assessment of possible solutions for identifying logistic improvement measured through specific parameters. | Product: Supply chain in food industry Method of analysis: descriptive and analytical Country: Italy Data collection method: interview | How to increase the sustainability of the agri-food supply chain through innovations in 4.0 perspective: a first case study analysis. | Saetta & Caldarelli (2020: 333) |
Purpose: Planning and identifying the best practices of the rice supply chain and creating the best reference model were used as a participatory tool for the rice sector. Findings: Mechanization, Knowledge and Skills Development, Quality Improvement, Risk Management, Information Availability, Branding, Marketing Network, Market Information Production, Effective Storage Facilities/ Methods, Government Policy Implementation, Cost Reduction, Chain Flexibility, Education and knowledge, prior planning, information technology, infrastructure development, communications development, water management practices and types of rice were identified as key factors in the success of the rice supply chain. | Product: Rice supply chain Country: Sri Lanka Method of analysis: descriptive-exploratory method and content analysis Data collection method: interview and a review of previous studies and the use of the SCOR model | A Best Practice Reference Model for Agricultural Supply Chain for Rice | Weerabahu& Nanayakkar (2019: 865) |
Purpose: To analyze Strawberry Supply Chain in Ramin County, Golestan Province. Findings: The development of the strawberry chain is possible by holding local festivals in the harvest season, creating local markets and roadside sales, processing and producing strawberry by-products along with regional brand development. It was also found that communication between farmers and input suppliers in the city eliminates outside brokers and farmers make more profit from production. | Product: Strawberry supply chain Spatial scope: Ramian City, Golestan Province- Iran Method of analysis: Phenomenology (qualitative) Data collection method: interview | Strawberry Supply Chain Analysis in Ramiyan County, Golestan Province | Miri et al. (2018: 89) |
Purpose: To present a critical review of prior literature relating to agri-food supply chain management. Findings: Encourage farmers to form associations, consortia, cooperatives and self-help groups to increase resource efficiency; Contract farming; Granting marketing facilities; Efficiency of processing centers; Develop and implement effective agricultural policies in order to create a favorable environment for the rapid development of agriculture and minimize the waste of agricultural products; Creating warehouses with effective facilities; Development of transport fleet, especially in rural areas and development of infrastructure; Encouraging banks and financial institutions to support farmers financially through incentives to invest in rural infrastructure have been introduced as agri-food supply chain management actions. | Product: Potato supply chain Country: India Method of analysis: descriptive and content analysis Data collection method: library and interview | Agri-food Supply Chain Management: Literature Review | Ganeshkumar et al. (2017: 68, 88-89) |
Purpose:To evaluate the factors affecting the performance of supply chain management in the food industry. Findngs: The main criteria derived factors (management, logistics management and relationship management) detected using Analytical Hierarchy ranked in the food industry, Accordingly, it was determined that the main criterion 0.478 with the greatest degree of importance of information management in the first place is allocated then the primary criterion for logistics management to 0.315 in the second and third placed Relationship Management with 0.207. | Product: Supply chain in food industry Country: Iran Analysis Method: AHP with the help of Expert Choice software Data collection method: interview and questionnaire | Assess the Factors Affecting the Performance of Supply Chain Management, Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process in the Food Industry | Seyfi Shojaei (2016: 1) |
In total, according to the review of related research background, 58 sub-factors in the form of 9 main factors including economic and financial, production and operational, institutional, marketing and sales, infrastructure and logistics, communication and information, technological, environmental and biological and political factors were counted from the perspective of researchers; However, in order to develop and expand the previous findings and discover more effective factors related to selected products, field studies were conducted for managing the supply chain of agri-businesses, intelligently.
Methods
The philosophy of the present study is close to the principles of interpretive paradigms and is based on the approach of social interpretivism. In terms of purpose, the study is applied and in terms of nature, exploratory. In terms of method, this research is a qualitative method due to interviewing and data analysis with Maxqda2020 software.
The strategy of the present study is also based on the grounded theory as one of the most important and common strategies in qualitative research. In terms of data collection methods, in the study, library and field methods were used. In order to collect data in the agricultural sector, a qualitative approach and interview tools of semi-structured type have been used.
Population and Sampling
Three provinces including Guilan, Mazandaran and Zanjan are selected as the study provinces due to their comparative advantages and that they are the center of production and supply of selected agricultural products (rice, tea, olives and citrus). Therefore, according to the information in Table 3, the statistical population consists of public and private sector experts from Guilan, Mazandaran and Zanjan provinces.
For this study, 33 experts were sampled theoretically using non-probabilistic judgment methods and snowballs. Thus, first, according to the researcher's knowledge and considering the objectives of the research, specific experts were interviewed and then they introduced other experts to continue sampling with 33 experts in the supply chain of agricultural products under study and The sampling process was stopped after observing that no new items were added to the views and comments. Regarding the adequacy of the sample size, it can be said that in qualitative methods, a survey of at least 15 experts and a maximum of 60 experts on the subject of research who have specialized information and knowledge and are also interested in the subject of research, it suffices (Grisham, 2009: 115).
Table 3: Population and Sampling | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Sampling method | Statistical population and participating units | ||
Theoretical sampling (Targeted and snowballing method) Sample size: 33 experts | · Agriculture-Jihad Organization in Guilan Province · Rice Research Institute of Iran · Tea Organization of Iran · Tea Research Center of Iran · Fund to support the development of the country's tea industry · Rudbar Olive Research Station · 100 units for olive processing and pakaging | Public sector experts | Guilan |
· 156 tea processing units and 35 brands · 100 brands and 1425 rice paddy units · 40 units for citrus sorting and processing · Northern Golden Buds Tea Growers Association · Guilan Tea Traders and Exporters Union · Syndicate of Northern Tea Factories | Private sector experts | ||
· Agriculture-Jihad Organization in Mazandaran Province · Syndicate of Northern Tea Factories · Tea offices of Ramsar and Tonekabon counties · Citrus and Subtropical Fruits Research Center | Public sector experts | Mazandaran | |
· 12 tea processing units and 35 brands · 500 units for citrus sorting and processing · 950 rice paddy units | Private sector experts | ||
· Agriculture-Jihad Organization in Zanjan Province · Tarom Olive Research Station | Public sector experts | Zanjan | |
· 32 units for olive processing and pakaging · 16 rice paddy units | Private sector experts | ||
Data collection tool
To collect data from semi-structured interview tools that include 6 demographic questions (age, gender, education, public and private sector representation, experience, province) and 9 questions related to the effective factors on the management of the agricultural supply chain includes: 1) economic and financial, 2) marketing and sales, 3) production and operational, 4) institutional, 5) infrastructure-logistics, 6) technological and innovative, 7) information-communication, 8) climatic, biological and environmental, and 9) political; was used.
Validity and Reliability
To confirm the preliminary validity, the opinion of university professors was used, and after minor corrections, the validity of the instrument was confirmed in terms of content and form. But in addition to content and face validity, validity criteria were used in qualitative research of Dolani et al. (2012: 82) such as analysis of results, evaluation, based on experience, based on evidence and also the obvious results to ensure validity and It was found that in the library studies section, 58 factors affecting the supply chain management of agricultural products were identified from 38 domestic and foreign studies. But with the questions raised in the interview, 76 factors were identified; This means that the tool used in the identification has been more than 90% successful.
Holstie method was used to calculate the reliability of the data collection tool. In this method, texts are coded in two steps. Holstey provides a relation for determining the reliability of nominal data in terms of the "percentage of agreement observed". In formula (1), M is the number of common coding cases between the two coders. N1 and N2 are the number of all items coded by the first and second coders, respectively. The PAO value is between zero (disagreement) and one (complete agreement) and is desirable if it is greater than 0.7.
PAO = 2M / (N1+N2)= 2× 69 / (69+78)= 138/ 147 = 0.938 | Formul (1) |
In this study, the contents of the interview were coded by two researchers. The first coder was the faculty of the university and the second coder was one of the lecturers of Payame Noor University and Jihad University of Gilan. The sum of the coding quantities performed by the first coder, namely (N1) for the effective factors (78 codes) and the sum of the coding quantities performed by the second coder, ie (N2) for the effective factors (69 codes). After matching the encodings by the researcher, the number of common encodings, ie (M) was equal to (69 codes). Given that PAO or in fact the percentage of agreement observed for quality tools is equal to 0.938 and this value is between zero and one and is higher than 0.7, so the data collection tool in the quality part of the reliability was acceptable.
Method of data analysis
Initially, descriptive statistics methods were used to explain the demographic information of the interviewees. Then, according to Figure 1, the method of grounded theory and open, axial and selective coding were used to determine the initial model (Goldkuhl & Cronholm, 2010).
After the initial identification of the factors affecting the intelligent supply chain management, using the qualitative analysis method and software version MAXQDA2020, a qualitative analysis of the content analysis results of interviews conducted by public and private actors in the agricultural supply chain was performed. MAXQDA Qualitative Analysis Software is an advanced software for qualitative data analysis that is very useful for researchers who want to use qualitative research methods, including contextual theory, data foundation or content analysis. Since in this study, one of the purposes of content analysis presented by public and private activists about the factors affecting the intelligent management of the supply chain of active agricultural businesses, first all the interviews are entered into the software and then by specifying the effective dimensions and Indicators related to each of the selected dimensions, the existing content was coded.
Descriptive findings
Table 4, shows the demographic information of the interviewees.
Table 4: Demographic information of the interviewees | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Level of education | Frequency | Age | Frequency | Sex | Frequency | Section | Frequency | experience | Frequency | Province | Frequency |
B.A. | 6 | Under 35 years | 1 | Female | 3 | Public | 19 | Under 10 years | 6 | Guilan | 14 |
M.A. | 17 | 35-45 | 16 | Male | 30 | Private | 14 | 10-20 | 12 | Mazandaran | 11 |
Ph.D | 9 | 45-55 | 10 | - | - | - | - | 20-30 | 10 | Zanjan | 8 |
Other | 1 | At least 55 years | 6 | - | - | - | - | At least 30 years | 5 | - | - |
Total | 33 | Total | 33 | Total | 33 | Total | 33 | Total | 33 | Total | 33 |
According to Table 4:
• Most of the interviewees, with a share of more than 51%, had a master's degree.
• Most of the interviewees, with a share of more than 48%, were in the age group of 35 to 45 years, and the age groups of 45 to 55 years and 55 years and more were in the next categories with about 30 and 18%, respectively.
• Most of the interviewees were men with a share of more than 90%.
• Most of the interviewees accounted for more than 57% of the public sector.
• Most of the interviewees with a share of about 36% have a history of 10 to 20 years; After that, the interviewees with a history of between 20 and 30 years and a share of more than 30% were in the second place.
• The interviewees with a share of 42%, 33% and 24% were from Guilan, Mazandaran and Zanjan provinces, respectively; which seems logical considering the establishment of more national organizations and units in these two provinces.
Analytical findings- Coding results
As noted, 33 interviews were conducted using the above methods with public and private sector experts. Out of 33 interviews, a total of 1556 open codes were taken from the text of the interviews and classified in 75 axial codes as sub-categories. In the last step, 75 sub-categories were selected into 9 main categories by selective coding method. Table 5 shows only the selective and axial codes from the 33 interviews.
Table 5: Summary of Axial and Selective Coding Results | |
|---|---|
Selective Coding | Axial Coding |
Economic and Financial Factors | 1. Economic stability and assurance of financial markets 2. Effective facilities and financial support 3. Attracting and directing domestic and foreign investments 4. Economic conditions of supply chain activists 5. Connect to the world's financial channels |
Marketing and Sales Factors | 6. New methods of marketing and sales 7. Being Quality, organic and standard products 8. Competitive price with reasonable profit margin 9. Branding and attractive packaging 10. Effective and hybrid advertising 11. Incentive and various sales plans 12. Transparent and cohesive distribution network 13. Import control and support of domestic products 14. Customer orientation and customer relationship management 15. Employing trained, specialized and experienced personnel 16. Cooperation with supply and export holdings 17. Target market research and identification of target market needs |
Production and Operational Factors | 18. Timely and cheap provision of high quality and standard inputs for farmers 19. Utilization of new techniques and methods of planting, holding and harvesting 20. Equipping and optimizing production machines and raising the standard of factories 21. Access and supply of quality and standard raw materials 22. Continuous improvement, quality improvement and organizing of production processes 23. Coordinated and integrated production management 24. New attitude, expertise and managerial knowledge of manufacturers 25. Utilizing educated and specialized manpower and updating skills 26. Having strategic and operational production plans and programs 27. Integrated management of productivity and production costs 28. Construction of conversion industries in a suitable location |
Institutional Factors | 29. Approving the budget and timely allocation of credits 30. Ease of business environment 31. Management of import and export of products 32. Training, extension and counseling courses 33. Appointment of efficient and competent executives 34. Law on Organizing Agricultural Lands 35. Controlling imports and supervising the fair distribution of inputs 36. Governmental support in finance, taxation and insurance areas 37. Appropriate monetary and fiscal policies 38. Strict implementation of privatization policy 39. Alignment of national policies and strategies 40. Implementation market regulation policies |
Infrastructure and Logistics Factors | 41. Suitable roads to access lands 42. Modern agricultural and irrigation operations infrastructure 43. Adequate and suitable space in factories 44. Logistics and infrastructure facilities of customs and terminals 45. Existence of a multimodal transport fleet 46. Standard and suitable warehouses and cold stores 47. Existence of permanent markets and exhibitions |
Informational and communicational Factors | 48. Intra-group and inter-group interaction of supply chain actors (close relations with partners) 49. Interactions between the public and private sectors 50. Cooperation and coordination of government institutions 51. Communication with universities and research institutes 52. Knowledge sharing and transfer in the supply chain 53. Long-term contracts between different sectors 54. Existence of integrated information systems 55. Continuous monitoring |
Technological and Innovative Factors | 56. Agricultural hardware and software technologies 57. New technologies for irrigation and resource utilization 58. Research and Development (R&D) 59. New Information and Communication Technologies in Education 60. Access to new scientific and specialized findings 61. Marketing and sales hardware and software technologies 62. New technologies in the field of processing and production |
Climatic, Biological and Environmental Factors | 63. Suitable weather conditions 64. Management of water consumption and productivity 65. Biological methods of controlling diseases and weeds 66. Preservation and restoration of abandoned lands 67. Cultivation of cultivars, seedlings and plants compatible with the region 68. Organic and environmentally friendly production methods 69. Rehabilitation and improvement of soil quality 70. Promoting environmental literacy of farmers |
Political Factors | 71. Managing conflicts of interest in policy making 72. Lack of politicking in selecting managers 73. Economic diplomacy 74. Political and social stability of the country 75. Resolving sanctions |
As shown in Table 5, 75 sub-factors were classified into 9 main factors affecting the intelligent management of the supply chain of agri-businesses in the northern provinces. Figure 2 shows initial model based on the main factors.
Figure 2. Initial model for Intelligent SCM of Agri-Businesses
Qualitative analysis results
By using Maxqda2020 software, 1556 systematic codes were recorded. Each code indicates the effect of one of the effective indicators on intelligent management of agri-business supply chain. As specified in open, axial, and selective coding; Finally, 1556 open codes (indicators) were classified into 75 axial codes (sub-factors) and 9 selective codes (main factors). After compiling the initial model, in the second step, to design the higher reliability model of factors affecting intelligent supply chain management, it was decided to eliminate those sub-factors that had a frequency of less than 7 items and were considered insignificant. according to the calculations, 29 sub-factors whose frequency or frequency of repetition by experts was less than 7 were eliminated, and finally 46 sub-factors are mentioned in Figure 3.
Figure 3: Final model for Intelligent SCM of Agri-Businesses
Based on the model in Figure 3:
· Out of 5 economic and financial factors in the initial model, only 3 factors included in the final model and among the final 3 factors, the most frequent repetitions belonged to the factor of effective facilities and financial support.
· Out of 5 political factors in the initial model, only 2 factors included in the final model, and among the final 2 factors, the highest frequency of repetition belonged to the Managing conflicts of interest in policy making factor.
· Out of 12 marketing and sales factors in the initial model, only 7 factors included in the final model, and among the final 7 factors, the highest frequency of repetition belonged to the 2 factors of branding and attractive packaging and a transparent and coherent distribution network.
· Out of 11 production and operational factors in the initial model, only 7 factors included in the final model, and among the final 7 factors, the highest frequency of repetition belonged to the management of productivity and production costs.
· Out of 12 institutional factors in the initial model, only 6 factors included in the final model, and among the final 6 factors, the highest frequency of repetition belongs to the 2 factors: ease of business environment and governmental support in finance, taxation and insurance areas.
· Out of 7 infrastructural and logistic factors in the initial model, only 5 factors included in the final model, and among the final 5 factors, the most frequent repetitions belonged to the adequate and appropriate space of factories and the condition of their equipment and machinery.
· Out of 8 communication and information (interactive) factors in the initial model, only 5 factors included in the final model and among the final 5 factors, the most repetition belonged to knowledge management in the supply chain (Knowledge sharing and transfer in the supply chain).
· Out of 7 technological and innovative factors in the initial model, only 5 factors included in the final model, and among the final 5 factors, the highest frequency of repetition belonged to the 2 factors: of application of new technologies in production and marketing-sales.
· Out of 8 climatic, environmental and biological factors of the initial model, only 6 factors were included in the final model and among the final 6 factors, the most frequent repetitions belonged to the biological and new methods of controlling diseases, pests and weeds.
Also, based on the analytical results, it was found that marketing and sales, institutional, communication and information and operational production factors have a higher impact on intelligent supply chain management than other factors.
Discussion
According to the pathology of selected agricultural business supply chains, it was determined that these chains facing challenges such as: supply and demand, infrastructure and logistics, government, policy and legal, economic and financial, climatic, environmental and biological , political, distribution, marketing and sales, technological, production and operational, which leads to market inflammation and food security threats and imbalance of supply and demand.
Therefore, the purpose of this study was to present a model based on factors affecting the intelligent management of agri-businesses supply chain in Guilan, Mazandaran and Zanjan Provinces. To achieve the purpose of the research, in addition to field studies, using semi-structured interviews with 33 public and private sector experts. Then, by using the grounded theory method, 1556 concepts or open source were first counted; Then, with axial and selective coding, 75 sub-factors classified in 9 categories of economic and financial, marketing and sales, production and operational, institutional, infrastructure and logistics, communication and information (interactive), technological and innovative, climatic, environmental, biological, and political. In order to qualitatively analyze the results of the interviews, the qualitative analysis method and software of Maxqda2020 were used and by removing those sub-factors whose frequency of repetition was less than 7, the final model based on 46 factors was provided for intelligent management of agri-business supply chain.
Regarding the impact of economic and financial factors, some of the findings of this study are consistent with the findings of Ganeshkumar et al. (2017: 88), Soleymanitaklimi et al. (2020: 98), Zarei et al. (2019: 235), Tahmasbi Roshan et al. (2019: 1), Mor et al. (2015: 720).
Regarding the impact of climatic, environmental and biological factors, some of the findings of this study are in line with the findings of Chojar (2009: 14-17), Weerabahu & Nanayakkara (2019: 865), Zarei et al. (2019: 235), Rajabipoor Meybodi et al. (2021: 265). Regarding the influence of political factors, some of the findings of this study are in line with the findings of Shahbandarzadeh et al. (2013: 42). Also, the effect of marketing and sales factors, some of the findings of this study are consistent with the findings of Rajabipoor Meybodi et al. (2021: 265), Ghodsalavi et al. (2019: 803), Miri et al. (2018: 89), Ghazinoori et al. (2020: 71) and Weerabahu & Nanayakkara (2019: 865). Regarding the effect of production and operational factors, part of the results of this study are similar with the results of Chojar (2009: 14-17), Hamprecht et al. (2005: 7), Miri et al. (2018: 89).
Regarding the effect of infrastructural and logistical factors, the findings of this research are are consistent with the results of Tahmasbi Roshan et al. (2019: 1), Ganeshkumar et al. (2017: 89) and Zecca & Rastorgueva (2014: 20). Regarding the impact of technological and innovative factors, some of the results of the present study are similar with the findings of researchers such as Islam (2012), Mor et al. (2015: 720), Chitkara et al. (2021: 1), Saetta & Caldarelli (2020: 333), Kumar et al. (2020: 1003), Schnieder et al. (2020: 1), Rezghi Rostami et al. (2017: 149). Regarding the effect of information and communication (interactive) factors, some of the findings of this research) are in line with Sayyadi et al. (2020: 52), Ghodsalavi et al. (2019: 803), Zarei et al. (2019: 89), Seyfi Shojaei (2016: 1), Kumar et al. (2020: 1003), Weerabahu & Nanayakkara (2019: 865), Mor et al. (2015: 720) and Chojar (2009: 17).
In Final regarding the impact of institutional factors, some of the findings of this study are consist with the research of Mor et al. (2015: 720), Weerabahu & Nanayakkara (2019: 865), Abedini et al. (2021: 45), Soleymanitaklimi et al. (2020: 98), Esfahani Zanjani et al. (2020: 217) and Rajabipoor Meybodi et al. (2021: 265).
Conclusion
At the end, it is predicted that if the successful implementation of intelligent management of agricultural supply chain, we will achieve many positive consequences, which are: controlling intermediation and market regulation, easy access to the product, transparency, tracking and monitoring, increasing efficiency, facilitating marketing, supply and sales, distribution with reasonable price and quality, brand credibility in domestic and foreign markets, expansion of conversion industries, improving production processes, supporting producers, organizing importers' interests, creating productive and sustainable employment, reducing Rural migration, stabilization of agricultural lands, increasing competitiveness with foreign samples, increasing food security, saving resources and water consumption, economizing agricultural products, increasing value added, valuing and reducing foreign exchange outflows. This ultimately leads to an increase in non-oil revenues and the profitability of all active actors in agricultural supply chain.
Managerial implications
Based on the research findings, in order to intelligently manage the supply chain of agricultural businesses operating in the studied products, adopt strategies such as lean supply strategy, agile supply, integration (including internal, with supplier, with customer and external based on international cooperation), supporter and facilitator separately and in combination is necessary. In this context, to implement the lean supply strategy, take operational actions including creating a strong and coordinated team of chain actors for pathology, troubleshooting, reorganizing or reorganizing the chain, and improving production, marketing, and sales processes; Strengthening transportation infrastructure and lean logistics to reduce waste and improve product handling, storage and maintenance; Training, skills and empowerment of production and industry actors to improve productivity, efficiency and reduce production costs; The production of export-oriented products, organic, customer-friendly and in accordance with international standards is recommended. Also, to implement the agile supply strategy, take operational actions such as continuous evaluation of distribution networks and updating it to respond to customers in a timely manner; Maximizing flexibility and optimizing production lines to create distinctive goods and change the product in accordance with market changes (volume, variety and demand); Development of conversion industries, branding and brand development are recommended to promote added value. To implement the internal integration strategy, take operational actions including prevailing the idea of integrated information systems management; Accelerating in information sharing and instant access to chain information; Organizing regular meetings and working groups to remove obstacles in the chains with the support of the government is proposed. Proposed operational measures for implementing integration strategy with the supplier also include: smartening and digitizing to accelerate communication and information exchange with suppliers; Supporting the improvement of the company's production by providing quality and cheap raw materials in a timely manner; Establishment of garden / farm-factory complexes (supplier participation in the production process); Select reliable and alternative suppliers. In order to implement the strategy of ensuring integration with the customer, taking actions such as using applications and e-commerce to register orders, marketing and sales; Continuous communication with customers and receiving feedback from the company's customers; Focus on customers and study the needs of domestic and foreign target markets and introducing the product to customers with culture-building, promotional activities and mixed advertising can be effective. Advice to direct capital to Overseas cultivation (planting in other countries and importing it to Iran); Partnerships and relations with international holdings and companies in various scientific-research, supply, production and trade sectors (marketing and sales); Attracting international investors in the fields of agriculture, industry and development of logistics infrastructure and trade-commercial services can also be proposed actions for the implementation of outsourcing strategies based on international cooperation.Developing e-government to eliminate bureaucracy and improve the business environment; Policy making and Formulating comprehensive and transparent protection laws and regulations; Judicial treatment of corruption and rent in distribution networks and removal of legal barriers for activists; Identification and allocation of potential lands for the development of agro-industrial activities; Optimizing the tax system by adjusting corporate income tax rates and tax exemptions; Designing and formulating an effective facility system for targeted financing of activists; Considering targeted subsidies and other financial incentives in budget appropriations; Formulating a development document based on the correct pattern of agriculture and industry; Targeted management of exports and imports and fight against smuggling to support domestic production; Guaranteeing the purchase of agricultural products is also among the proposed executive actions for the proper implementation of the supporter and facilitator strategy. Finally, monitoring and management of environmental risks; Optimization of agricultural and production activities with applied and laboratory research; Using green methods and environmentally friendly production resources (biological and non-chemical methods of pest control, use of native and regionally adapted cultivars) are also among the appropriate executive measures to implement the green supply strategy.
Acknowledgment
Authors gratefully thank the experts of public and private section that participated in the survey.
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طراحی مدلی برای مدیریت هوشمند زنجیره تأمین کسب و کارهای کشاورزی
چکیده
تأمین امنیت غذایی، جلوگیری از برهم خوردن تعادل بازار عرضه و تقاضا و التهاب بازار و همچنین ارتقای راندمان و بهرهوری تولید، شفافیت، قابلیت ردیابی شبکههای توزیع و زنجیرههای تأمین کسب و کارهای کشاورزی در حوزه محصولات اساسی و راهبردی نظیر برنج، چای، زیتون و مرکبات و تحقق بسیاری از پیامدهای مثبت خرد و کلان در گرو مدیریت هوشمندانه زنجیره تأمین میباشد. بنابراین هدف این پژوهش کاربردی، طراحی مدلی برای مدیریت هوشمند زنجیره تأمین کسب و کارهای کشاورزی و ارائه راهبردها و اقدامات مؤثر در نظر گرفته شد. در این راستا علاوه بر مطالعات کتابخانهای، مطالعات میدانی از طریق مصاحبه عمیق با 33 نفر از خبرگان بخشهای دولتی و خصوصی استانهای گیلان، مازندران و زنجان که به روش نمونهگیری نظری و غیراحتمالی هدفمند انتخاب شده بودند، انجام گرفت. به منظور تحلیل دادهها از روش کیفی دادهبنیاد و کدگذاری بهره گرفته شد. روایی و پایایی ابزار گردآوری دادهها مورد تأیید واقع شده و بر اساس یافتههای پژوهش 1556 کد باز، 75 کد محوری و 9 کد انتخابی شامل عوامل اقتصادی و مالی، بازاریابی و فروش، تولیدی و عملیاتی، نهادی، زیرساختی و لجستیکی، ارتباطی و اطلاعاتی، فناورانه و نوآورانه، اقلیمی، زیست محیطی و بیولوژیکی و سیاسی احصاء گردید. در گام بعد، به روش تحلیل کیفی و با کمک نرمافزار مکس کیودا2020 مدل اولیه مبتنی بر عوامل مؤثر طراحی شد. پس از حذف 29 عامل فرعی که میزان تکرار آنها از سوی خبرگان کمتر از 7 بود، مدل نهایی بر اساس 46 عامل فرعی ارائه شد. در پایان ضمن بحث و نتیجهگیری، 8 راهبرد زنجیره تأمین و 34 اقدام مؤثر در راستای تحقق مدیریت هوشمند زنجیره تأمین پیشنهاد گردید.
کلید واژهها: مدیریت هوشمند زنجیره تأمین، کسب و کارهای کشاورزی، راهبردها و اقدامات مؤثر زنجیره تأمین
