ISHS Acta Horticulturae 135: VII Symposium on Horticultural Economics, XXI IHC
THE NATURE AND MANAGEMENT OF DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS FOR FRUIT AND VEGETABLES |
| Authors: | J.E. Holt, D. Schoorl |
| Abstract:
The business of distribution is to provide produce to the consumer at the desired time, in appropriate quantities and of acceptable quality at reasonable prices. The nature of distribution is described for agricultural, industrial and "post-industrial" societies in terms of producer, middleman and consumer. The factors in distribution common to all societies are produce, packaging, handling, transport, storage, environment and time. The influence of these factors and their interactions on deterioration in quality and costs of maintaining quality are emphasised. The management of distribution involves the management of service, quality and cost. Quality management with deteriorating produce is a fundamental requirement of distribution. To provide a framework for management, a perspective of distribution is derived in terms of inputs, processes and outputs all working in an environment made up of people, the technology they can use, the facilities they have available, and the economic expectations and constraints. The use of this perspective in the management of quality will be described. | |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
