Balancing Bargaining Power: The Key to Effective Food Traceability Adoption

Contamination poses a significant threat to food supply chains, leading to public health crises, costly recalls, food waste and damage to brand reputation. Traceability technology offers a potential solution by allowing companies to identify the source of contamination and respond effectively, thus minimising financial losses. However, its success hinges on widespread adoption across the entire food supply network. A study by Lingxiu Dong and team highlights the challenge posed by opportunistic behaviours among supply chain members, which can undermine the advantages of traceability.1 For instance, if retailers notice wholesalers saving costs through traceability, they might demand lower wholesale prices, which could deter wholesalers from adopting the technology. What strategies can procurement and supply chain managers implement to counter these opportunistic behaviours in the food supply chain? The research suggests a simple contractual mechanism to help procurement managers effectively adopt traceability technology