A Closed-Loop Traceability System to Improve Logistics Decisions in Food Supply Chains: A Case Study on Dairy Products

The food industry has experienced profound transformation. Companies are increasingly facing new challenges and issues: on one hand, the access to new and attractive markets, and on the other, the increasing number of products, the competition in a global market, and the consumers’ requirements in terms of quality and environmental sustainability of the products (Li et al., 2014). Furthermore, the recent scandals and frauds affecting food safety requirements elicit the attention of consumers and compel politicians to assess the responsiveness of food supply chains and their tracking and monitoring systems. Because of the leading role of the food industry in the European manufacturing sector, the food companies are more and more resilient and strive to adapt quickly and responsively to the incoming issues and challenges. The food and drink industry turnover is 1048 billion euro in 2014, with an increasing value of both agro-food and beverage export and import respectively of 86.2 billion euro and 63.2 billion euro (World Bank, 2014). The demand of food specialties by foreign markets grows with the importance of logistics processes and operations in food supply chains.