Value Creation in Chains: working together on future-oriented chains

In the project 'Value Creation in Chains', supermarkets, processors, farmers and market gardeners are working on future-oriented chains. In the past few months the first discussions with various chain partners have taken place. The initiators of the project (LTO Nederland, NAJK and Rabobank) have also arrived at a clear objective for the project, which serves as a basis for further elaboration.

Big ambitions

"We started this project over three months ago. Great ambitions were expressed. A project of this size, in which all chain parties are involved, is actually unprecedented. This creates complexity, which sometimes means trial and error," says Sjaak van der Tak, chairman of LTO Nederland. At the beginning of June this year, the first talks with supermarkets took place. "The shelves of the two largest Dutch supermarkets are now more open to the healthy and fresh products of Dutch farmers and market gardeners. This has resulted in a stronger position in the domestic market. In follow-up discussions with supermarkets, we will expand on this and work on joint value creation for the long term."

The goal of Value Creation in Chains is to have supermarkets, processors, farmers and market gardeners work together to develop chains in which the farmer is a business partner with whom a distinctive product is developed for the long term - for which the consumer is willing to pay a premium price. In this approach, the farmer is not an interchangeable supplier of a raw material. At the same time, a business school is being set up in which the knowledge of all the chain parties can be brought together. Participants in the business school will be taught to apply chain thinking in their daily practice.

Follow-up

The coming period will be used to involve as many parties from the chain as possible in the project. Last Wednesday, for example, a stakeholder meeting was organized for interested parties who welcome and want to support the initiative. The project organization is continuing talks, including with three large supermarket chains.

Till the end of this year the project is in the start-up phase. In it, opportunities and possible risks will be defined. In addition, processors, supermarkets, farmers and market gardeners will work together in some directed projects, which will serve as inspiration for successful cooperation. The emphasis is on strengthening mutual trust and realizing value for all parties in the chain.

Source: LTO