East of England

.: Benchmarking Through Business Clubs - Sentry Farms (Case Study)

Sentry Farms is an employee owned farming and land management company. They farm some 15,000 hectares throughout the UK including cereals, oils, livestock and dairy.

Business areas:	Business Clubs	Sector:	Cereals	Region:	n/a

.: Lean Thinking in BQP – Dalehead / Asda

In the Autumn of 2002, Asda and their pork suppliers, Dalehead and British Quality Pigs (BQP) embarked on one of the first pilot ‘Lean Thinking’ projects for the Food Chain Centre/Red Meat Industry Forum.

Business areas:	Collaboration	Sector:	Dairy	Region:	n/a

.: Collaboration and Contracts: Insights from Fenmarc and Solanum (Case Study)

Good partnerships can work in many different ways. Trust lies behind the relationships between Asda and their dedicated potato supplier, Fenmarc and also between Waitrose and their sole potato supplier, Solanum. Both view dedication as a key part of their competitive advantage.

Business areas:	Collaboration	Sector:	Fresh Produce	Region:	n/a

.: Facilitating Collaboration in Regional Food Hubs (Case Study)

Tastes of Anglia (TOA) is a regional food group with a difference. What sets TOA apart from the other regional food groups is that in Tastes of Anglia Table (TOAT) it has a trading arm that runs as a commercial operation. The problem that TOAT faces is demand.

Business areas:	Collaboration	Sector:	n/a	Region:	n/a

.: Driving the Salad Supply Chain (Case Study)

Stubbins are a major salad producer and have recently been appointed ‘drive supplier’ for Somerfield responsible for managing the salad category. This is an important collaborative venture for Stubbins that brings with it valuable advantages.

Business areas:	Collaboration	Sector:	Fresh Produce	Region:	n/a

.: Smoothing the Flow of Cereals Through the Chain (Case Study)

By applying the ‘Value Chain Analysis’ technique, a team recruited by the Cereals Industry Forum was able to identify that almost 50% of grain delivered to Heygates mill did not meet either the allocated delivery slot or the quality specification. In other words, more than half the product fails to flow smoothly through the food chain.

Business areas:	Collaboration	Sector:	Cereals	Region:	n/a

.: Improving the Feed Supply Chain (Case Study)

Almost one-fifth of the UK's wheat crop goes into poultry feed and, although feed supply chains are often short and integrated, there are opportunities to improve performance even in these commodity chains.

Business areas:	Collaboration	Sector:	Cereals	Region:	n/a

.: Delighting the Consumers of Strong White Flour (Case Study)

A Cereals Industry Forum (CIF) value chain analysis project team identified five key steps to improve sales and profitability by following a 1.5kg bag of CO-OP flour from the farm to point of sale......

Business areas:	Collaboration	Sector:	Cereals	Region:	n/a

.: Grading Potatoes More Efficiently (Case Study)

The performance of Greenvale’s potato grading machine was improved by 20 per cent following a Food Chain Centre ‘masterclass’ delivered by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) Industry Forum.

Business areas:	Production Excellence	Sector:	Fresh Produce	Region:	n/a

.: East Anglian Farmers Take the Top Spot (Press Release - 02 Dec 2004)

A survey of over 1,200 farmers shows that the number of farmers using benchmarking has almost tripled in the space of two years, with East Anglian farmers taking the top spot (36% are now benchmarking).

Business areas:	Business Clubs	Sector:	n/a	Region:	n/a

.: Collaborative approach to consumer research - Green Label, Sainsburys (Case Study)

William Buchanan of Green Label Foods wanted to increase the market for duck by developing new recipes.

Business areas:	Differentiation	Sector:	Poultry	Region:	n/a

.: Masterclass Leads to Potato Grader Improvement (Press Release - 18 May 2006)

The performance of Greenvale AP’s potato grader improved by 20% following a Food Chain Centre masterclass delivered by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Greenvale was the first fresh produce company to benefit from the masterclass which identified potential savings worth thousands.

Business areas:	Production Excellence	Sector:	Fresh Produce	Region:	n/a

.: Masterclass Leads to Potato Grader Improvement (Press Release - 18 May 2006)

Business areas:	Production Excellence	Sector:	Fresh Produce	Region:	n/a

.: Animal Feed Chain Benefits from Reduced Transport Costs and Improved Sampling Efficiencies (Press Release - 26 Jun 2006)

A Cereals Industry Forum (CIF) Value Chain Analysis (VCA) has provided key recommendations on how sampling efficiencies can be improved and transport costs reduced along the poultry feed supply chain. The VCA was conducted by Cranfield Business School to look at the efficiency of the chain from the grain farmer and grain merchant, Saxon Agriculture, through to Bernard Matthews.

Business areas:	Collaboration	Sector:	Cereals	Region:	n/a

.: Animal Feed Chain Benefits from Reduced Transport Costs and Improved Sampling Efficiencies (Press Release - 26 Jun 2006)

Business areas:	Collaboration	Sector:	Cereals	Region:	n/a

.: ‘Farm-Grown’ Branding Can Help to Connect with Consumers (Press Release - Sep 2006)

Research conducted as part of the Cereals Industry Forum (CIF) has demonstrated that branding explaining that Co-op flour is grown on its own farms could considerably increase its impact on consumers. The latest Value Chain Analysis (VCA) conducted as part of CIF by the Cardiff Business School looked at the production of flour for Co-op retail stores, and involved CPB Twyford, Yara, Farmcare, Whitworths and the Co-op.

Business areas:	Collaboration	Sector:	Cereals	Region:	n/a

.: ‘Farm-Grown’ Branding Can Help to Connect with Consumers (Press Release - Sep 2006)

Business areas:	Collaboration	Sector:	Cereals	Region:	n/a

.: Market Information Brings Business Change - F. Pettitt & Sons (Case Study)

A clear understanding of consumer trends within the market led one vegetable producer to make changes to their production programme.

Business areas:	Differentiation	Sector:	Fresh Produce	Region:	n/a

.: Farmer Champions

A series of 16 short film clips illustrating a range of successful farm business strategies from the four main agri-business sectors. They are ideal support material for lectures, workshops, seminars and conferences focussing on farm business strategy.

Business areas:	Business Strategy	Sector:	Cereals Fresh Produce Dairy Red Meat	Region:	n/a

.: Pitching for Success - Glebe Farm (Case Study)

Rebecca Rayner approached the dunnhumby Academy for information on flour shoppers to get a better understanding of the
market and to help develop a pitch to retailers.

Business areas:	Differentiation	Sector:	Cereals	Region:	n/a

.: Customer Insight Leads to 60% Increase in Sales - Edible Ornamentals (Case Study)

Edible Ornamentals produce chilli sauces and dips. A simple piece of market information has helped Joanna Plumb to increase her sales, extend her product range and broaden her customer base.

Business areas:	Differentiation	Sector:	n/a	Region:	n/a