IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i21p12181-d672499.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Digitalization and Future Agro-Food Supply Chain Management: A Literature-Based Implications

Author

Listed:
  • Tadesse Kenea Amentae

    (Department of Management, Ambo University, Ambo P.O. Box 19, Ethiopia)

  • Girma Gebresenbet

    (Division of Automation, Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7032, Se-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden)

Abstract

Achieving transition towards sustainable and resilient food systems is a critical issue on the current societal agenda. This study examined the potential contribution of digitalization of the food system to such transition by reviewing 76 relevant journal articles, indexed on the Scopus database, using the integrative literature review approach and descriptive content analysis with MAXQDA 2020 software. ‘Blockchain’ was the top hit among keywords and main concepts applied to the food system. The UK as a country and Europe as a continent were found to lead the scientific research on food system digitalization. Use of digital technologies such as blockchain, the Internet of Things, big-data analytics, artificial intelligence, and related information and communications technologies were identified as enablers. Traceability, sustainability, resilience to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and reducing food waste were among the key benefit areas associated with digitalization for different food commodities. Challenges to practical applications related to infrastructure and cost, knowledge and skill, law and regulations, the nature of the technologies, and the nature of the food system were identified. Developing policies and regulations, supporting infrastructure development, and educating and training people could facilitate fuller digitalization of the food system.

Suggested Citation

  • Tadesse Kenea Amentae & Girma Gebresenbet, 2021. "Digitalization and Future Agro-Food Supply Chain Management: A Literature-Based Implications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-24, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:21:p:12181-:d:672499
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/21/12181/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/21/12181/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lindström, Hanna & Lundberg, Sofia & Marklund, Per-Olov, 2020. "How Green Public Procurement can drive conversion of farmland: An empirical analysis of an organic food policy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    2. Snyder, Hannah, 2019. "Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 333-339.
    3. Jula, Payman & Leachman, Robert C., 2011. "Long- and Short-Run supply-chain optimization models for the allocation and congestion management of containerized imports from Asia to the United States," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(5), pages 593-608, September.
    4. Jamilya Nurgazina & Udsanee Pakdeetrakulwong & Thomas Moser & Gerald Reiner, 2021. "Distributed Ledger Technology Applications in Food Supply Chains: A Review of Challenges and Future Research Directions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-26, April.
    5. Jianli Luo & Chen Ji & Chunxiao Qiu & Fu Jia, 2018. "Agri-Food Supply Chain Management: Bibliometric and Content Analyses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-22, May.
    6. Somdip Dey & Suman Saha & Amit Kumar Singh & Klaus McDonald-Maier, 2021. "FoodSQRBlock: Digitizing Food Production and the Supply Chain with Blockchain and QR Code in the Cloud," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-11, March.
    7. Mohammed Alkahtani & Qazi Salman Khalid & Muhammad Jalees & Muhammad Omair & Ghulam Hussain & Catalin Iulian Pruncu, 2021. "E-Agricultural Supply Chain Management Coupled with Blockchain Effect and Cooperative Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-29, January.
    8. Dutta, Pankaj & Choi, Tsan-Ming & Somani, Surabhi & Butala, Richa, 2020. "Blockchain technology in supply chain operations: Applications, challenges and research opportunities," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    9. Lioutas, Evagelos D. & Charatsari, Chrysanthi, 2020. "Smart farming and short food supply chains: Are they compatible?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    10. Assunta Di Vaio & Flavio Boccia & Loris Landriani & Rosa Palladino, 2020. "Artificial Intelligence in the Agri-Food System: Rethinking Sustainable Business Models in the COVID-19 Scenario," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-12, June.
    11. Tsai, Jung-Fa, 2007. "An optimization approach for supply chain management models with quantity discount policy," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 177(2), pages 982-994, March.
    12. Wenzel, Hannah & Smit, Daniel & Sardesai, Saskia, 2019. "A literature review on machine learning in supply chain management," Chapters from the Proceedings of the Hamburg International Conference of Logistics (HICL), in: Kersten, Wolfgang & Blecker, Thorsten & Ringle, Christian M. (ed.), Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation in Supply Chain Management: Innovative Approaches for Supply Chains. Proceedings of the Hamburg Int, volume 27, pages 413-441, Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Institute of Business Logistics and General Management.
    13. Aaron M. Shew & Heather A. Snell & Rodolfo M. Nayga & Mary C. Lacity, 2022. "Consumer valuation of blockchain traceability for beef in the United States," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(1), pages 299-323, March.
    14. Kamble, Sachin S. & Gunasekaran, Angappa & Gawankar, Shradha A., 2020. "Achieving sustainable performance in a data-driven agriculture supply chain: A review for research and applications," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 219(C), pages 179-194.
    15. Szilvia Botos & Róbert Szilágyi & János Felföldi & Mihály Tóth, 2020. "Readiness for ICT Based B2C Information Flow – Case Study of the Hungarian Food Sector," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 12(2), June.
    16. Héctor Cañas & Josefa Mula & Francisco Campuzano-Bolarín, 2020. "A General Outline of a Sustainable Supply Chain 4.0," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-17, September.
    17. Mor, Rahul S & Bhardwaj, Arvind & Singh, Sarbjit, 2018. "A structured-literature-review of the supply chain practices in dairy industry," Journal of Operations and Supply Chain Management (JOSCM), Fundação Getulio Vargas, Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo (FGV EAESP), vol. 11(1), June.
    18. Yotsaphat Kittichotsatsawat & Varattaya Jangkrajarng & Korrakot Yaibuathet Tippayawong, 2021. "Enhancing Coffee Supply Chain towards Sustainable Growth with Big Data and Modern Agricultural Technologies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-20, April.
    19. Tsolakis, Naoum & Niedenzu, Denis & Simonetto, Melissa & Dora, Manoj & Kumar, Mukesh, 2021. "Supply network design to address United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: A case study of blockchain implementation in Thai fish industry," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 495-519.
    20. Foivos Anastasiadis & Naoum Tsolakis & Jagjit Singh Srai, 2018. "Digital Technologies Towards Resource Efficiency in the Agrifood Sector: Key Challenges in Developing Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-15, December.
    21. Antonio Manuel Ciruela-Lorenzo & Ana Rosa Del-Aguila-Obra & Antonio Padilla-Meléndez & Juan José Plaza-Angulo, 2020. "Digitalization of Agri-Cooperatives in the Smart Agriculture Context. Proposal of a Digital Diagnosis Tool," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-15, February.
    22. Mohammad Agung Saryatmo & Vatcharapol Sukhotu, 2021. "The Influence of the Digital Supply Chain on Operational Performance: A Study of the Food and Beverage Industry in Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-18, May.
    23. Atanu Sengupta & Sanjoy De, 2020. "Review of Literature," India Studies in Business and Economics, in: Assessing Performance of Banks in India Fifty Years After Nationalization, chapter 0, pages 15-30, Springer.
    24. Arim Park & Huan Li, 2021. "The Effect of Blockchain Technology on Supply Chain Sustainability Performances," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, February.
    25. Jula, Payman & Leachman, Robert C., 2011. "A supply-chain optimization model of the allocation of containerized imports from Asia to the United States," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(5), pages 609-622, September.
    26. Xu Jing & Yao Guanxin & Dai Panqian, 2020. "Quality Decision-Making Behavior of Bodies Participating in the Agri-Foods E-Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-18, March.
    27. Saeed Nosratabadi & Amirhosein Mosavi & Zoltan Lakner, 2020. "Food Supply Chain and Business Model Innovation," Papers 2001.03982, arXiv.org.
    28. Yanlin Ma & Yuting Liu & Andrea Appolloni & Junqi Liu, 2021. "Does green public procurement encourage firm's environmental certification practice? The mediation role of top management support," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(3), pages 1002-1017, May.
    29. Fu, Hao & Zhao, Cuiping & Cheng, Chuanxing & Ma, Mengyun, 2020. "Blockchain-based agri-food supply chain management: case study in China," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 23(5), February.
    30. Cerutti, Alessandro K. & Contu, Simone & Ardente, Fulvio & Donno, Dario & Beccaro, Gabriele L., 2016. "Carbon footprint in green public procurement: Policy evaluation from a case study in the food sector," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 82-93.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Carlos Andrés Gonzalez-Amarillo & Anabel Fraga Vazquez & Gustavo Adolfo Ramirez-Gonzalez & Miguel Angel Mendoza-Moreno & Juan Carlos Corrales Muñoz, 2023. "BIoTS-Path: Certification Transmission of Supply Chains Based on Blockchain–Internet of Things Architectures by Validating the Information Path," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-23, September.
    2. Alice Villar & Stefania Paladini & Oliver Buckley, 2023. "Towards Supply Chain 5.0: Redesigning Supply Chains as Resilient, Sustainable, and Human-Centric Systems in a Post-pandemic World," SN Operations Research Forum, Springer, vol. 4(3), pages 1-46, September.
    3. Xiangzhen Peng & Xin Zhang & Xiaoyi Wang & Haisheng Li & Jiping Xu & Zhiyao Zhao, 2022. "Multi-Chain Collaboration-Based Information Management and Control for the Rice Supply Chain," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-26, May.
    4. Mirela Stanciu & Agatha Popescu & Iuliana Antonie & Camelia Sava & Bogdan Gabriel Nistoreanu, 2022. "Good Practices on Reducing Food Waste Throughout the Food Supply Chain," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 24(60), pages 566-566, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pandey, Vivekanand & Pant, Millie & Snasel, Vaclav, 2022. "Blockchain technology in food supply chains: Review and bibliometric analysis," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    2. Büşra Ayan & Elif Güner & Semen Son-Turan, 2022. "Blockchain Technology and Sustainability in Supply Chains and a Closer Look at Different Industries: A Mixed Method Approach," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-39, December.
    3. Xiangzhen Peng & Xin Zhang & Xiaoyi Wang & Haisheng Li & Jiping Xu & Zhiyao Zhao, 2022. "Multi-Chain Collaboration-Based Information Management and Control for the Rice Supply Chain," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-26, May.
    4. Antonello Cammarano & Vincenzo Varriale & Francesca Michelino & Mauro Caputo, 2023. "Blockchain as enabling factor for implementing RFID and IoT technologies in VMI: a simulation on the Parmigiano Reggiano supply chain," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 726-754, June.
    5. Krieger, Bastian & Zipperer, Vera, 2022. "Does green public procurement trigger environmental innovations?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(6).
    6. Aditi S. Saha & Rakesh D. Raut & Vinay Surendra Yadav & Abhijit Majumdar, 2022. "Blockchain Changing the Outlook of the Sustainable Food Supply Chain to Achieve Net Zero?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-21, December.
    7. Abbate, Stefano & Centobelli, Piera & Cerchione, Roberto, 2023. "The digital and sustainable transition of the agri-food sector," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    8. Ali, Mohd Helmi & Chung, Leanne & Kumar, Ajay & Zailani, Suhaiza & Tan, Kim Hua, 2021. "A sustainable Blockchain framework for the halal food supply chain: Lessons from Malaysia," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    9. Mohannad Alobid & Said Abujudeh & István Szűcs, 2022. "The Role of Blockchain in Revolutionizing the Agricultural Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-15, April.
    10. Farajpour, Farnoush & Hassanzadeh, Alireza & Elahi, Shaban & Ghazanfari, Mehdi, 2022. "Digital supply chain blueprint via a systematic literature review," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    11. Panagiotis Trivellas & Georgios Malindretos & Panagiotis Reklitis, 2020. "Implications of Green Logistics Management on Sustainable Business and Supply Chain Performance: Evidence from a Survey in the Greek Agri-Food Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-29, December.
    12. Tuğçe Taşkıner & Bilge Bilgen, 2021. "Optimization Models for Harvest and Production Planning in Agri-Food Supply Chain: A Systematic Review," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-27, August.
    13. Fan, Lei & Wilson, William W. & Dahl, Bruce, 2015. "Risk analysis in port competition for containerized imports," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 245(3), pages 743-753.
    14. Leachman, Robert C. & Jula, Payman, 2012. "Estimating flow times for containerized imports from Asia to the United States through the Western rail network," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 296-309.
    15. Seyyed-Alireza Radmanesh & Alireza Haji & Omid Fatahi Valilai, 2023. "Blockchain-Based Architecture for a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cloud Architecture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-19, June.
    16. Talley, Wayne K. & Ng, ManWo, 2016. "Port multi-service congestion," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 66-70.
    17. Favourate Y. Mpofu, 2022. "Taxing the Digital Economy through Consumption Taxes (VAT) in African Countries: Possibilities, Constraints and Implications," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-21, August.
    18. Md Al Amin & Dewan Hafiz Nabil & Roberto Baldacci & Md. Habibur Rahman, 2023. "Exploring Blockchain Implementation Challenges for Sustainable Supply Chains: An Integrated Fuzzy TOPSIS–ISM Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-25, September.
    19. Niloofar Etemadi & Pieter Van Gelder & Fernanda Strozzi, 2021. "An ISM Modeling of Barriers for Blockchain/Distributed Ledger Technology Adoption in Supply Chains towards Cybersecurity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-28, April.
    20. Rengarajan, Srinath & Narayanamurthy, Gopalakrishnan & Moser, Roger & Pereira, Vijay, 2022. "Data strategies for global value chains: Hybridization of small and big data in the aftermath of COVID-19," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 776-787.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:21:p:12181-:d:672499. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.