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Frozen Corn Manufacturing and Its Supply Chain: Case Study Using SAP–LAP Approach

Rajneesh Mahajan • Suresh Garg • P. B. Sharma

Received: 6 February 2013 / Accepted: 26 June 2013 / Published online: 24 July 2013

� Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management 2013

Abstract Supply chain performance concerns with overall

coordination and management of all the business associates

involved in the chain. All the associates share a common

platform for achieving smooth business practices. The tem-

perature control supply chain becomes more and more crucial

for fresh and processed food. The major reason is that dif-

ferent products require different type of supply chain man-

agement (SCM). The task is to manage SCM of shorter shelf

life and different type of temperature control requirement.

Fresh fruits and vegetables require plus 8� temperature and frozen fruits and vegetables require minus 12–18� tempera- ture. The purpose of this research paper is to analyze a case

study of manufacturing process and supply chain of frozen

corn for A1company (Name of company is disguised) and to

look into its status of supply chain performance. A1 is a

leading processed food manufacturer and marketer in India. A

case study method is selected to study processed food sector’s

supply chain performance in terms of frozen corn manufac-

turing and its supply chain. A situation-actor-process (SAP),

learning-action-performance (LAP) model has been applied

to analyze the case study on A1. The situation is showing a

present scenario of the organization. Actors are the SCM

participants. They are influencing the situation to evolve dif-

ferent business processes. The various learning issues have

been analyzed. The suitable actions are followed by the impact

of SAP on the performance of A1’s SCM. The individual quick

freezing is a unique manufacturing technique. It is used to

convert fresh vegetable and fruit into frozen. It is helping A1 to

maintain consistent quality of agri product like corn in its

frozen form. It is crucial to maintain cold chain during man-

ufacturing, at the storage time, transporting to distributors

and at retail. It is crucial to make consumers aware about

storage of frozen vegetables in deep freezer of their refriger-

ator. The SAP–LAP model is used to describe the soft and hard

issues of frozen corn manufacturing and its SCM coordination

in a managerial context with reference to a dynamic SAP–

LAP model as applied to the A1. The SAP–LAP model presents

the situation of frozen corn manufacturing and cold supply

chain of frozen corn. The exercise is to identify the gaps in cold

supply chain management. The synthesis of SAP leads to LAP.

It bridges the gap of flexibility in suggesting improvement

actions or the learning from the present situation, actors and

processes. This is a unique approach to analyze quantitative

and qualitative issues of supply chain performance initiatives

in a single model and its impact on the performance of the

supply chain.

Keywords Cold chain � Frozen corn supply chain � SAP–LAP analysis � Supply chain performance measurement

Introduction

In this paper we report a case study of an India processed

food manufacturer and marketing company. It is dealing in

manufacturing of frozen Peas, frozen corn, frozen vegeta-

bles and frozen Aloo Tikki. The A1 is one of the leading

brand name for fresh and frozen products. The sweet corn

is selected only from the best farms and is frozen still fresh

For technical reasons, the name of the organization is concealed.

R. Mahajan (&) � S. Garg � P. B. Sharma DTU, New Delhi, India

e-mail: [email protected]

S. Garg

e-mail: [email protected]

P. B. Sharma

e-mail: [email protected]

123

Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management (September 2013) 14(3):167–177

DOI 10.1007/s40171-013-0040-y

using the ultra advance individual quick freezing (IQF)

technique. The sweet corn is frozen by using an IQF

technique through a tunnel of fluidized bed, leading to

freezing of each and every kernel of corn individually. In

this process cells do not damage, preserving the natural

nutrition and flavor of sweet corn. The sweet corn is natural

and contains no preservatives or additives. The A1 has

wonderful distribution support in terms of cold chain

management nationally. The market is also ready for fro-

zen corn. They have excellent central distribution hub or

depot in Delhi and dependable channel partners in terms of

carrying and forwarding agents (C&F’s), distributors and

retailer. The frozen corn requires typical frozen tempera-

ture to the tune of -18 to 20� for storage. If the desirable temperature breaks at any channel member, frozen corn

becomes thawe, puffy, dull or heavily speckled. It implies

the frozen corn gets damaged. Therefore, the company is

always facing challenges to keep such a delicate product

under desirable temperature. It can help to maintain frozen

corn’s shape, quality and nutritional value intact. The corn

is a source of vitamin B1. It can balance quantity of fiber in

diet that controls cholesterol of consumer. A1 sells frozen

corn in 200, 500 g and 1 kg packs. The consumer response

for frozen corn is also encouraging. It is in our traditions to

eat challi or Bhutta. The challi or Bhutta is the traditional

Indian names for typical sweet corn. In India the tradition

is to eat sweet corn either by boiling or by roasting over a

slow fire or bar-be-cue. The boiled corn in India is eaten by

putting butter and chat masala or pouring Imli Ki Chutney

(globally know as tamarind sauce). Therefore, the market is

ready made for the product range of frozen corn in India

too. It was launched to serve in star hotels as well as in big

marriage parties. This way our traditional food got alive.

Current Trends of Frozen Processed Food Market

in India

In 2011 current value sales grew faster as compared to

2010, With the impact of the economic recession easing,

consumers were encouraged to increase their spending on

frozen processed food. The current value sales recorded

fastest growth rate in 2011. Frozen processed vegetables

registered the highest current value growth of 13 % and in

value terms 2.8 billion in 2011.

The size of Indian frozen vegetable market is

16,885 tonnes in 2011. Out of a total Indian frozen vege-

tables sale, frozen peas amount to 72 %, i.e. 7,279 tonnes

and frozen corn amount to 6 %, i.e. 606 tonnes in 2011.

Consumption of frozen processed food has been increasing

in urban India. Table 1 is depicting the sales of frozen

processed food by category in volume term for 2006–2011.

The literature review on the cold supply chain is crafted

in the Table 2.

Frozen Sweet Corn Manufacturing Process

The A1 has a production complex. It comprises of a pre-

fabricated building consisting of cold store chambers with

different sets of temperature and humidity conditions

suitable for storage of various fruits and vegetables. It has

controlled atmosphere chambers and ripening chambers

(especially for Banana, Pineapple etc.), deep freezing

chambers (for Ice-creams, frozen corn, frozen peas, frozen

vegetables etc.), preparation hall (for sorting and grading of

fresh fruit and vegetables for distribution), processing hall

(IQF Plant area, Pulp extraction, sprout preparation,

developing cut vegetables etc.), dispatch hall (for logistics

and supplies managed by central distribution hub for Delhi

and NCR sales). The material handling is done in specially

designed plastic crates with the help of a forklift. The

complete grading and sorting is being done using a fully

automated system. The packaging of fresh fruits is also

done with the distribution hub. The A1 has five cold stores

each of 1,000 tonnes capacity, 12 deep freezing chambers

and 900 tonnes capacity each. The IQF line is capable of

handing 3.5 tonnes frozen corn per hour. The IQF tech-

nique for frozen corn is illustrated in Fig. 1. It shows a

complete processing cycle from the arrival of truck at the

Table 1 Volume sales of frozen processed food category 2006–2011

Frozen range of products 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Frozen processed fish/seafood 716 783 863 935 1,028 1,126

Frozen processed potatoes 842 930 1,036 1,143 1,273 1,415

Frozen processed poultry 1,222 1,342 1,485 1,610 1,763 1,929

Frozen processed red meat 475 521 577 620 678 736

Frozen processed vegetables 6,483 7,179 7,819 8,446 9,219 10,111

Frozen ready meals 885 994 1,118 1,240 1,399 1,566

Grand Total Frozen processed food 10,623 11,749 12,898 13,994 15,360 16,883

Source Euro monitor Report (2012)

168 Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management (September 2013) 14(3):167–177

123

docks, the truckload of shelled corn sent for unpeeling of

fresh corn manually at the plant, then corn off loaded at

IQF Plant. The IQF process for converting fresh sweet corn

to frozen corn is explained through four stages first, stock

management, pre IQF process, IQF technique applied and

post IQF processes.

IQF technique helps in creating better quality products.

It preserves all the nutritional value of the product. The

quality and taste of the products remain uniform as like

fresh ones.

Integrated Supply Chain at A1

The fresh corn is being sourced from Maharashtra India

directly from the farmers as well as from farmer coopera-

tives or groups. The prices are market driven, set in the

open negotiation based on the quality of the corn. The

stock thus purchased is initially processed locally and

transportation is arranged to bring the frozen sweet corn to

the processing plant in Delhi through reefed vans at -20�. The stock is packed in bulk bags of 30 kg. The

Table 2 Table on cold chain literature

References Contribution in literature Research angle Remarks if any

Chen and Shaw (2011) Frozen food can be healthy, heterogeneous and safe

foods for human beings. This trend suggests that

consumers may have a great need for frozen foods

in the future due to convenience factor attached

with.

Requirement of frozen

products

CCM

Mahajan et al. (2011) Created-differentiation between cold and general

Supply Chain

Indian frozen Peas Market CSCM

Amador and Emond (2010) Some perishable products (such as certain

pharmaceuticals and chilling sensitive produce)

require the monitoring of the critical points of their

loads because they cannot afford being subjected

to any temperature abuse, since reaching threshold

temperatures would seriously impair their safety

and integrity; consequently, RFID systems using

tags with a probe would be the most adequate

solution for their temperature tracking needs

Temperature monitoring and

control

CCM

Van der Vorst et al. (2009) Food supply chains are confronted with increased

consumer demands on food quality and

sustainability

Importance of food quality FSCM

Ovca and Jevsnik (2008) Customer practices related to temperature sensitivity Importance-of-temperature in

CSCM

FSCM

Berger (2007) Stressed upon the standardization in packaging and

distribution of perishable products

Packaging and channels for

distribution of perishable

products

FSCM

Valeeva et al. (2006) The stability of perishable goods in at farm level and

in logistic-chains

Integrated FSCM from farm to

retail

FSCM

Eleni Mangina and Vlachos (2005) Highlighted the importance of the changing role of

information technology in food and beverage

logistics management & traceability

Utilization of IT for FSCM FSCM

Hahn et al. (2004) The retail level maintaining the cold chain,

inventory control and return policy of perishable

items

CCM at Retail CCM

Salin and Nayga (2003) The integrity of the cold chain must be preserved

from the point of production to retail store and

extends to storage at the consuming household

CCM Integrated CCM

Jacxsens et al. (2002) Impact of temperature fluctuations in a simulated

cold distribution chain, typical of commercial

practice, was investigated on both the microbial

and sensorial quality of equilibrium-modified

atmosphere (EMA) packaged minimally processed

vegetables

Crucial to maintain

temperature

CCM

Omta et al. (2001) Mechanics of the cold chain is an important

component of SCM for chilled and frozen foods

Importance of cold chain

equipments

CCM

Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management (September 2013) 14(3):167–177 169

123

transportation time is 4 days to deliver the stock at Delhi.

In Delhi plant, the final processing takes place by applying

IQF technology. The actual shelf life right from point of

processing to the point of consumption at consumer level is

24 months. Whereas, the prescribed shelf life mentioned

on frozen corn packs is 12 months. It is because of a

strategy to deal with a situation of slow liquidation of

stocks. A1 procures corn on yearly bases only.

At A1, the bulk bags are opened and repacked into

consumer (200, 500 g, 1 kg) as well as institutional packs

(5 kg). The frozen corn is then ready for redistribution in

India. The pan India distribution takes place as per the

respective markets sales potential and their orders as per

their sales planning. Within Delhi and National Capital

Region (NCR), the distribution can be managed in 24 h of

orders received from distributors. For rest of India the

delivery time will be as per the respective geographical

distances. The stocks are distributed and redistributed at all

the point of sales on first come first bases. A1 depends on

its strong pan India distribution network which comprises

of 20 carrying and forwarding agents and 200 distributors.

For example, the delivery time for making frozen corn

available at Amritsar will be 2 days, for delivery the same

stock from Delhi to Chandigarh in a day and in order to

deliver the stock in Bangalore A1 takes 5 days.

The integrated supply chain of A1 is depicted in Fig. 2

A1 is utilizing two types of channels. The first one is

own outlets and second, open retail channel of marketing

and sale of frozen corn. A1 has full control over its own

outlets. Therefore, the present case study is focused on the

retail market operations.

Here lie the challenges of maintaining, and monitoring

of cold chain at all the levels immediately after the central

distribution hub. A1 channel of distribution is depicted in

Fig. 3.

Research Methodology

Sushil (2000) has recommended the use of SAP–LAP

Methodology for critical examination of case studies. The

SAP–LAP paradigm is depicted in Fig. 4. It is basis of

flexible systems management (Sushil 1997).

The SAP–LAP paradigms take into account three enti-

ties in a management context. Such as situation, actors and

processes (SAP). It could be seen that a situation is to be

dealt with an actor or set of actors through a process or a

set of processes. The freedom of choice exits with an actor,

who could be an individual, a group or the organization as

a whole (Fig. 5).

The interdependence and interplay of SAP lead to

learning, actions and performance (LAP). The time was

taken in handling the situation, which would result into the

performance of the system (Sushil 2000). With the new

learning and actions the situation, actor and process might

result in change into a new level. Such a dynamic interplay

of SAP and LAP will act as the basis of ongoing mana-

gerial inquiry (Sushil 2000) (Table 3).

Stock-

Management Pre IQF Process IQF Technique Post IQF

Room Temperature

Cold Chain is maintained till end of final consumption of frozen corn at minimum -18 Degree Temperature

Fresh Corn Received

Clean Corn through Conveyor belt, sent

to IQF Chamber

Corn is IQF at -30 to -40 Degree Temperature

Unshelling of corn done

manually

Grading and Waste

Separation

Packaging, Warehousing & Dispatch w.r.t Channel partners

Washing of Corn and

Metal Detection Test

Fig. 1 IQF of frozen corn

170 Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management (September 2013) 14(3):167–177

123

The SAP–LAP paradigm incorporates both learning and

action in a symbiotic manner coupled with performance. It

not only takes into consideration optimization of processes,

but also incorporates multiple perspectives of various

participating actors in a managerial process.

Thus, SAP–LAP analysis offers a learning and interpre-

tive framework of inquiry into the problem under consid-

eration. Therefore the organization which is in the process of

adopting new technologies SAP–LAP framework could

prove to be a useful methodology for analyzing the problem.

The adoption of new cold chain practices and new tech-

nologies is desirable. Thus the SAP–LAP analysis could be

best fit for the analysis of the present case study of A1.

A1’s Background-Processed Food Sector Firm

Indian consumers had been introduced to frozen processed

food first time through a pioneering organization, ‘A1’,

(name of the company is disguised). A1 had launched

organized retail outlets of fresh fruit and vegetable and

frozen range of products such as frozen peas, frozen corn,

frozen mix vegetable, Aloo Tikki (a popular Indian snack

made from boiled mashed potatoes), and vegetables in

India way back in the late 1980s. A1 is more a two decade

old organization. It had launched frozen corn in India in

2008. It is one of the market leader in manufacturing frozen

peas.

The company was ranked fifth in the market with 4 %

value share in 2012. The company benefits from strong

positions in ice cream, where it had a value share of 11 % in

2012, and dairy products, where its share was 9 %. The

company generates most of its dairy sales from North India,

especially New Delhi and its surrounding areas. However,

its frozen products have a larger presence in other parts of

India, particularly in West India. The company had a 21 %

value share in frozen processed food in 2012 as well as a

small presence in oils and fats, spreads, dried processed

foods and sauces, dressings and condiments. The company’s

overall value share rose gradually over the review period

from just over 2 % in 2004 to almost 4 % in 2012. A1 has

food processing facilities located in Delhi, Mumbai and

Bangalore. The food processing plant in Mumbai carries out

the processing and refining of tropical fruits and converting

them into purées for export (Table 4).

A1 is USD 1 billion (1,000 million) company and a leading

manufacturer of dairy products and processed foods. A1

occupies 20 acres of area for the processing of frozen fruits and

vegetables in Delhi and comprises of pre-fabricated building

consisting of cold store chambers with different sets of tem-

perature and humidity conditions suitable for storage of var-

ious fruits and vegetables.They manufacture tropical fruits

pulps and concentrates of the highest quality in India and

export fruits pulps and concentrates and fresh/frozen vegeta-

bles/fruits to over 40 countries worldwide including USA,

Europe, Middle East, Russia and Far East Asia. A1’s inter-

national marketing operations are managed by a dedicated

export division that manages a network of international dis-

tributors and OEM customers—supported by its state of art

manufacturing plants and Innovation centre in India. It

maintains superior quality through processing at ISO 9002,

ISO 22000, FDA, FPO, Kosher, Halal, Global GAP, Ecocert,

SGF and HACCP certified plants and GMP procedures are

followed at all stage of processing.

SAP–LAP Analysis of A1

Situation

• A1 is one of the leading manufacturers of frozen products. It is offering the best of quality processed

food to Indian market since 1987.

Purchase from farms at Pune and Nagpur in India

CC2 A1

CC1 A1

CC3 A1

Processing Plant locally at -20 Degree, packed in bulk

Break the bulk and IQF applied on Corn

Repackaging, storage and transporting the Frozen Corn

as per sales plan

Distribution Channel and Retailing

Fig. 2 Comprehensive frozen Corn supply chain, Note CC1, CC2 and CC3 are collection centers for fresh corn procured from farmers

Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management (September 2013) 14(3):167–177 171

123

• The cold supply chain is required for most of the A10s products. Cold supply chain is unique and complex in

nature.

• Intensive cut throat competition observed especially with entry of global frozen food giants in Indian

market.

• There is a steep increase in consumer demand for frozen foods especially in urban cities due to steep rise

in double income households.

• CCM is required and based upon close coordination among channel partners

• Still distributors show a careless attitude towards maintaining required -18 degree temperature for frozen

corn

• They emphasis less on stock rotation and hygiene of deep freezes

• The older glycol deepfreezers must be replaced with newer ones as new freezers are fiber based and energy

efficient

• With higher turnover, modern cold rooms are replacing deepfreezers

• A1 have implemented advanced information technol- ogy tools for business management

• A1 have a strong distribution network in Delhi and NCR.

• It is one of the trusted brands in the processed food sector

• It was pioneered to start the sales of frozen food sector in India

Actor

• Board of A1, Top Management, C.E.O, General Man- ager- Supply Chain Frozen, Manager—Frozen, Logis-

tics Head- frozen and the supply chain department is

main actors

• All the employees of A1 in general and in particular supply chain and logistics of department

• All the suppliers or business associates of A1 • C& F agents, distributors of A1 and retailers of A1

Process

• A Major weakness is that suppliers and distributors are connected to the processing plant through traditional

means of communication like fax, telephones, cells etc.

• The main raw material is peeled corn required for the production of frozen corn

• Existing CSCM requires up-gradation

Central Distribution Hub

In Delhi and NCR-Distributors

Distribution Channel

Retail Market Distributors: Retail

Markets

Retailing of Frozen Corn

For Rest of India carrying and Forwarding Agents located in

respective Geographies

Institutional Distributors: Star Hotels, Hospitals, Catering Business etc.

Modern Retail Format (MRF):

Organized Retail

Intermediate consumption

Fig. 3 Channel of distribution of A1

172 Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management (September 2013) 14(3):167–177

123

• Domestically the sweet corn is sourced from Maharashtra

• Frozen corn manufacturing depends upon availability of fresh sweet corn, sales and marketing department’s

yearly sales projections

• A1 utilizes IQF a state of art technology for manufac- turing frozen corn

• A1 deployed SAP in all the departments for better and faster communication

• The intranet is being used for connecting all the C&Fs and regional sales offices.

• Stringent quality control practices are applied, secured certifications like HACCP, ISO 14000 and ISO 22000

Learning

• In A1 the production planning is based upon avail- ability of the right kind of sweet corn and sales and

marketing sales projections

• Use of proper cold chain and space available for storage at retail can boost sales

• Implementing proper cold chain creates wonders for A1 • The channel partner’s awareness,education and training

on CCM is desired

• Creation for phasing out old set of deep freezes and replacing CCM with modern cold rooms required

immediately

• The initial investment is a major hurdle in the process. The cost saving will be done on account of less energy

consumption, reducing stock damages and selling more

fresh stock, it in-turn increases sales and profitability

• Instead of monitoring of temperature abuse in CSCM, channel partners themselves made conscious efforts to

become the temperature sensitive

• Ensuring 3PL vendors must follow the guideline of temperature maintenance

• Deploying data loggers to monitor CCM and ethics in CSCM can be expected

S: Situation Internal and

external for A1

P: Process IQF Technique

Frozen Corn, SCM etc.

A: Actors Employee, Business

Associates at A1

Interplay of SAP-LAP

L: Learning Gather from SAP

on A1 Frozen Corns SCM

A: Action Applied through SAP on

frozen corn SCM at A1

P: Performance Help to make better

SAP for A1

A1 Organizational Beliefs and Culture

A1 Tact and Strategy

Fig. 4 SAP–LAP Paradigm

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• The major challenge is streamline connectivity among distributors and their central distribution hub, C&F

agents to encourage fast and correct communication

• Moreover IT will help in developing nice informative web site for consumers and in future to begin online

sales

Discussions and Conclusion

In the present research paper, a case study of manufac-

turing process and supply chain of frozen corn A1 (Name

of company is disguised) is discussed. It is a leading pro-

cessed food marketers and manufacturers in India. This

case study highlights crucial observations about the IQF of

corn and cold supply chain management of frozen corn.

The most important observation is that A1, has the most

modern IQF plant for manufacturing frozen corn for the

most demanding markets. The major challenges are

awareness creation, educating and training of channel

members especially third party logistics service providers

(3PL) or transporters, distributors and retailers to maintain

-18 to 20� temperature for frozen corn transportation and its storage. To avoid frozen corn quality, shape, colour,

hygiene conditions, nutrition value get deteriorated.

A1 has USD 1 billion turnover. It can easily implement

SAP–LAP with internal and external support from its

employees and shareholders. As a result of its implemen-

tation of SAP–LAP, the frozen corn wastages or damages

can be eliminated close to minimum level of 0.5 %.

Therefore, A1’s gain on this front can be reinvested for the

said purpose. One of the limitations of cold chain man-

agement is that chain members for their meager gains

switch-off the cold chain equipments like cold rooms, deep

freezes, reefer vans cooling systems to save electricity

expenses or diesel for a few hours. Another limitation,

there is always shortage of frozen storage space. Therefore,

channel members do not hesitate in keeping the frozen corn

stock outside the cold room or deep freezes for a few

minutes or hours. It happened due to lack of proper order

processing, inefficient supply chain management and its

planning. The company is connected using traditional

Action: Identified Gaps of CSCM is filled through proper checks & data loggers and educate all associates about importance of temperature maintain at all level of CSCM among CSCM members of A1

Actors: Famers, employees, C&F agents, distributors, retailers, consumers, GOI, 3PLs, CCM and relations & coordination in A1

Learning: Gap Analysis of frozen corn CSCM, implement better CSCM enabled with modern IT and IQF Technology for A1

Performance: Better quality frozen corn, customer collaboration can leads to consumer satisfaction, improved CSCM achieves more market share of A1

Process: Procuring uniform quality corn, applying IQF, maintain strict CCM, Advance IT applications, integrated CSCM in A1

Situation: Implementing CCM, monitoring, temperature control, achieving higher market share, offer better IQF corn by A1

Interplay

SAP-LAP

Fig. 5 Proposed framework of SAP–LAP paradigm in A1. Note CCM cold chain management, CSCM cold supply chain management, data logger is the device to monitor temperature fluctuations attached to cold chain equipments

174 Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management (September 2013) 14(3):167–177

123

means of communications like fax, telephones, cell phones

etc. The distributor’s orders still come on fax or over

telephone. Once order is received and punched in computer

system, it cannot be corrected in either of direction upward

or downward. Even though A1 has shifted from FoxPro

computing system till 1999-98 to Microsoft Navision in

2000–2001 and most recently SAP in 2010–2011. It was

implemented within A1, its regional offices and supply

chain depots and attained limited success. The channel

members are still not connected through SAP. Thus the

effective integration of the frozen cold supply chain is the

most desirable to eliminate wastes.

A1 has many gray areas in the cold supply chain man-

agement. It is vital to interact with logistics and supply

chain management team at A1 and distributors to make

them aware about the benefits of maintaining ethical

practices in cold chain for their own sake. It would be nice

if they integrate SCM by implementing SAP at their end

through limited support of firm. A1 should utilize the

modern technologies for effective implementation of its

integrated cold chain management in long run.

Table 3 Case studies facilitated through SAP–LAP

References Case studies facilitated through SAP–LAP research took Applied to sector

Charan (2012) Situation represents the scenario of the organization. Actors are the

participants, influencing the situation to evolve different business

processes. Based on SAP, various learning issues have been analyzed

which lead to suitable action followed by impact on the performance of the

supply chain of the organization.

Automotive organization

Goel et al. (2012) Application of e-governance HUDA Information communication

technology

Siddiqui et al. (2012) A supply chain management (SCM) practice in services is an ongoing

process and needs continuous efforts on total quality management (TQM)

practices and flexible systems (FSs) practices fronts.

Energy

Palanisamy (2012) To accommodate the variation in business and technological changes, the

organizational information system (IS) needs to be flexible. Author has

addressed the importance of flexibility in IS for growth of business.

Information systems

Shukla et al. (2011) A firm needs to develop effective coordination within and beyond its

boundaries in order to maximise the potential for converting competitive

advantage into profitability

Automotive components

manufacturer

Sahoo et al. (2011) To study the strategic technology management (STM) practices Automotive

Garg and Deshmukh (2010) Flexible system management has brought a concept of flexibility in all

spheres including maintenance management. Considerable literature is

available on various facets of flexibility management, namely, production,

supply chain, day-to-day activities, etc.

Maintenance

Ahuja et al. (2010) Building project management requires real time flow of information between

all the project team members or the supply chain members

Information Communication

Technology

Pramod and Banwet (2010) By the adoption of an appropriate change management scheme, organisations

can improve their core competency

Telecommunications

Suri (2008) Computerisation programme of a central government department Information Sytems

Arshinder et al. (2007) Supply chain coordination is concerned with managing dependencies

between various supply chain members and the joint efforts of all supply

chain members to achieve mutually defined goals. There are different

coordination mechanisms reported in the literature that have been discussed

in isolation like information sharing, information technology, long-term

partnerships, and joint decision making which help in coordinating supply

chain members.

Manufacturing

Table 4 A1’s Competitive Position

Product range Value share % Rank

Dairy 9 2

Ice cream 11 3

Frozen processed food 20 1

Oils and fats 1 20

Dried processed food 1 17

Spreads 1 13

Source Euro monitor Report (2012)

Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management (September 2013) 14(3):167–177 175

123

One can conclude that Indian cold chains are at the

nascent stage. With the changing scenarios in Indian

households, the income growth is due to more and more

participation of women in GDP contribution. The women

find less time for food preparation at home. Therefore, the

demand for frozen processed food is bound to increase

many folds in India. It implies that A1 stands a greater

chance being a pioneering firm in sector to reap the gains

by overcoming the sighted challenges in the present case

study. As they have the right kind of manufacturing tech-

nique like IQF for producing uniform quality. We wish to

extend our thanks to the A1 organisation for sharing

information to develop this case study on A1.

Illustration

The figures are depicting the frozen corn samples stored in

different temperature conditions and its impact on the

quality of corn, its shape and fragrance (Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9).

Acknowledgments We would like to acknowledge DAAD for awarding scholarship to the corresponding author for carrying out

doctoral research work in Germany and anonymous reviewers for his/

her detailed and helpful comments to the current case study.

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Fig. 6 Temperature required for frozen corn -18�

Fig. 7 When corn kept out for 15 min at temperature ?35 to 40�, corn turned puffy and thawed

Fig. 8 When corn kept out for 45–60 min at temperature ?35 to 40�, corn turned completely thawed and lost its freshness and sweetness

Fig. 9 When corn kept out for 45–60 min at temperature ?35 to 40�, corn turned completely thawed and lost its freshness and sweetness,

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Key Questions

1. What is the concern of supply chain performance in cold

chain management?

2. Why is temperature controlled supply chain required for

fresh and processed foods?

3. How is a case study useful in conducting research?

4. What is the present status of frozen corn supply chain

management in India?

5. What should A1 do to boost the sales of frozen corn from

prospective of supply chain?

Author Biographies

Rajneesh Mahajan has received DAAD’s Sand- wich Progarmme Scholarship from June 2012–

Sept. 2013 to conduct part of his doctoral pro-

gramme research in Gottingen University in Ger-

many. He is a Full-Time Doctoral Programme

Research Scholar at Delhi School of Management,

Delhi Technological University, formerly known

as Delhi College of Engineering, New Delhi,

India. Before joining Ph.D. program, he worked as Assistant Pro-

fessor with a well-known privately managed Business School at New

Delhi in India. His research interests are in the area of cold chain

management, global supply chain management, global food Safety,

international trade operations, international business and international

marketing.

Suresh Garg is Dean (Academics) and Former Head of the Delhi School of Management, Delhi

Technological University, formerly known as

Delhi College of Engineering, New Delhi, India.

He has published more than 145 research papers in

international/national journals/conferences. His

areas of interests include supply chain manage-

ment, six sigma, total quality management and

flexibility management.

P.B. Sharma is the Founder Vice-Chancellor of Delhi Technological University, formerly known

as Delhi College of Engineering, at New Delhi,

India. He is an Academician, Researcher and

Administrator. His areas of interests include

knowledge and technology management, innova-

tions management, technical education, etc.

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Copyright of Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management is the property of Springer Science & Business Media B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.