A Decision Support System for Planning New Products Introductions in Fresh Produce Supply Chains

Abstract

This research develops an initial proposal of a Decision Support System –DSS– to plan the production and distribution of new fresh agricultural products. This system is based on a hierarchical approach, which can be applied to enterprises as a planning module or as a stand-alone system for crop production. In this paper is stressed the importance of the DSS for small and medium-sized companies, or for small group of growers that need to improve coordination between their growing and market decisions. The DSS covers the strategic, tactical and operational decisions for every season, focusing on new product introduction. The aim of DSS is increasing the competitiveness of growers in a highly variable and complex marketplace. The agri-food sector still needs evolving to meet increasing demands, understand particular tastes of new consumers and evaluating the requirements of new players.