Purpose

This paper explores the nature and operations of the supply chain that serves disadvantaged groups. With the increasing reliance on supplementary food provision through food aid, the authors seek to emphasise efficiency and sustainability in these supply chains.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interview data from 32 senior managers and experts from both commercial and food aid supply chains were abductively analysed to develop a relationship-based map of the food chains that serve disadvantaged groups.

Findings

Disadvantaged groups are served by a hybrid food supply chain. It is an interconnected supply chain bringing together the commercial and the food aid supply chains. This chain is unsurprisingly plagued with various challenges, the most critical of which are limited expertise and resources, operational inefficiencies, prohibitive logistics costs and a severe lack of collaboration.

Originality/value

This study identifies the currently limited role of logistics companies in surplus food redistribution and highlights future pathways. Additionally, the authors present useful actionable propositions for managers, practitioners and policymakers.

中文翻译：

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影响路径：揭示混合食品供应链——确定推动变革的关系和流程

目的

本文探讨了服务弱势群体的供应链的性质和运作。随着人们越来越依赖通过粮食援助提供补充粮食，作者试图强调这些供应链的效率和可持续性。

设计/方法论/途径

对来自商业和粮食援助供应链的 32 名高级管理人员和专家的半结构化访谈数据进行了溯因分析，以制定为弱势群体服务的基于关系的食物链地图。

发现

弱势群体由混合食品供应链提供服务。这是一个相互关联的供应链，将商业供应链和粮食援助供应链结合在一起。不出所料，该供应链面临着各种挑战，其中最关键的是专业知识和资源有限、运营效率低下、物流成本过高以及严重缺乏协作。

原创性/价值

这项研究确定了目前物流公司在剩余食品再分配中的有限作用，并强调了未来的途径。此外，作者还为管理者、从业者和政策制定者提出了有用的、可行的建议。