Research on Collaborative Structures of Agricultural Supply Chains

As necessities in people's lives, the stability and quality safety of the production and circulation of agricultural products are widely of concern to the whole society. With the development of economic globalization, networking and informatization, the structure and dynamic behaviour of the agricultural product supply chain are becoming increasingly complex. A concept increasingly central to supply chain theory is sustainability. As the frontier of network science, complex network theory provides a new method to study complex real networks. This paper adopts the complex network theory to explore the formation and evolution mechanism of the agricultural product supply chain network and the risk propagation mechanism on the supply chain network through modelling and simulation. On this basis, it proposes the control strategy of risk propagation. The research in this paper can enrich the results of complex network theory in the field of supply chain based on ecological theory. The network model construction can reveal the formation and evolution mechanism of the agricultural product supply chain network. The analysis of risk dynamics can provide a theoretical basis and practical guidance for controlling risk propagation of agricultural product supply chain networks.

Currently, the development of Hainan agricultural products supply chain is still in its infancy, agricultural products supply chain management mode based on electronic commerce has not yet been established. In the face of increasingly complex competition environment and a more extensive competition, static, the structure of the complex supply chain of agricultural products cannot meet the continuous competition in the market environment, the changing of environment change and the request of the customer requirements vary widely. Therefore, constructing Hainan agricultural products supply chain management in e-commerce environment is realistic and urgent operation model.

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A supply chain's structure describes the processes that control and co-ordinate the objectives and activities of independent organisational units that comprise the supply chain. This research explores supply chain structures based on case studies of Korean automobile, semiconductor and tyre manufacturing firms. The study found that the supply chain structures of the three product families are different from one another. Based on the case studies, we propose that supply chain structures can be classified as supply network dominated, conversion network dominated, or distribution network dominated. Factors that are likely to influence the supply chain structure are identified and discussed.

The information coordination of fresh agricultural products supply chain is conducive to improving the overall efficiency and competitiveness of the supply chain, and reducing carbon emissions. Under the carbon cap-and-trade policy, this paper constructed an evolutionary game model of supply chain information collaboration involving a fresh agricultural products supplier, a cold chain logistics service provider and a fresh agricultural products retailer, explored the selection of information collaboration strategies of each subject, and simulated it with system dynamics. The results show that: The stability strategy of the game system is related to the initial willingness of each subject. When any two parties participate in information collaboration, the other party will also choose to participate in collaboration. In addition, the choice of information collaboration strategy of the subject is also related to the collaborative planning ability, collaborative strategy formulation ability, consumers’ preference, the initial cost of each subject, revenue sharing and cost sharing mechanism, government subsidies, government regulation and carbon cap-and-trade policy. It is worth noting that the collaborative planning capability is more conducive to promoting the subject to choose information collaborative strategy than the collaborative strategy formulation capability; the carbon trading price has a greater impact on the subject’s participation in collaboration, while the total amount of carbon quota has no impact on the choice of the subject’s information collaboration strategy. Furthermore, based on the research results, the corresponding management suggestions are put forward from the two aspects of the government and the participants.

The supply chain of agricultural products is the entire production process from cultivation, processing, distribution, and marketing, to the products produced to the hands of consumers. The supply chain consists of various stakeholders who are involved either directly or indirectly. Thus, the supply chain is an integrated marketing unit that includes the integration of stakeholders and products to provide satisfaction to customers. Pinrang Regency is one of the largest rice-producing districts in South Sulawesi. The purpose of this study is to analyze the structure of the inter-island rice supply chain in rice mills in Pinrang Regency, analyze the relationship pattern in the inter-island rice supply chain in Pinrang Regency, analyze the influence of inter-island traders on the rice market in Pinrang Regency, the analysis used is descriptive analysis, panel data regression analysis. The results of this study indicate that the structure of the rice supply chain in the mill starts from farmers who supply grain to the mill, then the mill sells rice to inter-island traders, then the mill sells to wholesalers and retailers then finally the mill sells rice to direct consumers. The rice supply chain in each mill has 3 flows, namely product flow, financial flow and information flow. The pattern of relationships in the inter-island rice supply chain, namely the raw material supply channel (grain), the rice product distribution channel (milling), and the inter-island channel cooperate in completing a purchase transaction and the pattern of relationships in the supply chain uses a general trading partnership pattern. The results of the study using the Common Effect Model (CEM) show that the variable amount of production has a positive and significant effect on the volume of inter-island shipments. The destination price variable has a positive and significant effect on the volume of inter-island rice shipments. Then the variable Shipping cost has a positive and significant effect on the volume of inter-island rice shipments.

The changing paradigm of the business environment is becoming increasingly dynamic. Supply chain can be a competitive strategy that can improve the ability of business competition to determine critical points in business processes. The supply chain process has a big impact on global business and commerce. Development of an effective supply chain is carried out through the development of network structures in the supply chain, especially for coastal agricultural land vegetables. Vegetables planted in coastal agricultural land have their own uniqueness, which is different from plateau plants because of the nature of the land. Research aimed to analyze the network structure and chain business processes of vegetable supply chain in the coastal agricultural land. Research method used framework process of horticulture supply chain development method that were modified. The results showed that the supply chain network structure of vegetable from coastal agricultural land different from plateau land. There was a network structure of supply chain from farmers / farmer groups to traders in the auction market. Key business processes in vegetable supply chain of coastal agricultural land that can support sustainable profits were building trust, coordination, collaboration and policy

This paper builds the multi-period optimization models that incorporate put option contract and two supply chain structures to determine the production decision for a supplier and the ordering decision for a manufacturer in a two-stage supply chain. This paper applies the method of dynamic programming to derive the structures of optimal policies and provides an approximate algorithm to evaluate the myopic policies. This paper also conducts numerical examples to illustrate the impacts of put option contract, supply chain structure and demand risk on the members’ decisions and total profits as well as the channel’s total profit. The results indicate that put option contract can motivate to increase the channel’s service level and reduce the manufacturer’s inventory risk under two supply chain structures, when compared to the case without put option contract. In the manufacturer-led structure, the channel always benefits from put option contract, the supplier benefits from put option contract with a high option price and a low exercise price, while the manufacturer benefits from put option contract with a low option price and a high exercise price. In the supplier-led structure, the channel and the manufacturer always benefit from put option contract, while the supplier benefits from put option contract with a high option price and a low exercise price. With put option contract, the supplier is more profitable in the manufacturer-led structure than in the supplier-led structure, while the manufacturer and the channel are more profitable in the supplier-led structure than in the manufacturer-led structure. Without and with put option contract, the optimal total profits of two members and the channel will first decrease and then increase in the demand risk. Finally, this paper identifies the explicit conditions under which the multi-period supply chain can be coordinatedviaput option contract under two supply chain structures. With a coordinating contract, the supplier and the manufacturer are better off compared to the case without put option contract.

The relationship between supply chain structure and business performance is a research area with limited application, even the impact of supply chain structure deserves more in-depth scrutiny through different dimensions on business performance. The purpose of this study is twofold, namely first addressing the gap in the investigation of the impact of supply chain structure on business performance in the context of pharmaceutical industry, and second to propose a conceptual model consisting of the relationships between each of multinationality, product originality and ownership structure and both supply chain structure and business performance. This study acts as an initiator for paying special attention to the supply chain structure and its relationships with different factors, and strategic dimension of the supply chain in terms of creating competitive advantage. For the practitioners, this study indicates the importance of being informed about the supply chain structures to perceive the strategic dimension of supply chain management in the creation of competitive advantage.

Food supply chain (FSC) refers to the processes from production to delivery of food products from farmers to customers and is different from other kinds of supply chains because of the perishable nature of food. Among the current FSCs, the agricultural fruit supply chain has been paid the least attention. The fact that the quality of fruits deteriorates along supply chain processes and the lack of planning in different stages of FSC results in food loss, which has an impact on food security, insufficiency, and profitability. Therefore, reducing food loss will bring substantial benefits not only to FSC companies but also to society regarding food provision. The purpose of this paper is to present a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model for apple supply chain to manage inventory flows in different types of storage rooms for apples from different harvesting periods, while satisfying the demand. The model also reports the optimal type of each storage room. Food loss decision variables are defined to quantify the amount of apple losses in each type of storage room based on the time gap between the harvest and delivery. The objective function of the model is total cost minimization, including penalty costs for apple losses. The model is applied in a real industrial case study in Australia to show its applicability and is solved by Gurobi optimization solver 7.0.

Coffee is a key plantation commodity in Indonesia that supports rural livelihoods and export earnings. However, the Robusta coffee supply chain in Girimarto Subdistrict, Wonogiri Regency, faces sustainability challenges due to weak coordination, traditional marketing systems, and limited cooperative participation. This study aims to analyze the structure, risks, and sustainability challenges of the Robusta coffee supply chain and propose strategies to enhance its resilience. A descriptive-analytical approach was applied using interviews and focus group discussions with 30 actors, including farmers, collectors, processors, cooperatives, and traders. The Rapid Agricultural Supply Chain Assessment (RASCA) framework and risk analysis were used to identify bottlenecks and assess risks across economic, environmental, and social dimensions. Results show that the supply chain is dominated by spot-market transactions with minimal institutional integration. The main sustainability risks include pest and disease attacks, price fluctuations, logistics barriers, and poor post-harvest management. Strengthening cooperative-based marketing, improving infrastructure and logistics, promoting eco-friendly farming, and enhancing post-harvest quality are key strategies to improve sustainability. Collaborative actions among farmers, cooperatives, and local institutions are essential to develop a resilient and inclusive coffee supply chain.

This paper studies the interactions of capital structure and product market competition under two supply chain structures: a distribution structure where two competing retailers source from a common supplier and a parallel structure where each retailer sources from a dedicated supplier. The analyses demonstrate that if the retailers have access to external credits, they will borrow more (less), buy more (less), and incur a higher (lower) default probability under a parallel structure than under a distribution structure if the retailers sell substitutes (complements). The retailers' leverage improves the profit of their upstream suppliers and of the channel but improves their own profits only if they sell complements. If they sell substitutes, borrowing makes them worse off, leading to the prisoner's dilemma phenomenon. If only one retailer has access to external credit, then it will enjoy a leadership premium (loss) if the retailers sell substitutes (complements), and this effect trickles up to the upstream supplier of the leveraged retailer under the parallel structure. Thus, the dedicated suppliers will abet the leveraged retailers to compete more aggressively than unleveraged ones. However, the common supplier is independent of their downstream customer's capital structure. These results reveal that the impacts of external credit on the supply chain profitability depend on the stages the supply chain members are in, the degree of product differentiation, the supply chain structure, the uncertainty of demand, and whether the competitor also has access to external credits.

: The growth of nationalism and fundamentalism in an ever more globalized world economy ensures that cross-cultural interaction will lead to cultural and religious conflicts. Operational commanders that do not consider the operational factors of culture and religion during mission planning and execution invite unintended and unforeseen consequences and mission failure. Current joint doctrine does not provide operational commanders with a comprehensive and structured approach to cultural and religious considerations in the operational planning process. Culture and religion are significant factors that operational commanders must formally consider during operational planning in a more structured and focused manner in order to mitigate possible negative impacts upon plan execution and operational success. Additional staff support for the Combatant Commander, more detailed cultural rules of engagement for mission participants, and modification of Joint Doctrine to include a framework for considering culture and religion during the Commander's Estimate of the Situation (CES) will mitigate the potential negative effects of culture and religion on mission planning and execution.

Regarding the current wide range of complexities, topologies and main characteristics linked to network environments, a large variety of collaborative network configurations can be studied and analysed. Due to the emerging importance for researchers, academia as well as practicioners, this paper focuses on collaborative and non-hierarchical networks. This type of networks are normally characterised by managing the decision-making process in a distributed manner. Hence, the exchange of information and the establishment of collaborative processes and commitments are core activities for the network partners. For this, the main orientation of this paper is, through applying the literature review method, to cover the relevant collaborative processes that SMEs need to consider when they participate in non-hierarchical networks. From the results of the literature reviewed it is determined that under the non-hierarchical network perspective, SMEs may find various difficulties to adopt collaborative processes within an optimal performance. A relevant process is the one related with the operation planning, in which this paper focuses on its collaborative perspective. In this context, and regarding the amount of agreements and standardised processes required, supporting the collaborative operational planning to produce efficient and acceptable solutions for SMEs might become one of the most complex activities to participate in collaborative non-hierarchical networks. The objective of this paper is to address the main barriers regarded the operational planning processes in non-hierarchical networks under a collaborative perspective. Moreover, a conceptual solution based on multi-agent systems is addressed, in which its application to non-hierarchical networks is analysed in order to deal with the operational planning process in collaborative and distributed environments.Keywordsnon-hierarchical networkscollaborative processesdistributed decision makingoperational planning processSMEs

: Operational commanders have been and will be confronted with broad, complex theaters of war. Coordinating medical treatment, patient evacuation, and blood program processes are some of the familiar tasks of the operational commander's surgeon and health service support planning staff. Other aspects of health service support that are not so closely tied to the hospital like medical intelligence and preventive medicine must also be considered and included for in the operational planning process. An additional complexity imposed on military commanders and their medical planners in future conflicts is to monitor and protect military personnel from the effects of chemical, physical and biological hazards encountered in their deployed workplaces. Occupational medicine (including medical surveillance) and industrial hygiene are professions that deal with these issues and will be part of future military operations.