Lincolnshire sustainability Think Tank

Improving entry into food supply chains by SME local producers

Eliseo Vilalta-Perdomo Lincolnshire sustainability Think Tank, Project

Funder: College of Social Sciences Research Fund 2012/13

Context: Different authors have been discussing supply chains for mass distribution of food across borders and regions, but efforts to develop special, local, sustainable and innovative markets for food are fragmented. Supply chain expertise lags behind marketing innovation in these areas (Hingley et al, 2012). Different definitions and theories seem to be available to explore this phenomenon: Micro, Small and Medium Entreprises, MSMEs (European Union, 2005; Holter et al, nd); Supply Chains, SC (Christopher, 2005; Sanders, 2012); cooperation (Axelrod, 1990); relationships and networks (Barabasi, 2003), and systems theory (Checkland, 1999; Stowell and Welch, 2012). It is at the intersection of these disciplines where the Marketing and Supply Chain research group (MaSC) is committed to the development of “knowledge which supports sustainable value for market, chain and network stakeholders” (MaSC, 2013). Our first task in terms of exploring innovative aspects of research in Supply Chains has been defined as identifying, from a local/regional perspective, potential contributions that previous theories may provide to support the development of sustainable food supply chains, and when and where their application can be considered. This aim involves uncovering challenges and proposing possible solutions for creating and maintaining effective/efficient SCs in this arena. As an initial step, this project will concentrate our efforts on developing and testing a research design to explore the intersection between to related topics, Supply Chains and Food Security:

  • Supply chains: specifically ways for supporting different stakeholders (self-) organisation.
  • Food security: local autonomy vs. global dependence, maintaining and developing skills inside the (local) workforce.

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Logistical and supply chain issues for Lincolnshire food businesses – Select Lincolnshire & Tastes of Lincolnshire partnership

Eliseo Vilalta-Perdomo Lincolnshire sustainability Think Tank, Powerpoint presentation

Last 10th of October, Profs. M. Hingley (University of Lincoln) and D.B. Grant (University of Hull) discussed different issues related to Logistical and Supply Chain for Lincolnshire food businesses. This event was organised by the Select Lincolnshire & Tastes of Lincolnshire partnership for their affiliates, at the Lincolnshire Leadership and Management Centre (LLMC).

Follow this link to see the presentation (Powerpoint): Taste of Lincoln – Overview of Logistics and SCM

 

 

Sustainability in the food supply chain – Closing the loop

Eliseo Vilalta-Perdomo Lincolnshire sustainability Think Tank

Dr Nick Cheffins, from Peakhill Associates www.peakhill-associates.co.uk, has provide us with an illustrative document that refers to sustainability in the food supply chain. He proposes a model to close the loop between agriculture, food and renewable energy production. An application related to an attempt to establish a “mega dairy” at Nocton in Lincolnshire is also presented.

Follow this link to see the presentation (PDF): Closing the loop

Feeding the Think Tank

Eliseo Vilalta-Perdomo Lincolnshire sustainability Think Tank

An exploratory meeting about the potential development of a Lincoln-based research Special Interest Group (think tank) focused on sustainability issues took place last 24th of July at the Lincolnshire Leadership and Management Centre. The aim is to contribute to the creation and dissemination of knowledge on sustainable food chains from a local/regional perspective. This forum was focused on defining meaningful questions and developing ways to answer them.
Some of these questions initially identifed to explore facets of sustainability were:
• Which are the different understandings about sustainability: their contributions, limitations, and ways to support the former and mitigate the latter.
• Supply chains: the ecological impact, effective and efficient business models, social innovation, ways for (self-)organising different stakeholders.
• Food security: local autonomy vs. global dependence, maintaining and developing skills inside the (local) workforce.
• The impact of sustainability on professions and research disciplines.

For more information follow this link: http://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/6240/