A Study on Supply Chain Management Practices of Seafood Industries in Kerala

Kerala contributes close to one-fifth of the total marine fish landed in India. The marine fish landing in Kerala during the year 2020-21 was 3.91 lakh tonnes (4.75 lakh tonnes in 2019-20) and the export of marine products from Kerala during the year 2020-21 was 1,57,698 MT (1,63,563 MT in 2019-20). Organizations are faced with an array of challenges as they strive to compete in today’s dynamic global markets. To remain competitive, organizations must recognize the importance of supply chain practices that improve not only their own performance but also coordinate with their channel partners to improve their joint performance. Effective and efficient supply chain management practices now have become a very valuable and important way to remain competitive in the market and to improve organizational performance. A successful supply chain will effectively coordinate its processes, focus on delivering quality products, eliminate unnecessary costs in key functional areas, proper waste management, and create a performance measurement system that provides data on whether the supply chain is performing up to expectations. The significance of this study is first to study the extent to which the seafood industries in Kerala implement supply chain management practices. Second, to identify various factors that contribute to supply chain management practices, competitive advantage, and organizational performance.

Keywords: Competitive advantage, Organizational performance, Seafood industries, Supply chain management practices.