Mitigating traceability risks amongst SMEs along the beef supply chain: A multiple case study approach to investigating the role and potential impact of information technology

This research-in-progress investigates how information technology can be used to mitigate increasing traceability risks being faced by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) along beef industry supply chains. Changing consumer preferences for information on product provenance as well as enhanced food safety requirements have increased the need for businesses to improve their traceability. Unfortunately, most traceability system are designed for large organisations in well-integrated supply chains. For SMEs in fragmented food chains finding ways to respond has proven difficult. Deploying a heuristic traceability framework, the research has used a multiple case study approach that has involved the development, implementation and current on-going evaluation of some low-cost IT traceability tools in 5 different beef supply chain segments involving SMEs. Preliminary results provide new perspectives on the role and potential impact of low cost IT for mitigating risks amongst SMEs in beef chains and for further refining the heuristic traceability framework for SMEs.