Digitization of Information Sharing to Minimize the Impact of COVID-19 in the Food Supply Chain

Abstract

In this COVID-19 pandemic, the production, distribution, and demand fulfillment of perishable food products emerged as a foremost challenge for the supply chain due to the unavailability of timely and accurate information sharing. This study aims to test the relationships between the different types of information sharing, cost-saving performance, and supply chain relationships. In doing so, a survey study was carried out involving food supply chain practitioners, and proposed research claims were tested using a structural equation modeling approach. The results confirmed the positive impact of day-to-day information and periodic information on cost-saving performance and supply chain relationships. However, the impact of day-to-day information was significantly higher on cost-saving performance and supply chain relationships than the impact of periodic information. The study findings may support supply chain practitioners in understanding the different types of information that need to be shared in networks and their related impact on the overall profitability of the supply chain.