Consumer values versus economic efficiency in food chains and networks

Most of the papers dealing with supply chains are about the optimization of the product and information flow. Either they view the supply chain of a single product without considering the total amount of products being sold, or they discuss the topic on a generalized and simplified level. This paper examines the development of supply chain networks from the perspective of a retailer. Retailers have the most customer touch points and on the other hand they have to be in charge of the enormous amount of supply chains needed to stock up the stores. Therefore retailers must view the consumer as the starting point of every production and distribution process. Equally the construct "consumer" must be profoundly analyzed. Retailers are at the end of most of the food chains with the exception of direct sales of producers and processors. In general retailers must interact with the consumers and with the entity of their food chain partners. In the paper we will concentrate on the following questions: Does the increase in customer orientation strategies on the retail level change the character of a retailer's downstream (consumer orientated) and upstream (food processors, agriculture) relationships? What are the likely effects for the chain management if a retailer has to organize an efficient and reliable supply chain for every food product. An average-sized food store in Germany has a food assortment of about 15.000 products. Can we expect structural changes in the procurement strategies of retail organizations as a result of an efficient Customer Relationship Management? What are the implications for agriculture and the food industry?.