Vendor-managed inventory in fresh-food supply chains

This thesis focuses on vendor-managed inventory (VMI) in fresh-food supply chains. VMI is a well-known example of supply chain collaboration, often applied to reduce inventory and improve demand fulfillment in retail supply chains. Despite having been around for many years, VMI is still not as widespread as might be expected based on its theoretical contributions. By analyzing transaction data and conducting interviews about a large VMI implementation in a grocery retail chain, this thesis emphasizes that VMI is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Rather it is shown to be a versatile combination of instruments that can be used in several ways to improve the performance of a supply chain. The thesis provides new insights on how suppliers can best use these instruments of VMI, depending on their products, processes and organizations. Depending on these characteristics, suppliers can seek increased integration between supply chain processes or instead place more emphasis on economies of scale. When truly in control, suppliers can realize service level efficiency improvements that benefit the entire supply chain.

Dissertation: http://hdl.handle.net/11370/6df53e92-0b43-4776-8b81-7971e4000ae8