Impact on European consumers and European food sector
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The project bridges the gap between the innovative ICT potentials for cost-efficient processes in the European food chain and the trust between companies in the food chain. It has the objective to create consumer confidence through transparent, trustworthy food chains able to deliver guarantees to consumers and contributes to the affordability of high quality food for European consumers. |
B2B e-commerce is an innovative use of information and communication technologies providing opportunities for cost-efficiency in supply chain management processes and access to new markets. It is evident and widely known that B2B e-commerce brings key advantages and potentials for European consumers and the European food sector:
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The affordability of high quality, traceable food for European consumers is supported the innovation potentials from e-commerce technologies for cost-efficient processes along the food chain. The healthy choice of quality food will become the easy and affordable choice for European consumers.
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The competitiveness of the European food sector with the majority of SMEs increases as B2B e-commerce technologies support cost-efficient transaction processes in food supply chains.
In recent years, the availability of sophisticated B2B e-commerce technology has improved tremendously. However, companies and in particular SMEs in the European food sector are still reluctant to adopt B2B e-commerce technology. The crucial barrier to adoption is that consumers demand trustworthy high quality food and food quality issues require trust between companies along the food chain as it is not possible to check all food quality characteristics. Existing e-commerce offers do not generate sufficient trust between food companies. The fundamental core challenge for the competitiveness of European food chains to deliver affordable high quality food to European consumers is how to develop trust for e-commerce between companies in the food chain. If the innovative potential of e-commerce technologies will not be exploited in European food chains, consumers will not be supplied with affordable high quality food and the food sector will lose its competitiveness. If the large gap between potentials and exploitation of B2B e-commerce continues, enormous negative consequences will emerge:
The well-being and quality of life of European consumers is affected as the non-inclusion of B2B e-commerce in the food chain will inhibit the supply of European consumers with high quality, traceable food products at affordable prices.
The competitiveness of the European food sector with its majority of SMEs cannot endure. The competitiveness of SMEs is affected, in particular. If food sector SMEs will not adopt ecommerce technologies, they will not be able to sell their food products to multinational retailers as retailers increasingly require electronic data and information transfer as prerequisite. Consequences from SMEs falling out of the food sector include less growth and productivity than possible, less jobs and the consequences on the European social security systems. The competitiveness of the European food sector is influenced by its ability of integrating the new members’ food chains. Abandoning the opportunities of B2B ecommerce will inhibit the effective integration of food chains of new member states.
This project bridges the gap between the potentials of e-commerce technology for European consumers and the European food sector and the adoption as it creates "advisory packages" containing how to generate trust and guarantees for e-commerce between companies in the European food chains. The project therefore creates consumer confidence through transparent, trustworthy food chains, contributes to the affordability of high quality food for European consumers and contributes to the future competitiveness of the European food sector and its SMEs, in particular.
Value-added in working at European level
It is this project’s objective to contribute to the well-being of European citizens through high quality, safe to eat and affordable food. It creates consumer confidence through transparent, trustworthy food chains able to deliver guarantees to consumers and ensures the affordability of high quality food by exploiting the efficiency potentials of B2B e-commerce for food chains. The success of the e-Trust project depends on working at European level as
European food chains include the distribution of food products across Europe. E.g., consumers in Northern European countries demand fresh fruits and vegetables from Southern European countries, which requires the distribution from fruits and vegetables from the South (e.g. Spain, Italy, or Greece) to the North (e.g. Germany, Netherlands, Austria). It is therefore indispensable for the e-Trust project to work at European level to reach its objectives.
Reaching the ambitious objectives of the project includes analysing trust between food chain companies in the different food chains in different European countries. Trust in the food chain is highly influenced by the different cultures in European countries. The project’s objective can therefore only be achieved by including partners from different European countries to analyse trust factors for the food chains in different European countries and regions. Without carrying out the work on European level, trust factors for B2B e-commerce valid for the realization of appropriate e-commerce solutions for the food chains in Europe cannot be identified.
Taking into account other European research activities
The project takes into account the knowledge generated in the former funded project of the 5th framework: "Food Risk Communication and Consumers’ Trust in the Food Supply Chain" (QLK1- CT-2002-02343). This project has analyzed the role of consumers’ trust in food in different European countries, but has neither considered trust between companies in the food chain nor trust in electronic commerce. As stated above, demands from consumers to trust the food chain influence trust between companies in the food chain. It is the objective of e-Trust to contribute to the wellbeing of European citizens through high quality, safe to eat and affordable food. It creates consumer confidence through transparent, trustworthy food chains able to deliver guarantees to consumers and ensures the affordability of high quality food by exploiting the efficiency potentials of B2B ecommerce for food chains. The e-Trust project intends to analyze how trust between companies in food chains can be generated in B2B e-commerce. The contact to the results of the former project will be secured by the long-term relationship between Prof. Dr. Maurizio Canavari, leader of DEIAgra-UniBO in e-Trust, with Prof. Dr. Donato Romano, coordinator of the former funded project, and the relationship between UniBonn and Prof. Dr. Bruce Traill, partner of the former funded project who is member of the International Program Committee of an international European workshop on Trust and Risk in Business Networks organized by the UniBonn team in February 2006 (www.uf.uni-bonn.de/trust2006).
Collaboration and information exchange with the European Technology Platform Food for Life is secured as the coordinator of the project Prof. Dr. Gerhard Schiefer is one of leading contributors to the food chain management subject of the Food for Life ETP. The Food for Life ETP has the vision to effectively integrate strategic, transnational, concerted research in the food sciences and food chain management to deliver innovative, novel and improved food products for national, regional, and global markets in line with consumer needs and expectations.