Key Success Factor in Ready-Meal Suppliers Entering Convenience Stores

Convenience stores, providing consumers with convenient and instantaneous shopping in Taiwan, appear to be the highest density of outlets in the world. With the advantage of channels, convenience stores have changed the management strategies towards diverse development. Such platforms, attracting catering enterprises actively arranging for shelving, effectively create win-win between catering industry and retail stores. Nevertheless, there is little research on key success factors in such channels. This study therefore aims to discuss how ready-meal suppliers maintain the advantages of manufacturing and supply in catering markets to strive for cooperating with convenience stores and the key success factors in such a supply chain system. Based on literature review, experts on suppliers and convenience stores preceded in-depth interviews. Modified Delphi Method is utilized for organizing the expert group decision-making opinions to find out the suitable selection criteria. The questionnaire with five dimensions and 17 evaluation criteria is designed, which is further determined the relative weights with Analytic Hierarchy Process. Total 400 copies of questionnaires are distributed, and 284 valid ones are retrieved. The results show the weights of the five dimensions, in order, as Hygiene quality control ability (31.01%), Crisis management capabilities (26.51%), Compatibility with convenience stores (19.66%), Logistics and distribution capabilities (14.61%), and R and D capabilities (8.22%). Besides, the HACCP certificates, as the primary competitiveness of supplies, provide suppliers with the reference to examine self-capabilities and formulate competition strategies, which become the reference for convenience stores selecting suppliers.