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1. Introduction
This paper is the most interesting and challenging in my doctoral research on processed food supply chain management (PFSCM). The research in PFSCM was carried out using a network that comprises farmers, food processors, manufactures, carrying and forwarding agents, distributors and retailers, logistic service providers, cold chain service providers, etc. To make the definition more clear, in Table I, the differences among PFSCM, cold chain management and general supply chain management are presented.
The current research paper is an outcome of brain storming, valuable and broad discussions with processed food experts, academia, corporate and researchers. The main objective of the authors is to attempt to craft a framework for the categorization of the literature linked to PFSCM and to contribute toward doctoral food research for the benefit of researchers, academicians and corporates. Our research is based on the analysis of research articles and research reports. The research articles were mainly extracted from Emerald and Science Direct (Elsevier) databases.
Structure of the present research: Section 2 presents a review of the literature; Section 3 elaborates on the research methodology; Section 4 explains the purpose of proving a framework for the categorization of the literature linked to food supply chain management (FSCM); Section 5 presents discussions and results; and Section 6 presents the conclusion of the paper.
2. Review of literature
FSCM has been one of the important areas to achieve food security and eliminate food shortages by reducing spoilage of food products. This is evident by a steep increase in practitioner and academic publications, conferences, faculty development programs and university courses. The present research also supports the claim of a sudden increase in research articles on FSCM shown in Figure 5, but the research still focuses on narrow functional silos such as perishables products, cold chain, agri-supply chain and food safety and quality. In order to develop a better understanding of this gap in the knowledge base of FSCM, a framework for the categorization of the literature on FSCM is required. This framework is presented in the current research paper. The literature has been classified into content orientation and research methodological orientation. A systematic process was used to classify the literature along salient conceptual and research methodological dimensions.
The term FSCM appears to be...