Networking the Sugar Supply Chain: Embedding Systemic Thinking and Building Collaboration in Complex Social Networks

By:

An interest in collaboration in the agricultural supply chain, and in this case the sugar supply chain, has increasingly occurred over the last few years in response to two main pressures. The first is the consumer demand for safe foods, and the second the opportunity to increase profits through a ‘whole chain’ focus. Consumer demand for different food products has changed over the last thirty years (Food OECD report) due to increasing per capita incomes, demographic shifts and lifestyle changes. At the same time there have been significant structural changes in the food production and processing sectors. Sugar has not escaped these changes.

Complexity in the agricultural supply chain is therefore increasing due to these and other pressures including trade liberalisation, global economy, information explosion, demands of consumers and community concerns about the way agriculture is practised from environmental and food safety perspectives. This increasing complexity and pressure from global markets has resulted in the need for farmers to become aware of the supply chain networks and how their actions can influence the chain to their advantage. It is also in the farmers’ interest to retain profit margines by value adding and to build stronger partnerships with the chain members.

Conversely food retailers and manufacturers are concerned about ensuring their reliable supply of quality produce. They can do this through vertical integration but this can come at a disadvantage to rural communities. In addition, many of these corporations do not have the capacity to operate farming enterprises and are therefore keen to develop stronger partnerships with the farming sector. This paper discusses the challenges of building and maintaining collaborative networks in the sugar supply chain using systemic enquiry and critical systems thinking as the methodolgical approach.

Stream: Cultural Sustainability, Social Sustainability

Paper: A paper has not yet been submitted.

Alice Woodhead is a scientist and she advises organizations on sustainability strategy and science policy. She is the author of many reports on how to think about sustainable development with a specific focus on society, agriculture and food, labeling, ethical consumers, culture, philanthropy, market risk and multi-stakeholder government – commercial sector partnership. A recognized authority on supply chains, Alice has frequently presented on collaboration in food supply chains. Alice has a background in computer science but earned her doctorate in agricultural systems. Her thesis developed social indicators for benchmarking attitudes and behaviour to pollution of ground water from agricultural production on acid sulfate soils. She has over 15 years of science policy experience in the Australian government. Alice was awarded an OECD fellowship and has collaborated with the OECD on various projects. This background in four seemingly unrelated fields, computers, social sciences, environmental sciences and business is one of the factors that distinguish her knowledge of systemic issues. All of these fields including business have at their core the study of complex systems with multiple hierarchies and emergent properties. Alice set up Link Strategy in 2007 and now advises the private sector on how to build corporate sustainability, she specialises in ethical supply chains for both the food and construction sectors. Recent projects include sustainable concrete, transport in the food sector and bio-energy.