SMARTCHAIN - Internal and external driving forces of short food supply chains

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WHAT IS “SMARTCHAIN”?

SMARTCHAIN (http://smartchain-h2020.eu/) is an ambitious, 3 years project with 43 partners from 11 European countries including key stakeholders from the domain of short food supply chain as actors in the project. The central objective is to foster and accelerate the shift towards collaborative short food supply chains and, through concrete actions and recommendations, to introduce new robust business models and innovative practical solutions that enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of the European agri-food system.

Using bottom-up, demand-driven research, the SMARTCHAIN consortium is:
i) performing a multi-perspective analysis of 18 case studies of short food supply chains in terms of technological, regulatory, social, economic and environmental factors,
ii) assessing the linkages and interactions among all stakeholders involved in short food supply chains
iii) identifying the key parameters that influence sustainable food production and rural development among different regions in Europe.

The project has established 9 national communities of short food supply chains (Innovation and Collaboration Hubs) in different partner countries (France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia, Spain and Switzerland) and a virtual innovation hub in order to facilitate stakeholder engagement, bringing farmers and consumers together in a trust-enhancing environment enabling them to generate demand driven-innovations. Combination of scientific and practical knowledge and the use of innovation workshops is enabling the development of practical innovative solutions as well as the promotion of a framework for different forms of collaborative short food supply chains in urban and rural areas. SMARTCHAIN is generating concrete actions for knowledge transfer, through the organisation of multi-stakeholder workshops and training activities for farmers and short food supply chain entrepreneurs.

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY “SHORT FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS”?

We understand the idea of Short food supply chain as the reduction of the distance between producer and consumer, with the aim to improve the transparency, efficiency and sustainability of food supply chains, reducing the number of intermediaries and empowering the producer position within the value chain.

WHY THIS QUESTIONNAIRE?

With this questionnaire, we aim to find out the main internal and external positive and negative factors influencing short food supply chains’ development, in order to know where and how to act to facilitate them.

If you have any doubt or question about this questionnaire or about the project, do not hesitate to contact us: louisemehauden@gestionaglobal.es

Thanks a lot for filling this questionnaire! Your knowledge and experience will provide us precious information about food supply chains driving forces.

Email *

Privacy and data protection *

Please find here the Respondent information sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17YK3koLHkm9afa8xBXPZbhLOXTGjKWu1/view?usp=sharing -- We need your consent to be able to treat your data. Please, if you agree tick all the following boxes after reading our privacy and data protection policy.

I am aware of and I agree with the fact that my answers will be treated anonymously, and exclusively within the SMARTCHAIN partnership, for project’s research purposes. This questionnaire is not collecting any personal data nor any other information (including IP addresses) that could reveal my identity. These data won’t be sold nor given to any external entity, nor used for any other purpose than project’s research

I have read and understood the purposes of the current research and my participation in the research

I am an adult able to give informed consent according to the laws of my country

I have read and undertood how my data will be processed and that once my responses are sent, there will be no way to identify them among the whole

Required

In which country/ies is located your activity? *

What is your position in the value chain? *

Please tick all the functions represented in your entity

Primary sector (production)

Secondary sector (processing, packaging, manufacture,…)

Tertiary sector (seller) - Wholesaler (centralizing production, no sales to final consumer)

Tertiary sector (seller) - Retailer (sales to final consumer)

Tertiary sector - Transports and logistics

Final consumer

External expert

Other:

Required

What is the nature of your organization? *

Family farm

SME

Big company

Multinational

Umbrella organization or sectorial federation

Association or foundation (non profit)

Cooperative

Public body

Politic organization or lobby

Other:

How many people does your entity represent? *

Which type(s) of product do you handle or work/deal with? *

Fresh vegetables and fruits

Bread and bakery

Oils

Honey and hive products

Dry non processed food (rice, legumes,...)

Dry processed food (flour, dried fruits, pasta,...)

Meat products

Milk, cheese and other dairy products

Beer, wine and other alcoholic drinks

Non alcoholic drinks

Body care, medicinal and hygiene products

Non food

None in particular

Other:

Required

Which is/are the commercialization channel(s) you use? *

By "individual selling" we mean "selling of the products of only one production unit" -- By "collective selling" we mean "combined selling of the products of at least two production units" -- By "own" we mean "internal, part of your organization and governance" -- By "external" we mean "separate, part of another organization and governance"

Individual direct selling on the own production site

Collective direct selling on one own production site

Individual direct selling through own physical shop(s)

Collective direct selling through own physical shop(s)

Individual direct selling through internet (own online shop(s) and/or platform(s))

Collective direct selling through internet (own online shop(s) and/or platform(s))

Individual direct selling on local market(s)

Collective direct selling on local market(s)

Individual direct selling through Consumers group(s)

Collective direct selling through Consumers group(s)

Individual selling to external wholesaler(s)

Collective selling to external wholesaler(s)

Individual selling to external cooperative(s)

Collective selling to external cooperative(s)

Individual selling through supermarket(s) or other kind(s) of conventional big retailer

Collective selling through supermarket(s) or other kind(s) of conventional big retailer

Individual selling through local external small retailers

Collective selling through local external small retailers

I don't commercialize any product

Other:

Required

Which of these barriers are facing short food supply chains practitioners?

Tell us to which extend the items mentioned below are barriers that short food supply chains are actually facing in their development (0=not relevant and 5=highly relevant). Please give us some more details about the most relevant ones in the next box.

0 (Not relevant)

5 (Highly relevant)

I don't know

National rules on mandatory Legal Quality requirements (in terms of hygiene, cold chain, infrastructure, standards,...)

National rules on Tracking (mandatory origin labelling of some food products)

Other national rules

EU regulation about tracking and food security

Other EU regulation

Regional or local regulation

Seal, certification or labelling requirements

Costs of legally required measures and infrastructures

Sectorial policies

Market policies (CAP,…)

Conflicts and contradictions between unharmonized rules

Lack of regulatory tools to support, differentiate and protect short food supply chains (e.g. to avoid “false producers” or fraud)

Unfair Trading Practices (unduly or unfairly shift in prices, unilateral and/or retroactive changes to a contract, unfair termination of a contractual relationship, etc.)

Territorial supply constraints

Variability of the supplier capacity

Variability of the demand

Variability of prices

Difference between offer and demand

Difficulty to compete with conventional big distribution channels (pressure on prices, aggressive marketing, exclusivity contracts,…)

Downward pressure on prices by the buyers

Upward pressure on prices by the (re)sellers

Flows and stocks management

Cost of transports and logistics

Product limitations or needs (example: perishability, fragility, …)

Lack of industrial infrastructures

Lack of time to dedicate to communication, marketing and selling

Lack of knowledge and skills in communication, marketing and selling

Lack of information and support to develop new short food supply chains, especially in business start-up phase

Insufficient access to market-relevant of product or relevant information

Customer requirements

Lack of consumer awareness

Consumer negative perception of short food supply chains (local food is too expensive, local food is not readily available, and no time to find it,…)

Lack of digitalisation and of technological support

Cost of digitalisation and technological support

0 (Not relevant)

5 (Highly relevant)

I don't know

National rules on mandatory Legal Quality requirements (in terms of hygiene, cold chain, infrastructure, standards,...)

National rules on Tracking (mandatory origin labelling of some food products)

Other national rules

EU regulation about tracking and food security

Other EU regulation

Regional or local regulation

Seal, certification or labelling requirements

Costs of legally required measures and infrastructures

Sectorial policies

Market policies (CAP,…)

Conflicts and contradictions between unharmonized rules

Lack of regulatory tools to support, differentiate and protect short food supply chains (e.g. to avoid “false producers” or fraud)

Unfair Trading Practices (unduly or unfairly shift in prices, unilateral and/or retroactive changes to a contract, unfair termination of a contractual relationship, etc.)

Territorial supply constraints

Variability of the supplier capacity

Variability of the demand

Variability of prices

Difference between offer and demand

Difficulty to compete with conventional big distribution channels (pressure on prices, aggressive marketing, exclusivity contracts,…)

Downward pressure on prices by the buyers

Upward pressure on prices by the (re)sellers

Flows and stocks management

Cost of transports and logistics

Product limitations or needs (example: perishability, fragility, …)

Lack of industrial infrastructures

Lack of time to dedicate to communication, marketing and selling

Lack of knowledge and skills in communication, marketing and selling

Lack of information and support to develop new short food supply chains, especially in business start-up phase

Insufficient access to market-relevant of product or relevant information

Customer requirements

Lack of consumer awareness

Consumer negative perception of short food supply chains (local food is too expensive, local food is not readily available, and no time to find it,…)

Lack of digitalisation and of technological support

Cost of digitalisation and technological support

Clear selection

Can you detail a bit more the most relevant barriers?

For example naming some concrete rules that are difficult/expensive for short food supply chains practitioners to fulfill (at EU, national, regional or local level), or naming the concrete certification standards that are difficult/expensive to fulfill, or naming the different conflictual rules short food supply chains practitioners may have to deal with, ...

Are there any more relevant barriers or difficulties that aren't mentioned in the list above?

Do you have any (idea of) solution for some of these barriers?

Which are the incentives or supports that short food supply chains practitioners can find in their environment?

Can be of all kind: legal, infrastructural, fiscal, social, financial, logistical, ...

What would need short food supply chains practitioners to be able to foster their activity?

Can be all kind of support: legal, infrastructural, fiscal, social, financial, logistical, ... (Please order it by relative importance)

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