Managing Supply Chain Risks in Fresh Food Items : A case study on Makro-Habib Pakistan Limited – A wholesales chain in Pakistan

Abstract: Authors: Waqas Mehmood, Yasir Liaqat, Nauman Iftikhar, Raza Syed Hassan Tutor: Petra Andersson Examiner: Helena Forslund Title: Managing Supply Chain Risks in Fresh Food Items – a case study on Makro-Habib Pakistan Limited – a wholesales chain in Pakistan Background: In today’s era, businesses are facing various types of risks which can be legal/political, social, operational/technical, natural and economic in nature. For this purpose, companies need to have effective risk management process to mitigate these risks. Especially companies like Makro-Habib who heavily rely on effective and efficient supply chain can gain competitive advantage if they manage the risks within their supply chain network. Research Questions: RQ-1: What are the most significant supply chain risks in fresh food items at Makro-Habib? RQ-2: How can significant supply chain risks in fresh food items of Makro-Habib be mitigated through proposed action plan? Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the knowledge on how to manage risks in the fresh food supply chain Method: The empirical data and the conclusions which are drawn from it are based on qualitative facts that are gathered through interviews and questionnaires. The results/conclusions drawn from responses of the interviews of fresh food section heads of Makro-Habib and the literature. This thesis is written from a positivistic perspective with a deductive approach. Conclusion: Various risk mitigation strategies at strategic, operational and visibility level are suggested like coordination, information sharing, training, monitoring to counter the most significant fresh food supply chain risks which are wrong ordering, contamination of products and FIFO (loose practice).