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Supply chain management is one of the most important areas for competitiveness and growth of industries. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India and other developing countries face problems in coordinating their supply chain due to lack of resources and improper directions. The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for improving the coordination in supply chain and development of an index for coordination.

The interpretive structural modelling (ISM) approach has been employed to develop the structural relationship among different factors of coordination and responsiveness in supply chain to take strategic decisions. This framework is also used to evaluate coordination index for an organization. It has been further illustrated with the help of a case study.

In total, 32 enablers for coordination in a supply chain have been identified based on literature review. These are further grouped into six categories such as top management commitment, organizational factors, mutual understanding, flow of information, relationship and decision making and responsiveness. It is observed that all of these factors have strong mutual linkage and top management commitment is a major driver for improving the coordination among these factors.

As ISM methodology is based on experts' opinion, this framework needs further validation with empirical data and detailed case studies.

This paper has explored major factors for coordination in supply chain. It will be of great value for SMEs in developing their strategies for coordination in supply chain. The coordination index evaluated in this paper will also help them in benchmarking their performance in terms of different attributes of supply chain.

Over the years, the fruit and vegetable supply chain has encountered several challenges. From the harvesting stage until it reaches the consumer, a significant portion of fruits and vegetables gets wasted in the supply chain. As a result, the present study attempts to identify and analyze the growth barriers in the fresh produce supply chain (FPSC) in the Indian context.

An integrated grey theory and DEMATEL based approach is used to analyze growth barriers in the FPSC. The growth barriers were analyzed and sorted based on their influence and importance relations.

The results emphasize that the most critical growth barriers in the FPSC that should be addressed to ensure food waste reduction are as follows: Lack of cold chain facilities (B2), lack of transportation or logistic facilities (B1), lack of collaboration and information sharing between supply chain partners (B3), lack of proper quality and safety protocols (B15), a lack of processing and packaging facilities (B14), and poor productivity and efficiency (B13). Results are also verified by conducting a sensitivity analysis.

The results are highly useful for policymakers to exploit growth barriers within the FPSC that require more attention. The obtained results show that the managers and policymakers need to utilize more funds to develop the cold chain facilities and logistics facilities to develop the FPSC. By improving the cold chain facilities, it is possible to improve the quality of food, make the food safe for human consumption, reduce waste, and increase the efficiency and productivity of the supply chain. Also, this study may encourage policymakers and industrial managers to adopt the most influential SCM practices for food waste reduction.

Many researchers have attempted to analyze the causes of food waste and growth barriers in the FPSC using various decision-making methods. Still, no attempts are made to explore the causal relations among various growth barriers in FPSC through the integrated Grey-DEMATEL technique. Also, we devise policy implications in the light of the new farm bills or the Indian agricultural acts of 2020. Lack of cold chain facilities (B2) was found to be the critical driving barrier in the FPSC, as it influences multiple barriers. Also, there is a dire need for cold chain facilities and transportation systems to enhance productivity and efficiency.

The purpose of this paper is to study and develop supply chain structure of traditional Indian agri-fresh food supply chain (AFSC). This paper proposes a mathematical model to design a traditional Indian AFSC to minimize total distribution cost and post-harvest losses in the chain.

This paper formulates two mathematical models to structure and represent the flow of products in the existing chain. First, a three-echelon, multi-period, multi-product, mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model is formulated to minimize the total distribution cost incurred in the chain. Further, the developed formulation is extended by considering the perishability of products in the second model.

A real case study problem of Mandsaur district (India) is solved in LINGO 17.0 package to check the validity of the formulated models. The perishable (second) model of AFSC reports better results in terms of costs and post-harvest losses minimization. The results revealed that 92% of the total distribution cost incurred in the transportation of products from farmers to the hubs.

This paper includes implications for redesigning an existing supply chain network by incorporating an appropriate transportation strategy from farmers to hubs to minimize transportation inefficiency and enhance the profitability of farmers.

The formulated AFSC model would help managers and policymakers to identify optimal locations for hubs where required infrastructure would be developed.

According to the author's best knowledge, this paper is the first to design traditional Indian AFSC by considering the perishability of products.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the process through which external diffusion of business-to-business (B2B) e-procurement impacts firm performance. The research model has been developed to empirically examine the role of information transparency and supply chain coordination in improving the firm financial performance by external diffusion of e-procurement.

The survey is conducted in India with a target population of purchasing professionals working on the B2B e-procurement platform. The measurement model was first tested by using confirmatory factor analysis for reliability and validity, then structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses of the research model using AMOS 22. The phantom model approach has been used for testing multiple mediators.

The result of the study highlights the importance of information transparency and supply chain coordination in enhancing the firm financial performance by external diffusion of e-procurement. The results establish the role of information transparency in enhancing firm performance by improving supply chain coordination. The results also indicate that supply chain coordination mediates the relationship between external diffusion of e-procurement and firm financial performance.

This is the first study that has focused on the external diffusion of e-procurement and its impact on firm performance. Also, this study attempted to understand the process through which external diffusion of e-procurement impacts the firm financial performance.

The purpose of the article is to create a knowledge classification model that can be used by knowledge management (KM) practitioners for establishing a knowledge management framework (KMF) in a supply chain (SC) network. Epistemological and ontological aspects of knowledge have been examined. SC networks provide a more generic setting for managing knowledge due to the additional issues concerning flow of knowledge across the boundaries of organizations.

Morphological analysis has been used to build the knowledge classification model. Morphological approach is particularly useful in exploratory research on concepts/entities having multiple dimensions. Knowledge itself has been shown in literature to have many characteristics, and the methodology used has enabled a comprehensive classification scheme based on such characteristics.

A single comprehensive classification model for knowledge that exists in SC networks has been proposed. Nine characteristics, each possessing two or more value options, have been finally included in the model.

Knowledge characteristics have been mostly derived from past research with the exception of three which have been introduced without empirical evidence. Although the article is primarily about SC knowledge, the results are fairly generic.

The proposed model would be of use in developing KM policies, procedures and establishing knowledge management systems in SC networks. The model will cater to both system and people aspects of a KMF.

The proposed knowledge classification model based on morphological analysis fills a gap in a vital area of research in KM as well as SC management. No similar classification model of knowledge with all its dimensions has been found in literature.

Multiple stages of procurement for a product in a supply chain (SC) altogether form a “multi-Tier” supply network. The purpose of this paper is to develop and verify a systematic solution approach to ascertain the realistic cost advantage of a coordinated centralized sourcing strategy as compared to an isolated decentralized sourcing strategy for a multi-tier supply network under demand uncertainty.

The proposed systematic solution approach consists of seven steps to compare and contrast the cost advantage of a centralized coordinated sourcing strategy over a decentralized stage-wise sourcing strategy for a multi-tier supply network. A real-life automotive industry case analysis of two distinct products provides sufficient empirical evidence on the expected cost advantage of centralized coordinated sourcing strategy under demand uncertainty.

The case analysis affirms the practicability of the proposed seven-step solution approach to determine the realistic cost advantage of coordinated sourcing.

The scope of this research is restricted to a single product and two-tier supply network analysis. This research work also considers a restrictive assumption of negligible coordination cost.

The suitability of the proposed solution approach is verified using real-life case examples. This research provides theoretical insights and factual evidence to SC practitioners, so as to adopt a centralized sourcing strategy in a varied manufacturing environment.

There is no evidence of a systematic step-by-step solution approach to determine the cost advantage of a coordinated sourcing strategy over an isolated decentralized sourcing strategy for a multi-tier supply network under demand uncertainty.

This study aims to clarify systematically the contribution of material flow cost accounting (MFCA) to green supply chain management (GSCM) by examining the coordination mechanisms.

Two qualitative case studies are conducted in a major Japanese manufacturing company, which introduced MFCA in two different supply chains. The concept of coordination mechanisms in supply chain management is used to consolidate the understanding on the usefulness of MFCA in GSCM.

The study’s findings reveal the significant role played by MFCA in coordinating material flows and eliminating sub-optimization in the supply chain from both economic and environmental perspectives. Furthermore, the focal company in the chain has an important role as the MFCA leader in implementing MFCA in the chain. In particular, the environmental department can eliminate suppliers’ concerns regarding opportunistic buyer behaviors and focus on material flows across the supply chain.

The study highlights the possibility of reviewing existing transactions by coordinating material flows. This is a new direction for the adoption of MFCA in GSCM. In addition, although the study highlights the importance of the environmental department as an MFCA leader, future research is necessary to establish this aspect with greater precision.

The two case studies discussed in this paper demonstrate the usefulness of MFCA expansion into the supply chain, as well as information sharing and progression, in the development of GSCM.

This study will contribute to enhance the green supply chain by implementing MFCA.

This study indicates that MFCA can potentially reveal the material losses caused by sub-optimization and provide information to avoid sub-optimization in decision-making. Moreover, it highlights the importance of the environmental department as an MFCA leader.

Coordinated supply chain is concerned with managing dependencies between various members and joint efforts of all members to achieve mutually defined goals. The purpose of this paper is to identify and prioritize the factors for a coordinated supply chain.

Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to prioritize the factors for a coordinated supply chain. By using AHP global desirability index of five strategic factors for coordinated supply chain their 23 sub‐factors have been calculated and compared.

In this study 23 factors affecting coordination in a supply chain are considered. These factors are grouped under five strategic factors such as top management commitment, mutual understanding, relationship and decision‐making, flow of information and organizational factors. It is observed that the global weightage of top management commitment is highest among strategic factors and agreed vision and goal of supply chain members among sub factors.

AHP has some limitations. A major limitation is that the rating scale used in the AHP analysis is conceptual and there are chances of bias while giving relative weightage to different factors.

Top management should strive for an agreed vision and a common goal among all members of the supply chain to have effective coordination.

This study prioritizes factors for a coordinated supply chain in the Indian context and the findings will be significant while formulating strategies.

The purpose of this research is to determine the convenience of using a contract model as an integration mechanism for decision-making in a decentralized supply chain of small agricultural producers in a developing country, taking as hypothesis coordinated chain achieves better management. The analysis is based on information obtained by direct inquiry to 99 small producers in the region, about planning, production, marketing and distribution in the chain, supplemented with secondary information sources.

As a methodology an analysis of maturity in the chain based on the Capability Maturity Model Integration is done, whose evaluation is later analyzed as a fuzzy logic model, with the support of the fuzzy logic of the MATLAB toolbox, to study the convenience of the use of the contract against the other mechanisms, and to establish an approximation to the level of readiness of the chain toward integration.

Results obtained show that the small farmer supply chain studied, from a maturity perspective, has a strong disposition for the use of contracts as an integration mechanism.

The supply chain for small producers presents a high dispersion, little consolidated offer capacity and lack of coordination. Limitations in terms of information and criteria unification are a challenge for future research. Results have socioeconomic implications for small producers and can serve as a guide to formulate policies by the governments in Latin American countries.

As practical implications, it can be stated that the use of supply contracts is a real mechanism that can be implemented in this type of chain, to break the mistrust between the echelons and improve the supply chain performance. This research will allow to establish support programs from local governments for the sustainability and improving income of small producers. In addition, contracts will allow to formalize the linkage of small producers to a sustainable commercial network.

Small agricultural producers in developing countries live in unfavorable conditions, with socioeconomic limitations. This work offers an alternative for their productive activity development that will allow them access to marketing chains in a safe way and improve their living conditions.

Previous studies related to the maturity toward the chain integration and fuzzy logic as a hybrid methodology, were not found in the literature, and less even applied to a chain of small agricultural products.

The purpose of this paper is to expand understandings of how logistics can reduce food waste in food supply chains (FSCs).

Using a research framework that associates causes of food waste with logistics solutions, a multiple-case study was conducted in three Swedish FSCs of meat, fruit and vegetables, and ambient products, respectively, and involving industrial producers, wholesalers, and retailers. Data were collected during 19 semistructured interviews and four site visits, and logistics solutions were analysed according to logistics activities, actors involved and their stages in the FSC, and coordination mechanisms.

A joint analysis of nine logistics solutions revealed that to efficiently reduce food waste in FSCs, solutions have been implemented at three stages of FSCs, as well as that those solutions differ in their integration of six logistics activities and four coordination mechanisms. The findings moreover indicate that the solutions are interlinked, thereby implying that coordination is necessary both within solutions as well as among them.

The chief limitation is that the potential of the identified logistics solutions is not quantified.

The paper makes recommendations for reducing food waste in FSCs by developing new solutions and modifying existing ones.

The paper suggests ways to reduce significant environmental impacts of food waste.

By building upon previous research explaining causes of food waste, this paper focusses on logistics solutions for reducing such waste.