A new perspective on quality characteristics determining supply chain management of coffee production

This paper explores the differences in the quality perception of coffee among different participants in the supply chain management of coffee production. As a possible remedy to the issue, statistical methods, such as factor analysis and the I-distance method, have been performed. The results have shown that there are indeed differences in the quality perception of coffee among different participants in the supply chain. Therein, the most significant characteristics of the coffee supply chain for the study have been distinguished as following: the coffee inventory turnover ratio, producer satisfaction with distributor services, customer satisfaction (retail) with distributor services, the coffee"s country of origin, the manufacture date, the expiry date, storage cost of the final product, customs procedures, delays in procurement, and the temperature of at which the coffee is roasted. [web URL: http://www.inzeko.ktu.lt/index.php/EE/article/view/5462]