@article{McLaughlin:123000,
      recid = {123000},
      author = {McLaughlin, Edward W. and Perosio, Debra J.},
      title = {Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Procurement Dynamics: The Role  of the Supermarket Buyer},
      address = {1994-02},
      number = {640-2016-42532},
      series = {Research Bulletin},
      pages = {99},
      year = {1994},
      abstract = {Over the past several decades, the fresh fruit and  vegetable industry has been one of the most dynamic sectors  in the U. S. food system. Consumer demand has soared to  record levels and both suppliers and distributors have  responded with impressive new programs, products and  technologies. The objective of this report is to provide  critical information on one of the most influential but  least studied elements of the produce system: the  supermarket produce buyer. This buyer represents the  "gate-keeper" between the supply end of the distribution  channel and the supermarket shelves. His standard operating  practices (SOPs) and decisions have an enormous influence  on industry performance. A "framework" for produce buying  and selling SOPs is set forth in Section 2.
The methodology  employed for this research relied on both secondary  information and primary data collection (Section 3). The  primary data were gathered from the produce director or  buyer in one hundred supermarket chains who responded to an  extensive mail survey. Together, these respondents  represent approximately 75 percent of overall supermarket  chain produce sales. Additionally, several groups of key  industry leaders, suppliers and buyers, were interviewed to  assist with interpretation of the survey data.
The  empirical results and analyses of the study are contained  in Section 4 and categorized into five principal  themes:
•
Produce buying organization
•
Produce buying  process
•
New product issues
•
Produce department  management: pricing and performance
•
Produce department of  the future: buyer projections
Further, perspectives and  strategic implications of these results, particularly from  the view of the supplier, are elaborated in Section 4 and  summarized in Section 5. Among the key findings: produce  buyers are operating under increasing pressure as their  stable to declining numbers are now responsible for three  times as many items as they were 30 years ago; terminal  markets continue to decline as important sources of  produce, particularly for larger supermarket companies who  currently procure only about 7 percent of their total needs  at a terminal; "quality" and "consistency" were repeatedly  reinforced as being more important than "price" alone in  buyers' purchasing decisions; despite considerable industry  urging, DPP has not been widely adopted as a produce  department evaluation tool; and, despite POP material being  the most frequently available type of promotional material  from suppliers, produce buyers report that this is the  "least influential" factor in their new product acceptance  decisions.
These and other findings present numerous  opportunities for positive responses from produce  grower/shipper operations. This type of in-depth knowledge  of customer behavior and decision-making criteria allows  forward-thinking companies to develop successful sales and  marketing strategies. This research suggests that closer  supplierbuyer relationships and alliances are not simply  needed to prosper, but are required to
survive.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/123000},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.123000},
}