Business processes and information systems in the Ghana cocoa supply chain: A survey study

Abstract

The Ghana cocoa industry contributes substantially to the total world cocoa production and provides livelihoods to more than a quarter of the population. Although cocoa holds a leading position in the Ghanaian economy, no explicit effort has been made in modelling and documenting the business processes of the cocoa supply chain and the role that IT plays in supporting those processes. Hence, it is difficult to identify the current obstacles in adopting IT in the Ghana cocoa sector, and likewise, enhance the alignment of the business processes along the supply chain and the underlying IT systems. To address this issue, this article presents the results of a survey study to the current business processes of the cocoa supply chain and the underlying IT systems in Ghana. The survey study has been conducted with 56 individuals from the three key sets of actors from the sector, which are cocoa farmers, cocoa traders and the Ghana cocoa board. Based on the results of the survey study, we provide formal business process models of these actors and describe the role IT currently plays in supporting the business processes. We report on the lessons learned together with the obstacles and thus aim to pave the way for further development and enhancement of the business processes as well as the adopted IT.