1. Development of a Dedicated Chain
A key feature of a lean chain would be the creation of a consistent
source of supply and a set of suppliers that work together over the
long term to plan production to meet customer needs and demand
patterns. A lean approach would be characterised by a dedicated
value chain with some or all of the following characteristics:
! A retailer committed to sourcing as much as possible of its meat
requirements from a small number (probably two or maximum
three) meat processing companies.
! The selected processing companies to act as ëfirst tier suppliersí
to the retailer.
! A selected group of farms producing animals under contract
exclusively for the specific retailer to be processed through the
selected meat processors.
! Animals to be processed at one or probably two abattoirs, with
abattoirs located close to areas of animal production so as to
minimise transport cost and detrimental impact of movement on
animal welfare and meat quality.
! The processing plants to aim to convert as much as possible of
the carcase for sale as products for the specific retailer.