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Quality-oriented fresh vegetable supply chain: A pilot in Ahmedabad, India
01.05.2011
A pilot vegetable retail store named ‘Clean-n-Fresh’ was designed and operated at the campus of Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad. The aim was to deliver fresh produce of a better (and specified) quality preferred by the consumers. The consumers in the area were people with middle and higher income levels who indicated willingness to pay a premium of up to 20 per cent for clean and fresh produce. The processes and equipment for sorting, cleaning, washing, trimming etc. were specially developed for economy of water, electricity and space. Analysis of over a year of operational data showed that the extra costs incurred for vegetable treatment were about Rs. 1.5-2/kg (US$0.03-0.04/kg), which were within the selling price limit stipulated by consumers. The store began to break even after about six months of operation. This paper describes details of the engineering and business design and a summary of one year of operation.