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Organisational Flexibility and Competitiveness pp 285–297Cite as

Improving Flexibility in Autonomous Cooperating Food Chains

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Part of the book series: Flexible Systems Management ((FLEXSYS))

Abstract

Flexibility is a crucial performance indicator for supply chains, since it allows for a fast adaption to changing customer demands and environments. This is especially true for food chains, due to the direct interdependence between shelf life and quality of the product, and environmental factors, such as seasonal demand and temperature maintenance. Autonomous cooperation of logistic entities is considered as a concept to foster flexibility in supply chains. One realization of autonomous cooperation is the intelligent container, which is able to constantly monitor storage conditions like temperature and relative humidity of the cargo, while exchanging transport information with its environment and communicating with the freight owner. Hence, the question arises, how the intelligent container may enhance the flexibility of food chains. Therefore, the paper examines contributions and limitations of the intelligent container regarding the flexibility of a specific kind of food chain, namely the banana supply chain.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as part of the Collaborative Research Centre 637 “Autonomous Cooperating Logistic Processes—a Paradigm Shift and Its Limitations”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Engineering and Science, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, 28759, Bremen, Germany

    Verena Brenner, Michael Hülsmann & Philip Cordes-Berszinn

Authors
  1. Verena Brenner
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  2. Michael Hülsmann
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  3. Philip Cordes-Berszinn
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Verena Brenner .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Strategic Management Area, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode, Kunnamangalam, Kozhikode, Kerala, India

    M. K. Nandakumar

  2. Quantitative Methods and Operations Management Area, Indian Institute of Management Kozhlkode, Kunnamangalam, Kozhlkode, Kerala, India

    Sanjay Jharkharia

  3. Finance, Accounting and Control Area, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode, Kunnamangalam, Kozhikode, Kerala, India

    Abhilash S. Nair

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Brenner, V., Hülsmann, M., Cordes-Berszinn, P. (2014). Improving Flexibility in Autonomous Cooperating Food Chains. In: Nandakumar, M., Jharkharia, S., Nair, A. (eds) Organisational Flexibility and Competitiveness. Flexible Systems Management. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1668-1_20

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