Sustainability 10 00168

sustainability
Review
Logistics Best Practices for Regional Food Systems:
A Review
Anuj Mittal 1 , Caroline C. Krejci 2, * and Teri J. Craven 1
1 Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Iowa State University,
3004 Black Engineering Building, Ames, IA 50011, USA; [email protected] (A.M.);
[email protected] (T.J.C.)
2 Department of Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering, The University of Texas at Arlington,
Box 19017, Arlington, TX 76019, USA
* Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +1-817-272-1891
Received: 15 December 2017; Accepted: 30 December 2017; Published: 11 January 2018
Abstract: The modern industrial food supply system faces many major environmental and social
sustainability challenges. Regional food systems, in which consumers prefer geographically
proximate food producers, offer a response to these challenges. However, the costs associated
with distributing food from many small-scale producers to consumers have been a major barrier
to long-term regional food system success. Logistics best practices from conventional supply
chains have the potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of regional food supply chains
(RFSCs). This paper provides a structured and in-depth review of the existing literature on RFSC
logistics, including recommended and implemented best practices. The purpose of the review is
to provide RFSC researchers and practitioners with convenient access to valuable information and
knowledge derived from years of experimentation and research. This information will help to inform
practitioners’ implementation decisions and to increase researchers’ awareness of the existing work
on RFSC logistics, the unmet needs of practitioners, and topics that have not been fully explored,
yielding insights into potential future directions for RFSC research. The overarching aim of the paper
is to facilitate improvements in RFSC logistics, thereby improving regional food system viability.
Keywords: logistics; supply chain management; regional food systems; food hubs; sustainability
1. Introduction
The global food supply system provides consumers with convenient and consistent access to an
extraordinary variety of food, irrespective of season or locale. Despite these benefits, consumers are
increasingly seeking alternatives to the global system. In particular, demand for regionally-produced
food has increased tremendously. In 2015, food that was produced and sold regionally by U.S. farms
yielded $8.7 billion in sales [1]. Some regionally-produced food is sold directly to consumers through
farmers’ markets, but most is distributed to consumers through retailers. In fact, the results of a 2015
survey indicate that 87% of consumers choose a supermarket based on its regional food offerings [2].
Consumers’ motivations for buying regional food vary widely and are based on perceived benefits that
include: Lower prices, food that is fresher, safer, and/or more nutritious than conventionally-produced
food, reduced reliance on long-distance transport and fossil fuel consumption, and the ability to
support the local economy [3–5]. Many consumers also value the ability to have face-to-face interactions
with the farmers who produce their food. Such interactions facilitate transparency and trust-based
relationships between producers and consumers [6,7].
Increased demand for regional food has the potential to greatly benefit small-scale farms (i.e.,
farms with annual income <$75,000), which account for 85% of all regional food providers [8].
In particular, direct-to-consumer sales (e.g., via farmers’ markets) allow small-scale producers to
Sustainability 2018, 10, 168; doi:10.3390/su10010168 www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability

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offer lower volumes and set higher prices than mainstream distributors would accept. As a result,
many federal, state, and local policymakers have begun to incorporate regional foods into programs
designed to support small farmers and rural economies [9]. However, the scale and efficiency of
direct-to-consumer marketing channels can be limiting—many consumers prefer the convenience
of shopping for food at retail stores, and many farmers struggle to afford the high marketing and
transportation costs associated with distributing their products at multiple farmers’ markets [8,10].
For regional food systems to achieve their full potential, regional food producers must find
ways of scaling up their operations to allow them to distribute their products to a greater number of
consumers via institutional and retail channels. Such opportunities are increasingly available, with
retailers, school districts, universities, healthcare facilities, and corporate cafeterias committing to
sourcing more regionally-produced food [11–13]. The recent emergence of scale-appropriate logistics
infrastructure for regional food systems has helped some producers to take advantage of these
opportunities. In particular, regional food hubs provide logistics services to connect small-scale
producers and institutional/retail buyers. A regional food hub is “a centrally located facility with a
business management structure facilitating the aggregation, storage, processing, distribution, and/or
marketing of locally/regionally-produced food products” [14]. A primary objective for food hubs is to
support local economies by providing market opportunities for small-scale producers and treating
them as valued business partners, rather than interchangeable suppliers [14].
However, most regional producers and food hubs do not have robust systems in place to support
large-scale processing, aggregation, and distribution, and they often lack the necessary expertise,
capital, and access to credit to acquire and implement these systems [15,16]. This lack of adequate
logistics infrastructure has been a huge barrier to regional food system growth and success. Efforts to
overcome this barrier have been primarily led by grassroots community groups, food policy councils,
and local planners, who often have little expertise in food distribution logistics [17].
One approach to facilitating scaled-up logistics in regional food supply chains (RFSCs) is to
implement best practices that have yielded high levels of efficiency and effectiveness in large-scale
supply chains. Such practices include relationship development and coordination across the supply
chain, efficient utilization of transportation and logistics infrastructure, implementation of accurate and
reliable systems for food traceability, and data-driven demand planning and inventory management.
Recommendations and guidance on logistics best practices for RFSCs are available in an extensive body
of literature [18], but this literature is scattered and fragmentary. Most of the research on RFSC logistics
has been communicated through case studies and technical reports written by various university
extensions, non-profit organizations, and state and federal agencies. As a result, regional food
practitioners have reported being overwhelmed by the continually growing body of knowledge [19].
There have been some efforts to organize and consolidate this research in reviews of recommended
best practices and barriers to success, as well as examples of successes and failures [18–21]. Additionally,
several bibliographies of publications on regional food systems have been compiled in an attempt to
improve information accessibility for researchers [22–24]. However, the systematic study of RFSCs is
still in its early stages [4,25]. As such, no systematic review has been conducted that integrates the
available information on recommended RFSC logistics best practices, implementation examples of
these practices by RFSC practitioners, and the associated benefits and challenges.
In an effort to fill this gap, this paper provides a structured and in-depth review of the existing
literature on RFSC logistics. The purpose of the review is to provide researchers and practitioners
with convenient access to valuable information and knowledge derived from years of experimentation
and research. Practitioners will benefit from a greater awareness of logistics best practices that are
available to them, as well as associated advantages and disadvantages, based on the experiences of
other RFSC practitioners. Understanding these tradeoffs can help to inform their own decisions, for
example, whether to buy or lease a truck (or perhaps neither). Furthermore, the analysis performed in
this paper aims to increase researchers’ awareness of the existing work on RFSC logistics, the unmet
needs of practitioners, and topics that are not yet well understood and have not been fully explored,
which may yield insights into potential future directions for RFSC research. The overarching aim of the
paper is to facilitate improvements in RFSC logistics, thereby improving regional food system viability.
The paper is organized as follows: Section 2 describes the challenges associated with RFSC
logistics management, with a focus on transportation, warehousing, and inventory management.
These challenges were identified through a detailed review of peer-reviewed journal articles, technical
reports by university extensions, conference papers, and book chapters. Section 3 summarizes best
practices recommended in the mainstream supply chain literature to address the challenges described
in Section 2. Section 4 describes the standard review method adopted in this paper. Using the
best practices described in Section 3 as a framework, Section 5 provides a systematic review of
recommended and implemented RFSC logistics best practices, as evidenced by case studies, university
extension reports, and scholarly literature. Section 6 summarizes and analyzes the review and then
discusses potential future directions for RFSC logistics research. Finally, Section 7 provides overarching
conclusions from the review. Figure 1 shows the organization of the paper.
Figure 1.
Figure 1. Paper
Paper organization.
organization.
2. Challenges in Regional Food Logistics

Various definitions of the terms “logistics” and “supply chain management” exist in the literature.
According to the Council of Logistics Management, logistics is a function that is contained within
supply chain management and is defined as “that part of the supply chain process that plans,
implements, and controls the efficient flow and storage of goods, services, and related information
from the point of origin to the point of consumption in order to meet customers’ requirements” [26].
According to [27], logistics includes warehousing, transportation, management of materials and
information, and integration of logistics operations for the entire supply chain, whereas supply chain
management merges marketing and manufacturing with distribution functions to improve competitive
advantage. With respect to agriculture and food systems, logistics includes production planning and
the movement of food products from producers to consumers, including processing, storage, handling,
and packaging [28].
Based on the accepted definitions available in the existing literature, this paper broadly defines
the scope of logistics to include transportation, warehousing, and inventory management [29–33]:
• Transportation: The movement of inventory from point to point in a supply chain.

• Warehousing: Activities involving the physical locations where inventory is stored, retrieved,
assembled, and packed for distribution.
• Inventory management: Monitoring and deciding how much inventory to stock, what is in stock,
and how inventory should be stored.
Effective logistics management requires sufficient infrastructure to support consistent deliveries

of the right product, in the right quantity, in the right condition, to the right place, at the right time,
for the right cost [34]. However, the logistics infrastructures of food supply chains are often not as
developed as the supply chains of other industries, such as automotive or electronics [35]. This is
especially true for RFSCs, in which distribution tends to be fragmented and less efficient than the
centralized distribution networks of conventional food systems [28]. As a result, RFSCs commonly
struggle with a variety of challenges in transportation, warehousing, and inventory management.
2.1. Transportation
Supply chains in every industry face a variety of transportation-related challenges, including
capacity shortages, empty backhauling, issues with security and contamination, and concerns over
environmental impacts and non-renewable energy consumption [36]. While regionally-produced food
travels much shorter distances from farm to consumer than food that is distributed via conventional
supply chains, RFSC transportation is typically much less efficient, due to the economies of scale
that can be achieved with long-distance freight movement of full truckloads [37]. In fact, gains in
fuel efficiency per unit of product hauled can cancel out the effects of longer transport distances [9].
This is particularly true for producers of specialty crops and niche food products—managing their
movement from farm to market is much more complex and expensive than distributing conventional
farm products. The smaller volumes and the necessity of keeping niche products separate from bulk
commodities add to the cost of handling and shipping [38].
Many of the greatest logistical inefficiencies associated with regional food freight occur at the
beginning and end of the supply chain, where numerous short but indirect first/last-mile hauling
routes increase the per-unit hauling cost [37]. Small farmers often use their personal trucks or vans,
rather than commercial carriers, for this purpose [39]. This requires the use of many small vehicles
transporting low volumes, for which the balance between fuel used and volume transported is not
favorable [40]. For example, a study on an RFSC in Sweden found that the average load rate was less
than 50% [41].
RFSCs are also typically disaggregated and not vertically integrated [42], which can lead to
coordination challenges. For example, a lack of coordination between transportation providers and
small producers can cause problems when products are not packed and ready for a scheduled pickup,
or when there is no one available at the farm to load products on the truck. Poor transportation
coordination can also be problematic for producers who provide their own transportation. For example,
when deliveries to a retailer or food hub warehouse are not properly scheduled, numerous producers
may arrive at the same time, causing traffic congestion and delays [37].
2.2. Warehousing
The wide variety of products that are distributed through RFSCs presents a tremendous
warehousing challenge. In particular, safely and efficiently handling and storing a large number
of stock keeping units (SKUs) that may have product-specific cold storage requirements and varying
degrees of perishability can be very difficult and expensive [43]. However, small-scale farmers and
food hubs generally do not have access to sophisticated physical warehousing infrastructure (i.e.,
washing, cooling, packing, and storage facilities) [44]. Moreover, the physical infrastructure developed
to facilitate high-volume transactions through conventional food supply chains can be inefficient
and impractical when applied to regional food distribution. Unfortunately, infrastructure that is at
an appropriate scale for small-scale producers is largely unavailable, which is a major challenge for
RFSCs [45–47]. Therefore, new RFSC-specific warehousing infrastructure and supply chain models are
needed to support efficient logistics for larger volumes of regional food products [48–50].
Warehousing labor availability is another major operational challenge for RFSCs. Out of 79 U.S.
regional food hubs surveyed, 41 indicated labor availability as a barrier to growth [17]. Nine of these
food hubs also emphasized that dependence on volunteer labor was a significant challenge. While
volunteer labor helps to reduce costs, operational efficiency and consistency tend to suffer, due to a
lack of training and inconsistent commitment [51].
2.3. Inventory Management

Balancing demand and supply is a major challenge for RFSCs. In fact, this was the most frequently
cited challenge in interviews with U.S. food hub operators, primarily because demand is greater than
what their regions are able to supply [52]. Regional food retailers in Michigan and Illinois have
indicated that a lack of consistent supply has negatively impacted their sales [53,54]. This imbalance in
supply and demand is partly a result of poor coordination between marketing and crop production,
with respect to demand planning and inventory management [42]. Seasonal fluctuations in regional
food availability are another major factor; in many regions, there is a shortage of supply in the winter
months [55].
Another major inventory management challenge for RFSCs involves food traceability. One of
the greatest perceived advantages of RFSCs is their ability to provide customers detailed information
about product sourcing and production methods, due to their comparatively shorter supply chain
structure [56]. Simply labeling products as ‘regional’ is insufficient, because customers often want
to know which specific farm produced the food that they are purchasing. However, food hubs often
struggle to maintain farm identity along the supply chain [52], because small-scale farmers will
often combine their products with those of other farmers to make processing and shipping more
economical [4].
3. Logistics Best Practices

Much of the existing research on RFSCs suggests that they should adopt conventional supply
chain practices for their long-term growth and sustainability [57]. Such practices have the potential
to reduce warehousing and transportation costs and improve the ability of RFSCs to meet growing
consumer demand for regionally-produced food. In general, best practices in logistics are applicable to
a wide variety of organizations, irrespective of industry, channel position, or size [58]. However, it
is not clear how readily these practices translate to RFSCs. This section describes best practices that
have been recommended for mainstream supply chains to address the logistics challenges that RFSCs
commonly face, as described in Section 2.
3.1. Transportation
Best practices for maximizing transportation efficiency in supply chains include efficient vehicle
utilization, reducing empty backhauling, appropriate vehicle selection, frequent and timely deliveries,
leveraging the services of third-party logistics providers, and developing transportation collaborations.
3.1.1. Efficient Vehicle Utilization

Increasing vehicle load rate is one of the most important activities that an organization can
undertake to reduce its carbon footprint, increase its logistics efficiency, and reduce transportation cost,
since most shipments are less-than-truckload [29,59]. Maximizing vehicle load rates requires optimal
routing and scheduling [60]. For example, by consolidating delivery routes and reducing the number of
required stops, Kraft Foods improved its company-wide fuel efficiency by seven percent [29]. Similarly,
a study in Serbia identified that optimizing delivery vehicle routing could yield a 20% reduction
in transportation costs and associated emissions [61]. However, a systems view of the problem is
essential—a case study on waste collection in Finland demonstrated that significant cost savings
could be achieved by optimizing the routes and schedules of the entire fleet, rather than individual
vehicles [62]. Strategic design of the distribution network structure is also critical. For example, having
customers pick up their orders at a designated location can improve vehicle load rate, but providing
last-mile delivery can be nearly as efficient if customer orders are sufficiently large [63].
Efficient vehicle utilization can be achieved through the use of a transportation management
system (TMS) [59]. TMS software automates many key transportation functions, including optimal
carrier selection, load building, fleet management, routing and scheduling, and freight audit payment.
Although expensive, the return on investment for a TMS is generally less than a year, depending on the
size and revenue of an organization [59]. For example, Coca-Cola implemented a TMS to determine
optimal vehicle loads and routes, given distributors’ volume, frequency, and delivery time window
constraints. This system yielded an annual savings of $45 million and significant improvements in
customer service [64].
3.1.2. Backhauling
Backhauling, which involves carrying goods on return trips, rather than returning with empty
trucks, can significantly improve vehicle load rates [65]. For example, after delivering products to a
distributor, an empty truck can be routed to a nearby vendor to pick up raw materials [29]. By reducing
the number of empty trips, backhauling increases overall fleet efficiency and reduces transportation
costs for suppliers and customers, as well as help reducing environmental impacts [29,66].
3.1.3. Vehicle Selection

Fleet management (i.e., determining fleet size and vehicle types, sizes, and ownership)
significantly affects the percentage of empty hauls and overall transportation efficiency [67].
In particular, fuel consumption depends on vehicle type—large and/or refrigerated vehicles tend to
have very low fuel efficiency [68]. Therefore, selecting appropriate vehicle types and sizes to meet
supply chain objectives is critical. Adopting vehicles that use alternative or hybrid fuel technology can
also reduce transportation costs and adverse environmental impacts [29,69].
Vehicle ownership is another major determinant of transportation efficiency. Leasing a vehicle
allows organizations to avoid up-front investment. However, purchasing a vehicle can be less costly in
the long run, depending upon the terms and conditions of the leasing contract (e.g., interest rate, down
payment, and payment period) [70]. Maintenance costs, which tend to increase sharply after three
years of vehicle usage, are an important consideration, as well as the risk of mechanical breakdowns,
which can result in lost sales and dissatisfied customers [71]. In this regard, leasing can be beneficial,
because it is generally the responsibility of the leasing company to provide alternate arrangements
while the leased vehicle is being serviced [72].
3.1.4. On-Time and Frequent Deliveries

Customers highly value on-time deliveries, which tend to encourage repeat business [73]. On-time
deliveries also facilitate effective and efficient cross docking by reducing waiting times for outbound
trucks [74]. Additionally, frequent deliveries benefit customers by increasing product availability and
freshness. However, frequent deliveries of small quantities can depress vehicle load rates, creating a
financial burden for suppliers and distributors [66].
3.1.5. Third-Party Logistics (3PL)

A third-party logistics provider (3PL) is an organization that manages one or more logistics
processes or operations (typically transportation or warehousing) for another company [33]. 3PL
providers integrate multiple customer loads using sophisticated software to improve load rates and
enable product traceability [75,76]. 3PLs can also provide aggregated information for many small
suppliers in a single location, thereby reducing customers’ search costs and eliminating the need for
suppliers to invest in information infrastructure [31]. Many organizations have successfully outsourced
some or all of their logistics operations to 3PLs, including Kimberly-Clark, which used a 3PL to satisfy
retailers’ delivery frequency requirements and significantly reduced its distribution costs [77].
3.1.6. Transportation Collaboration

Successful supply chains rely on long-term strategic collaborations that enable participants to work
together to create an effective and efficient transportation system [78–80]. A survey of 286 companies
revealed that collaboration was the most important transportation practice in driving their supply
chain improvement [59]. There are two types of collaboration in logistics: Horizontal and vertical.
Horizontal collaboration—Horizontal collaboration occurs between organizations in different supply
chains to better utilize assets and reduce overall costs [81,82]. In horizontal collaboration, organizations
cluster their logistics activities and assets (e.g., through shared transportation and processing facilities)
to improve efficiency and reduce environmental load [33]. Examples of horizontal collaboration in
transportation include shared consolidation centers, joint trucking routes, and optimization of the
entire transportation network across multiple competing supply chains for maximum transportation
efficiency [82]. Effective horizontal collaboration between Nestle and United Biscuits resulted in fewer
empty truck runs and eliminated 280,000 truck kilometers from the roads, reducing fuel consumption
and CO2 emissions by 85,000 liters and 223 tons, respectively [77]. However, effective horizontal
collaboration requires organizations to overcome significant challenges, including technological
barriers and insufficient trust between coordinating partners [83].
Vertical collaboration—Vertical collaboration occurs between entities belonging to the same supply
chains, either upstream (i.e., with suppliers), downstream (i.e., with customers), or internally across
functions in an organization [82]. It can be facilitated through information exchange via interconnected
system between successive partners in a supply chain [33]. Vertical collaboration in transportation
is necessary to optimize a supply chain’s transportation network, thereby reducing costs, improving
service levels, and improving supply and delivery reliability [30,81,82]. For example, real-time sharing
of information between distributors and retailers will enable them to identify delivery problems as
they occur. This will improve the retailers’ customer service levels and the distributors’ transportation
network planning.
3.2. Warehousing
Best practices for maximizing warehouse/distribution center productivity include effective labor
utilization, optimized facility location selection, adequate infrastructure development, efficient and
effective storage, picking, and packing policies, and collaboration and resource sharing within and
outside the supply chain for warehousing activities.
3.2.1. Effective Labor Utilization

Inadequate employee training can result in a variety of negative outcomes, including poor
man-hour utilization, worker frustration, and frequent turnover [84]. Therefore, implementing effective
training programs is critical to success in warehousing operations. Properly training warehouse
employees yields increase in operational efficiencies, as well as improved service levels [59,85].
In particular, cross-training workers to enable them to undertake a wider variety of tasks improves
labor scheduling flexibility and can also lead to increased worker satisfaction and retention [86,87].
3.2.2. Facility Location

Determining the optimum number and locations of warehouses is critical for logistics
efficiency [59]. While transportation and inventory decisions can be changed relatively frequently
without negative consequences, location decisions are often long-term and directly affect labor
costs, transportation costs, and inventory holding costs, as well as many indirect costs, such as
taxes [88]. Facility location decisions depend on access to markets and suppliers, competitor
locations, government and tax regulations, environmental factors, labor availability, and transportation
and utilities services [89]. Service quality and customer responsiveness are also important
considerations—being located near major customer bases enables warehouses to provide just-in-time,
smaller, and more frequent shipments to customers [90].
3.2.3. Infrastructure Development

Best-in-class companies invest significantly in infrastructure (e.g., technology and facilities) to
improve the performance of their supply chains [91]. For food supply chains in particular, inadequate
infrastructure can result in variable product quality, unreliable supply, and insufficient storage
capacity [92], whereas investment in appropriate infrastructure (e.g., refrigeration) can improve
product handling and storage, which reduces post-harvest losses [93].
3.2.4. Efficient Warehousing Policies

Order picking from warehouse storage locations to fulfill customer orders is labor-intensive and
is therefore the costliest activity in most warehouses [94]. Therefore, an optimal warehouse layout
and the use of effective and efficient storage and picking policies can significantly reduce material
handling costs [59]. Designing a warehouse layout involves decisions regarding the relative locations
of departments (e.g., receiving, picking, storage, sorting, and shipping), the appropriate number of
picking blocks, and the length and width of aisles in each block, with an objective of minimizing
overall warehouse operating costs [95].
Packaging provides opportunities for cost savings and improved sustainability throughout the
supply chain [96]. Optimal packaging and pallet patterns can reduce materials usage, increase space
utilization in the warehouse and on trucks, and reduce the amount of material handling required.
The result is less packaging waste, greater vehicle load rates, and improved handling in the warehouse.
This efficiency directly translates into less impact on the environment [97]. In the fresh food supply
chain, the development of modified-atmosphere packaging lengthens the best-before-date and is often
combined with sensors and tracking devices to facilitate traceability [33].
3.2.5. Warehousing Collaboration and Resource Sharing

Horizontal collaboration—Sharing warehousing and/or production capacity with other
organizations can significantly reduce operational costs in a supply chain [81]. Horizontal collaboration
in warehousing can also be extended to joint infrastructure development, which can reduce the need
and risk of high up-front investment cost.
Vertical collaboration—Vertical collaboration in warehousing is important for reducing errors in
inventory placement and order assembly, as well as facilitating cross-docking [98]. Cross-docking
involves moving inbound material directly from receiving to shipping without placing it into storage
locations. The items are unloaded, sorted by destination, and then reloaded onto outbound trucks.
By eliminating storage and picking, cross-docking significantly reduces inventory and operational
costs [59]. Cross-docking also prevents overstocking and reduces the risk of loss and damage of
stored goods [99]. For example, Goodyear’s transition from traditional warehousing to cross-docking
increased their service levels to 96% and decreased operational costs by more than 12% [100]. However,
successful cross-docking requires synchronization of the arrival times and capacities of inbound and
outbound trucks. Many organizations use a hybrid combination of warehousing and cross-docking to
take advantage of both approaches [101].

Best practices in inventory management include implementing warehouse inventory management
systems, using inventory tracking systems, matching supply with demand through demand forecasting,
improving supplier reliability, and collaborative inventory management.
3.3.1. Warehouse Inventory Management Systems

An inventory management system allows buyers to coordinate with suppliers and accurately
evaluate, order, and update inventory. In particular, e-sourcing—the use of electronic marketplaces
for purchasing, rather than emails and spreadsheets—improves the speed and efficiency of
procurement [59]. Furthermore, integrating the inventory management system with a buyer’s material
requirements planning (MRP) system can assist in making efficient long-range demand planning,
purchasing, scheduling, and inventory management decisions [102].
3.3.2. Inventory Tracking and Food Traceability

Inventory tracking within a warehouse is best performed through the use of a warehouse
management system (WMS). A WMS is a software application that interfaces with supply chain
planning, order management, enterprise resource planning, and the TMS. It tracks the location of items
by purchase order, bar code, lot number, or other identification system, such as RFID [59]. RFID tags
have recently been introduced in the food supply chain by many large retailers (e.g., Walmart, Tesco,
and Metro) at the pallet level. Using such tags provides significant logistical benefits, since the tracking
of those items does not require human intervention [33]. In food supply chains, product traceability is
critical for food safety, enabling timely product recalls and determination of liability [103].
3.3.3. Demand Forecasting

Accurate demand forecasting is one of the most important and most challenging measures of
supply chain proficiency [59]. Demand planning involves collecting and analyzing historic sales and
inventory data and then sharing this forecast information upstream and downstream in the supply
chain [104]. Collaborative forecasting and replenishment reduce inefficiencies that result from multiple
uncoordinated forecasts (i.e., the bullwhip effect) [105]. However, establishing sufficient trust between
organizations and implementing appropriate technology for information sharing can be significant
barriers [105].
3.3.4. Improved Supplier Reliability

Consistent supplier reliability is critical for supply chain success, because inventory availability
significantly impacts customer satisfaction and loyalty [106,107]. Reducing supply uncertainty through
improved supplier reliability can help organizations to match supply and demand, thereby increasing
inventory availability and supply chain responsiveness. This is particularly important with suppliers
of perishable goods [108]. Technological advances can help to improve supply reliability. For example,
Gillette adopted RFID technology to monitor the flow of its products from distribution centers to retail
stores and found that sales from RFID-enabled stores were 19% higher than stores that did not use it
due to less out-of-stocks [109].
3.3.5. Collaboration and Resource Sharing for Inventory Management

Horizontal collaboration—Group purchasing is a typical method of horizontal collaboration in
inventory management [81]. Group purchasing can potentially lead to lower prices of products for
collaborating organizations due to economies of scale, as well as give them an access to purchase goods
which they could have not done alone due to volume constraints.
Vertical collaboration—Upstream vertical collaboration in inventory management includes
supplier development and planning, production scheduling, and vendor managed inventory (VMI).
Downstream vertical collaboration includes customer relationship management, collaborative demand
planning, and demand replenishment [83]. Strong vertically collaboration and information sharing
throughout the supply chain (both upstream and downstream) can help organizations reduce demand
variability, improve forecast accuracy, and reduce inventory levels [30,110]. Because owning inventory
involves carrying costs, keeping inventory levels to a minimum is critical for supply chain success.
Inventory levels can be significantly reduced through the use of just-in-time (JIT), in which items
are replenished just as they are required [111]. In particular, implementation of an electronic data
interchange (EDI) system facilitates continuous electronic flow of consumer sales data and inventory
management information between retailers and suppliers [112]. For example, Walmart shares
real-time demand information electronically with its suppliers, who use this information to replenish
inventory. The system results in less inventory, lower costs, and the ability to pass on these savings to
customers [34].
4. Review Method
A standard three-step process was followed to conduct the systematic literature review, including
planning the review, conducting the review, and reporting and dissemination [113].
In the planning stage, the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture was contacted to obtain
information about institutions and research centers in the U.S. that are conducting research on RFSCs.
Information from the Leopold Center helped to establish connections with coordinators from the
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program and researchers at the Wallace Center
at Winrock International, which is a non-profit organization that is focused on social, agricultural, and
environmental issues in the U.S. Based on recommendations from SARE coordinators, the Regional
Food Systems group at Michigan State University and the Center for Environmental Farming Systems
at North Carolina State University were contacted, as well. The inputs from these research centers
and institutions helped to determine 12 major sources of technical reports in the area of regional food
system logistics, as shown in Table 1. The technical reports from these organizations were written by
notable regional food system researchers, and many have been peer reviewed. Therefore, these reports
are considered to be nationally credible. Reports available through March 2016 from the sources listed
in Table 1 have been considered for review in this paper.
Table 1. Sources of technical reports.
Source URL
Agricultural Sustainability Institute, University of California, Davis http://asi.ucdavis.edu/resources/asi-publications
Center for Environmental Farming Systems, North Carolina State University https://cefs.ncsu.edu/publications/
Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, University of Wisconsin Madison http://www.cias.wisc.edu/category/local-food/
Center for Regional Food Systems, Michigan State University http://foodsystems.msu.edu/resources/
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University https://www.leopold.iastate.edu/resources
National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education,
http://www.wistrans.org/cfire/research/completed-research/
University of Wisconsin Madison
National Good Food Network http://www.ngfn.org/resources/ngfn-database
North Carolina Cooperative Extension https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/catalog/category/11/local-foods
United States Department of Agriculture https://www.ams.usda.gov/resources
http://www.extension.umn.edu/rsdp/community-and-local-
University of Minnesota Extension food/marketing-local-food/food-hub-resources/
http://localfoods.umn.edu/reports
Wallace Center at Winrock International http://www.wallacecenter.org/resourcelibrary/
Wholesome Wave https://www.wholesomewave.org/resources/publications
Peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2006 and 2016 (through February) that discuss
best practices in RFSC logistics were also reviewed. The Scopus database was used to search for journal
articles using a specific set of keywords, which are listed in Table 2. Scopus covers a broad range of
journals and is widely accepted by the scientific community for structured literature reviews [114].
Articles were shortlisted based on combinations of keywords, a technique that is widely practiced
in literature reviews that are published in reputed journals [115–117]. Every possible combination of
keywords was used, resulting in an exhaustive search process. Table 2 provides the logic that was used
to generate these combinations.
Table 2. Keyword set used for shortlisting journal articles in the Scopus database (“*” is used as an
operator for truncated search process).
Keyword 1 Boolean Keyword 2 Boolean Keyword 3

region * supply chain
food AND local AND logistics
sustainab * value chain
In all, total 672 technical reports, journal articles, and case studies were reviewed. A total of
106 technical reports and 28 journal articles were determined to be the most relevant, and they were
included in this paper. The flowchart in Figure 2 shows the literature search and screening process
adopted in this study as per PRISMA guidelines.
Figure 2. Flowchart of literature search and screening process.

Figure 2. Flowchart of literature search and screening process.
5. Best Practices in Regional Food Systems Logistics
5. Best Practices in Regional Food Systems Logistics
This section provides a systematic review of the literature on recommendations and
This section provides
implementation examples ofa logistics
systematic reviewinof
best practices the The
RFSCs. literature on review
focus of this recommendations
is restricted to and
the best practices
implementation that have
examples been shortlisted
of logistics in Section
best practices 3.
in RFSCs. The focus of this review is restricted to
the best practices that have been shortlisted in Section 3.
5.1. Transportation
5.1. Transportation
This sub-section describes recommendations on the six transportation best practices by RFSC
researchers,
This as welldescribes
sub-section as implementation examples ofon
recommendations these
thepractices by RFSC practitioners.
six transportation best practices by RFSC
researchers, as well as implementation examples of these practices by RFSC practitioners.
5.1.1. Efficient Vehicle Utilization
Recommended
5.1.1. Efficient Vehicle practices—Route
Utilization optimization and vehicle load rate maximization can help RFSC
participants to reduce their fuel consumption and benefit from economies of scale [118]. Although
Recommended
regional food ispractices—Route optimization
not transported over and vehicle
long distances, load rate maximization
RFSC transportation can consumecan more help
fuelRFSC
participants to reduce their fuel consumption and benefit from economies of scale [118].
than conventional food supply chains, as a result of inefficient collection and delivery processes [4], Although
regional foodRFSCs
[8,119]. is nothave
transported
low “foodover long
miles”, butdistances, RFSC transportation
product aggregation canload
to achieve large consume
sizes ismore fuel than
necessary
conventional food fuel-efficient
to yield highly supply chains, as a result
distribution of inefficient
systems [9,120]. collection and delivery processes [4,8,119].
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Michigan
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miles”, butITproduct
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[9,120].
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Platform To maximize
Feasibility Studyload rates, RFSCs
recommends theshould
use of also consider
routing software
implementing Global Data Synchronization (GDS), which provides universal product codes and
that provides distribution route visibility, schedules, and product availability along each route and
information-sharing standards for suppliers, distributors, and customers [122]. GDS improves the
enables the creation of new routes [121]. To maximize load rates, RFSCs should also consider
accuracy of information (e.g., product weights) throughout the supply chain. Having accurate
implementing Global Data Synchronization (GDS), which provides universal product codes and
information-sharing standards for suppliers, distributors, and customers [122]. GDS improves the
accuracy of information (e.g., product weights) throughout the supply chain. Having accurate product
weights allows trucks to be filled as fully as possible without exceeding Department of Transportation
weight limits. Although route planning is easier with software, the associated costs can be prohibitive
for small organizations, which have fewer trucks and stops to consider [123]. Therefore, increased
availability of affordable routing software that is tailored to the specific needs of RFSCs could greatly
benefit such organizations [124]. However, if affordable software are unavailable, simple guidelines
that leverage expert judgment may be appropriate. For example, in order to run cost-efficient routes
with fully-loaded trucks, food hubs should plan their deliveries according to seasonal supply and
focus on serving nearby customers when supply is low [125].
Implemented practices—Because they are generally small-scale organizations, most RFSC
participants do not use sophisticated software for transportation routing. Instead, they tend to rely on
expert knowledge and informal heuristics. For example, the employees of Local Harvest Supply, a
regional food distributor in Coralville, Iowa, use their personal knowledge of roads, traffic, and past
transportation decisions to plan their deliveries [123]. To maximize its load rates, Keewaydin Organics,
a farm and regional food distributor in Viola, Wisconsin, uses small trucks to deliver products to an
aggregation point and then makes long/large market hauls with a larger truck [126]. Keewaydin also
uses Google Maps and regional knowledge to determine the most efficient routes [123]. The Purchase
Area Aquaculture Cooperative, a farmer cooperative in Kentucky, also uses different types of vehicles
for different kinds of deliveries. Their system uses a leased truck to make small deliveries directly to
customers, and distributors are hired to handle large deliveries [127]. Some RFSCs have also increased
vehicle utilization through distribution network design. All Natural Beef Cooperative, a natural beef
co-op in Kansas, sells regionally-produced beef to Balls Food Stores, a grocery retailer in Kansas [128].
Originally, the cooperative shipped products from its processing facility to individual Balls Food’s
retail outlets, which required the use of multiple refrigerated trucks and labor to load and transport
the meat. To address these issues, Balls Food now operates a hub-and-spoke distribution network
in which products are brought from various regional producers to a central warehouse, where they
are unloaded, repacked, and reloaded onto trucks and are then shipped to individual stores. This
new network structure has reduced the number of deliveries to the grocery stores, thereby decreasing
overall operational costs. It has also helped farmers reduce their transportation costs by providing
them with a single delivery point [128]. However, Balls Food’s central warehouse lacks sufficient cold
storage capacity for All Natural Beef Cooperative’s products, so the cooperative decided to open its
own regional meat distribution facility [128].
A food hub in the UK uses a different strategy—it requires its customers to pick up products from
conveniently-located distribution sites, which significantly reduces the number of delivery stops for
the food hub’s delivery vehicles [129]. The Iowa Food Cooperative, a food hub in central Iowa, follows
a similar distribution model, in which customers pick up products from one of seven distribution
sites. Similarly, Fifth Season Cooperative, a regional food cooperative in Viroqua, Wisconsin, and
Common Market, a regional food distributor in Philadelphia, have multiple aggregation points for
regional producers [130,131]. Having sufficient cold storage and a loading dock at these locations has
been critical, as well as quality inspections to ensure that products meet the food hubs’ standards.
Full Circle, a food hub in Washington, divided its delivery area into three regions and supplies its
customers with products from farmers located within the customers’ region [132]. New North Florida
Cooperative in Marianna, Florida, cultivated a customer base within a specific geographic region
to establish economically-efficient delivery routes [133]. The cooperative also makes efficient use of
truck capacity by pairing deliveries to high-volume/low-price customers (e.g., grocery stores) with
low-volume/high-price customers (e.g., schools).
The Iowa Food Hub, located in West Union, Iowa, offers hauling services to its producers, in
addition to transporting their products to the hub’s warehouse [134]. By providing this additional
service, the truck is filled with a more complete load and receives additional income from charging
hauling fees to producers. Similarly, Potato King, a produce wholesaler and transporter in Wisconsin,
maximizes the loads on its trucks by providing a hauling service for regional companies that have
shipments to be delivered near Potato King’s existing customers on its established routes [126].
However, they avoid taking on any extra deliveries that would interfere with their ability to serve
their customers.
Some regional food organizations have implemented software for route optimization and load
rate maximization. For example, the implementation of a simple vehicle routing tool significantly
reduced transportation costs for a regional food delivery company in Mexico [124]. Similarly, the
Purchase Area Aquaculture Cooperative implemented a basic program that plans efficient routes,
rather than a complex interactive model [127]. Bix Produce, a regional food distributor in Minnesota,
uses two different routing systems to create efficient routes [123]. Bix’s routing system creates an initial
set of fixed routes, and a UPS Logistics Technologies system fine-tunes those routes based on the actual
loads and specific stops.
5.1.2. Backhauling
Recommended practices—To reduce system transportation costs, RFSC organizations should work
together to incorporate backhauling into their distribution routes [37,135]. For example, a food
hub could offer a pick-up service for producers along its regular customer delivery route, thereby
eliminating delivery trips for the producers and additional pick-ups for the food hub. Similarly, a
food hub can partner with a larger regional food distributor by having it pick up products from the
food hub during its regular delivery routes [136]. An innovative and efficient distribution model,
known as the Farmers’ Market Hub, was proposed to increase regional food access for customers in the
Greater Los Angeles area [137]. With this model, products from multiple farmers would be aggregated
at the farmers’ market. Before returning home from the farmers’ market, the farmers’ empty trucks
would be filled with the aggregated product, which would be used to fulfill wholesale orders in their
respective regions. Backhauling can also facilitate the use of reusable shipping containers [123]. While
this requires up-front investment and additional storage space, regular usage can lead to cost savings
and improved environmental sustainability in the long run.
Implemented practices—Although backhauling can reduce RFSC transportation costs,
implementation has proved to be challenging, because backhauling increases transportation
route complexity and requires additional planning. For example, Bix Produce reported that it often
struggles to arrange backhauls [123]. Nevertheless, several regional food organizations have reported
successful implementation of backhauling into their distribution routes. Both Cherry Capital Foods, a
regional food distributor in Traverse City, Michigan, and La Montanita Co-op in Albuquerque, New
Mexico, orchestrate transportation to ensure that whenever possible, all of their trucks backhaul
products on their return trips [138,139]. This has led to increased transportation efficiency and a
reduced carbon footprint. Edina Couriers, a regional distributor in Minnesota, modifies its core routes
to backhaul whenever possible, adding freight to avoid empty and less-than-full trucks [123]. Since
one major customer defines most of Edina’s delivery routes, the routes remain relatively consistent,
which reduces the amount of planning and coordination that is necessary for backhauling. Several
food hubs in the Hudson Valley have extended their delivery reach by backhauling with distributors
and retail stores [56].
5.1.3. Vehicle Selection

Recommended practices—For an RFSC organization that provides transportation, choosing the best
type of vehicle to meet its needs is essential. If an organization delivers fresh produce, a refrigerated
truck that can maintain a consistent temperature is recommended [140]. However, if the organization
faces significant financial constraints, a creative vehicle solution may be best. For example, a donated
city bus can allow an organization to expand its services and provide a mobile market [18]. Other
vehicle options include mobile carts, renovated postal or commissary trucks, and boats. Replacing old
vehicles with energy-efficient vehicles can aid in food hub success and sustainability [140]. If a food
hub is distributing products nationwide, it might consider utilizing multi-modal freight options to
reduce costs, increase fuel efficiencies, and avoid traffic congestion [37]. For example, barges could be
used for food distribution to cities along the Mississippi River [37]. When purchasing a truck, food
hubs are advised to look for vehicles that are common in their area, so that replacement parts can be
obtained quickly. This can help a food hub to reduce truck downtime and avoid financial losses due to
missed deliveries [134].
Once the appropriate vehicle type has been established, the next decision that an RFSC
organization must make is whether to buy or lease a vehicle. To determine whether buying or
leasing is more cost-effective, organizations should have a good understanding of all of the relevant
costs, including rental costs for a leased vehicle, loan payments for a purchased vehicle, fuel costs,
maintenance costs, insurance payments, and taxes [125]. A hybrid strategy, in which some vehicles
are purchased and others are leased, can provide flexibility without significant capital investment.
For example, a food hub can lease additional vehicles to supplement its purchased fleet during busy
seasons [51]. In [134], a detailed overview of the tradeoffs of renting and purchasing a delivery truck
has been provided, and the National Good Food Network provides a buy-versus-lease cost comparison
tool on its website to assist food hubs in making this decision [141]. Another important decision in
vehicle selection is selecting the appropriate vehicle size, based on the maximum load requirements
during the peak season. This is an important decision, because fuel efficiency differs significantly for
different vehicle sizes. For example, for a semi-trailer, mid-size truck, and pick-up truck, the respective
amounts of fuel required to move one ton of product are one, two, and eleven gallons [119]. Vehicles
that use alternative fuels are another option; for example, a group of producers can set up a biodiesel
operation and reduce their fuel costs significantly [142].
Implemented practices—Several regional food enterprises in the U.S. have retrofitted buses and
trucks for cost-effective transportation [143]. Capay Valley Farm Shop in Esparto, California, decided
to purchase (rather than lease) its two refrigerated box trucks to avoid lengthy trips to the leasing
agency for maintenance [139]. Co-op Partners Warehouse, a regional organic food distributor based
in St. Paul, Minnesota, transports products from its warehouse to its customers using one leased
truck and six self-owned trucks. The leased truck is used for daily deliveries to its biggest customer,
which mitigates risk: The leasing company is obligated to provide a replacement truck if a mechanical
problem occurs, so this critical route will always be covered [133]. La Montanita Co-op decided to lease
a truck to avoid high upfront purchase costs, and this truck is used to pick up products from many
small-scale regional producers and deliver them to multiple stores in Albuquerque and Santa Fe [144].
Organically Grown Company, an organic produce distributor in Eugene, Oregon, has converted its
trucks to bio-diesel in an effort to reduce fuel costs [145]. Goodness Greeness, a regional produce
distributor in Chicago, Illinois, explored multi-modal options and is now using short line rail to ship
carrots instead of a truck [37]. This Old Farm in Colfax, Indiana, has two delivery vehicles: One serves
as a primary delivery vehicle, while the other provides flexibility in accommodating emergency and
seasonal deliveries [139].
5.1.4. On-Time and Frequent Deliveries

Recommended practices—To ensure that customers receive the freshest food possible, it is
strongly recommended that RFSC participants make an effort to deliver on time to meet buyers’
needs [4,47,146–148]. Institutional buyers often prefer to have multiple deliveries each week to
avoid stock-outs and to minimize the loss of perishable items [149,150]. Regional Access, a food
hub operating in upstate New York, surveyed its customers and found that 33% of them would
increase their purchases if the food hub increased product variety, provided more frequent deliveries,
and reduced the time between order placement and delivery [151]. Similarly, survey data from
126 restaurant owners in Iowa indicated that RFSC participants must be highly responsive and offer
frequent deliveries to be successful [152].
Implemented practices—Ninety-eight percent of Edina Couriers’ deliveries are on time, which allows
them to deliver in the small time windows necessary for cross-docking with other distributors [123].
Potato King maintains a perfect on-time delivery rate by routing its trucks around adverse
weather [126]. Other organizations have focused on providing frequent deliveries. Appalachian
Harvest, a local food organization in Abingdon, Virginia, created a single brand to represent all of its
producers, which allows them to ship twice per week to a small number of large customers [125]. Co-op
Partners Warehouse offers daily deliveries of small volumes, which has attracted restaurants and has
helped them differentiate themselves from other organic food distributors in the area [133]. They also
deliver on Sundays and offer “short delivery calls” for in-town customers, in which orders received
by 10:00 a.m. can be delivered the same day for no extra charge. In an effort to increase sales, Grown
Locally, a food hub in northeast Iowa, delivers products twice a week during the growing season [153].
Similarly, Oklahoma Food Cooperative, a regional food cooperative in Oklahoma City, decided to
increase the frequency of its deliveries from once to twice per month [133]. However, sales did not
increase as expected, because the co-op did not have enough supply to meet the resulting increase
in demand. HomeGrown Wisconsin, a marketing cooperative of 25 family farms from southern
Wisconsin, regularly updates its product availability list and delivers to restaurants twice a week [144].
Western Montana Growers Cooperative in Arlee, Montana, delivers twice each week in summer and
once a week in winter to ensure convenient service for its customers [154].
5.1.5. Third-Party Logistics (3PL)

Recommended practices—Contracting with a reasonably priced 3PL provider can be a good way to
ensure on-time deliveries [125]. 3PLs can distribute products very efficiently, allowing food hubs to
focus on their core competencies [129]. Using a 3PL is highly recommended for food hubs that are
in the early stages of their development [154,155]. In some cases, 3PL services may be less expensive
than in-house distribution; therefore, [37] recommend that food hubs accurately calculate and compare
in-house distribution costs with 3PL fees. The authors specifically recommend using regional 3PLs,
which are best suited to accommodating the needs of regional food distribution. However, shipper
associations, freight forwarders, and common carriers can provide economies of scale for RFSCs, and
they can arrange customs clearance [38].
Implemented practices—The use of 3PL providers has varied among different RFSC organizations.
Some organizations hire regional 3PLs to help them manage their transportation. Grass Run Farms,
a beef producer collective in the Midwest, selected regional distributor Edina Couriers to distribute
all of its products to its customers [123,126]. Small food businesses and producers in Central Oregon
have contracted with Cascade Couriers, a regional distributor, for pick-up and delivery services [154].
Keewaydin Organics reported cost savings from working with Edina Couriers and Nottestad Trucking,
which contracts with Organic Valley (an organic dairy cooperative in Wisconsin) and allows Keewaydin
to piggyback on its deliveries [123]. A food store in Ohio uses a regional 3PL to coordinate procurement
efforts with small-scale local farmers and to assist with developing efficient pickup and delivery
routes [156]. New North Florida Cooperative outsourced its entire order fulfillment operation to
a third-party community-based non-profit organization [147]. This organization receives customer
orders and coordinates with the farmers to fill and deliver the orders. Ojai Pixie Growers, a food hub
in Ojai, California, uses local contractors to haul, organize, and sell their products [157]. Fifth Season
Cooperative has partnered with Reinhart Foodservice for transportation, including backhauling the
co-op’s products from several Wisconsin farms [139]. By setting Fifth Season up as a vendor, Reinhart
has also been able to connect the co-op with a pool of potential new customers.
By contrast, some organizations use large-scale national 3PL providers [143]. Good Earth Farms,
a producer in Wisconsin, uses a combination of a national parcel service and a regional delivery
service for its products [158]. Similarly, This Old Farm contracts with less-than-truckload carriers for
non-local sales and works with a regional produce company to arrange backhauling [139]. Farmers
in New England contracted with UPS to ship their products to restaurants in New Hampshire, such
that farmers can simply drop off products and a chef 200 miles away will receive them the next day.
The farmers receive discounts of up to 33% if enough farmers use the program in a given week [144].
High Desert Foods, a small processor of sustainably-grown food located in Durango, Colorado,
typically relies on conventional courier services to distribute its products across the U.S. [138]. Organic
Valley also uses 3PL providers to distribute products nationwide [159]. Red Tomato, a food hub in
Massachusetts, improved operational efficiencies by distributing products via multiple transportation
service providers. These providers incorporated their products on existing routes, thereby filling their
trucks more completely [122,131].
Other organizations use a 3PL to manage a portion of their deliveries, while distributing the rest
themselves. For example, Tuscarora Organic Growers, a cooperative in Pennsylvania, contracts with a
trucking company to complete one-third of its deliveries [160]. Often, an organization will deliver to
nearby customers and hire a 3PL provider for distant deliveries, thereby increasing its delivery radius.
In fact, nearly all of the 11 most successful food hubs in the U.S. use company-owned trucks for local
deliveries and outsource long-distance hauling [139]. These relationships help the trucking companies
fill partial loads and provide efficient transportation for the food hubs. Full Circle uses two produce
distributors to provide long-haul deliveries beyond the reach of their own trucks, which only deliver
products locally [132]. Co-op Partners Warehouse makes its own local deliveries and contracts with
common carriers to deliver products more than 100 miles away [161].
A 3PL provider can be a practical solution for a regional food organization that is in the early
stages of its development, before it develops logistics expertise and is able to invest in distribution
infrastructure. For example, a grass-fed beef company in Minneapolis initially used the distribution
services of a local food cooperative before gradually developing its own transportation and distribution
network [9]. However, the benefits of using a 3PL provider do not always outweigh the costs.
The Purchase Area Aquaculture Cooperative originally used a 3PL provider to handle distribution but
found that the numerous fees charged by their provider were too expensive [127]. Additionally, using
a 3PL resulted in longer delivery times, because the products were routed through a distribution center,
rather than being delivered directly to customers. Using a 3PL can also reduce food traceability. In an
effort to efficiently provide its customers with regionally-produced food, Sysco, one of the leading
food distributors in the U.S., contracted with a 3PL [162]. However, the farmers supplying Sysco were
unhappy that their products were commingled with products from other farms, thereby reducing their
ability to build their farm’s brand.
5.1.6. Transportation Collaboration

Recommended practices (Horizontal Collaboration)—Horizontal collaboration among RFSC
participants can greatly improve the efficiency of a regional food system and can expand the RFSC’s
logistics capabilities. For producers in particular, collaboration can be critical to success, allowing
them to pool their resources and efforts, rather than trying to do every job on their own [144,163–165].
Collaboration among multiple producers can also help to mitigate their risk through shared benefits
and losses [166]. For example, producers can collectively invest in a shared delivery truck [163,167].
Collaborative logistics can also provide producers with better access to processing facilities and
distribution networks, thereby improving market access for their products [9,168]. A study on
regional food organizations in Sweden indicated that coordinated transportation has the potential to
reduce the number of routes, driving distance, and total transportation time by 68%, 50%, and 48%,
respectively [39]. A similar study in Bagolino, Italy, demonstrated how small cheese producers could
benefit from strategic transportation collaborations [169]. However, implementing traceability systems
(e.g., farm-level labeling) would be necessary to enable each product’s origins to be identified [4].
While horizontal collaboration can reduce costs for RFSC participants, it can potentially increase
their business risk, and it can also slow decision making, since decisions are made by a group rather
than individuals [140]. However, the amount of risk incurred depends upon the level of collaboration
between the participants. Collaboration is broadly described into three different levels, based on the
amount of information exchanged between the collaborating organizations: Cooperating, coordinating,
and collaborating networks [170]. As the level of collaboration increases (from cooperating to
collaborating), participating members become more interdependent, and there is a greater level of
investment and reallocation of resources across the network. To reduce risk and increase the likelihood
of successful collaboration among regional food organizations, a contract specifying the responsibilities
of each involved party is recommended [171] and parameters for membership of the network should
be clearly defined [157]. While network members should share information to maintain transparency,
they should avoid information sharing that is too frequent or irrelevant.
Recommended practices (Vertical Collaboration)—While the conventional food supply system is
largely vertically integrated, vertical collaboration is a relatively new concept in RFSCs [144]. However,
collaboration between participants at different echelons of an RFSC can help small producers to survive
and compete [8,172], while insufficient vertical coordination can potentially lead to inefficiencies and
mistrust. For example, the careless handling of products by other RFSC members can be frustrating
for producers, creating concerns about end customers’ perceptions of their brand [173]. By contrast,
building strategic partnerships with upstream and downstream RFSC members can greatly benefit
food hubs and producers [74,123,156]. For example, vertical collaboration can facilitate drop shipping,
wherein food hubs deliver producers’ products directly to customers for a fee. Drop-shipping programs
benefit both the food hub, which receives extra revenue, and the producer, which is able to reach wider
markets while maintaining its relationships with customers [138].
Additionally, information sharing throughout the RFSC, in conjunction with joint problem solving,
can enable increased efficiency and adaptability. However, encouraging information sharing can be
challenging, due to the competitive nature of the relationships between supply chain members [173].
Successful implementation of vertical collaboration in RFSCs requires that participants treat each other
as partners and engage in regular and effective communication. Regular meetings to evaluate and
discuss supply chain performance can help resolve difficulties and bottlenecks in the supply chain [174].
These meetings also allow regional food organizations to assess whether their core business principles
are being upheld throughout the supply chain.
Implemented practices (Horizontal Collaboration)—Many regional food producers have reported
that they have benefited from horizontal transportation collaboration. Driftless Organics, a farm in
Wisconsin, shares distribution efforts with nearby producers and holds regular meetings to share ideas
about ways to further increase efficiency [123]. The producers of Grass Run Farms combine their
deliveries to increase efficiency, as well as sharing their production, marketing, and administrative
expertise with the entire group [123]. By sharing trucking with another company for their long hauls,
Eden Natural, a pork producer in Iowa, saved $0.08 per mile in transportation costs, an annual savings
of over $25,000 [175]. Good Natured Family Farms, an alliance of local farmers in Kansas, collaborated
to combine deliveries to the Balls Food Stores warehouse and share transportation costs [176]. Regional
food producers in western France became more economically and environmentally efficient once they
began coordinating transportation with one another [177]. New North Florida Cooperative developed
multiple autonomous farmer distribution networks to help their farmers to collaborate with one
another [133].
Food hubs have also benefited from horizontal transportation collaboration. Southeast Minnesota
Food Hub Network, which consists of over 90 producers, collaborates with Co-op Partners Warehouse
in St. Paul, Minnesota, to distribute to locations outside the 90-mile range from their main distribution
point [130].
Implemented practices (Vertical Collaboration)—Vertical transportation collaboration between food
hubs and upstream supply chain members (i.e., producers) has yielded benefits for both parties.
For example, Organic Valley wanted to deliver its milk to restaurants, institutions, and grocery stores
throughout New Mexico. However, these customers are located outside major U.S. freight routes.
To address this challenge, Organic Valley entered into a partnership with La Montanita Co-op in which
La Montanita delivers Organic Valley’s weekly milk orders to buyers across the state. This partnership
helped La Montanita to develop statewide routes for its delivery business and also led to better truck
utilization [131]. Similar partnerships with other producers have helped them to develop a strong
statewide distribution system for regionally-produced food.
Vertical transportation collaboration can also occur downstream in an RFSC, between a food
hub and regional food buyers. Co-op Partners Warehouse developed a drop-shipping program for
small producers, allowing them to sell their products directly to customers but have Co-op Partners
Warehouse make the deliveries [161]. Co-op Partners Warehouse fits the drop-ship deliveries into its
regular delivery schedule and bills the producer for the service. Farmigo, an online farmers’ market,
in Palo Alto, California, connects customers with producers to arrange drop shipping at convenient
locations, such as workplaces or churches [18]. La Montanita Co-op maintains a vertically integrated
RFSC by holding team meetings with its retail store staff and its distribution center to determine which
products should be routed through the distribution center and which should be marketed directly
through the retail store [133]. The distribution center also coordinates with producers to directly
deliver their products to their customers under their own invoice for a fee.
5.2. Warehousing
This sub-section describes recommendations for the five warehousing best practices by RFSC
researchers, as well as implementation examples of these practices by RFSC practitioners.
5.2.1. Effective Labor Utilization

Recommended practices—Maintaining a professional and skilled workforce is critical to running a
successful food hub operation [133,155,157]. Effective labor management, including employee training,
workload balancing, and appropriate staffing, can help to reduce turnover [17]. Because most regional
food hubs in the U.S. employ part-time and/or volunteer workers [139], their labor management
strategies must account for the inherent variability of volunteer labor [178]. While the use of volunteer
labor reduces operational costs, it can be problematic for efficiency and consistency due to frequent
staff turnover [51,139]. In particular, sustaining consistent volunteer labor over long periods of time
can be difficult, particularly as their initial enthusiasm diminishes. Additionally, volunteers may
lack the necessary skills and experience to take on leadership roles and longer-term responsibilities,
which can inhibit a food hub’s development [129,139]. Food hub managers should systematically track
volunteer activities, such that they can identify who performed certain tasks at particular points in
time [178]. This will help managers to plan for future staffing needs as the business grows. Also, it
is important to develop training materials which can help in faster and efficient on-boarding of new
employees [139]. In particular, training employees to load delivery vehicles properly (e.g., loading the
last delivery first) is important for regional food distribution efficiency [125].
If a food hub pays its employees, labor efficiency is critical to its financial sustainability. Tracking
labor costs and efficiency with appropriate metrics (e.g., sales per worker equivalent) will enable a
food hub manager to make informed decisions with respect to labor management [178]. In general,
research indicates that high-performing hubs pay their employees more. The performance benefits
that are derived from a motivated and loyal workforce tend to outweigh the costs [178].
Implemented practices—To improve labor efficiency, Oklahoma Food Cooperative has made
efforts to streamline its sorting processes [133]. Its members built an efficient storage system with
dedicated locations for refrigerated, frozen, and nonperishable food items. This system has increased
order-processing efficiency, such that the number of volunteer workers has remained steady even
as throughput has increased. Other food hubs have discovered that personnel attributes and work
culture significantly impact labor efficiency. Much of the success of La Montanita Food Co-op can be
attributed to recruiting the right combination of skilled and experienced warehouse staff [133]. Their
staff members have extensive backgrounds in warehousing, delivery, management, and operations.
The farmers who are members of the Appalachian Harvest network are trained in efficient and effective
post-harvest handling methods, including washing, grading, picking, and packing [125]. By contrast,
one of the greatest challenges faced by Co-op Partners Warehouse, a Minnesota-based distributor of
organic products, has been a lack of experienced staff. Their management also suspect that a lack of
professionalism in the warehouse’s work culture has contributed to lost business opportunities [133].
Greenmarket Co., New York, a wholesale food hub, employed a mix of permanent and seasonal staff
to avoid giving volunteers responsibility for key operations [139]. The food hub believes that their
employees’ institutional knowledge is important for its growth and success.
5.2.2. Facility Location

Recommended practices—To minimize transportation time, expense, and emissions, regional food
aggregation facilities should be located near major transportation routes and as close to customer
bases and growers as possible, particularly when handling perishable goods [53,119,155,157,179].
The decision to locate a facility in a rural or more populous area depends on whether the facility
serves primarily growers or urban customers. Locating distribution hubs far from main thoroughfares
may serve the immediate aggregation needs of a cluster of producers, but such hubs will struggle to
tap into external freight transport systems and leverage existing transportation infrastructure [123].
A strong customer base can also justify selecting an aggregation site that is further from producers [154].
A survey of food hubs across the U.S. reported that food hubs that were not located near a metropolitan
area had higher-than-average dependence on grant funding [17].
While proximity to demand is important, there are other factors to consider when selecting
facility location, including the availability of a large pool of people with the necessary skills for
employment [175]. Food hubs should also co-locate with existing food markets so that each can benefit
from the other’s existence [180]. For example, a feasibility study conducted in London recommended
that food hubs work closely with existing infrastructures, particularly the wholesale markets that
already serve much of the city [180]. A facility may have special requirements that can also impact
the choice of location. For example, processing facilities require large quantities of water for their
operations, so a location that provides access to an abundant supply of water is crucial.
Another factor that may influence a regional food facility location decision is the presence of
underserved areas [157]. Food Desert Map created by United States Department of Agriculture shows
areas that lack access to fresh and healthy food, based on proximity and accessibility to full-service
retail grocery stores [181]. Investors that are interested in developing regional food distribution
systems can use the map to determine where to focus sales to improve consumers’ access to fresh food.
The Wallace Center is also adding food hub locations to an existing online map of regions in the United
States that have low access to supermarkets [181].
To assist in facility location decisions, a mathematical model has been developed that can
determine the optimal locations for food hubs in the U.S. The model’s overall objective is to minimize
transportation costs, subject to upper bounds on allowable transport distances and food hub capital
costs/capacity, as well as road conditions [182].
Implemented practices—The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
determined the locations of four new packing houses based on input from different regional
stakeholder groups, including farmers [140]. Proximity to major markets has been an important
driver for the success of Smucker’s Meat, a small-scale regional meat processing facility in Mount Joy,
Pennsylvania [46].
5.2.3. Infrastructure Development

Recommended practices—The foundation of an RFSC is the aggregation and distribution
infrastructure it has available to move products from farms to markets, in the form required
by buyers [125,183]. Thus, the development of sufficient infrastructure capacity is necessary to
make RFSCs a vital complement to the global food system [4,45,154]. However, an organization’s
level of investment in infrastructure should match its stage of development and its marketing
capacities [133]—a food hub should use its storage space and material handling equipment efficiently
and not invest in capacity that it does not have plans to use [181]. Relatively small investments in
infrastructure, such as establishing new or improved loading docks, can offer substantial benefits to
regional food producers and distributors [143]. Other recommended infrastructure includes pallet
lifters, forklifts, and banding and wrapping equipment, all of which can reduce labor costs and speed
up operations at loading docks [184]. The size of a food hub’s warehouse should be based on projected
peak season weekly pounds sold [119]. To determine this value, a food hub should frequently monitor
its space and equipment usage (e.g., the proportion of space occupied in cold storage each week).
Alternatively, warehouse size can be based on the farm acreage that supplies it (e.g., five square feet
per acre), while allowing for future growth and expansion [148,179].
A food hub might also consider investing in infrastructure that would enable it to provide
some basic food processing capabilities (i.e., sorting, trimming, and washing fresh produce) [119,167].
If funding for acquiring a new facility is unavailable, alternatives (e.g., repurposing existing facilities
such as that of a food bank) should be examined [143,185]. Paying for access to existing supply
chain infrastructure or leasing options can also eliminate up-front investment costs [139,155,186,187].
A handbook has been published to help RFSC participants find channels for addressing capital and
resource challenges [188].
Implemented practices—Some food hubs have reported making significant investments in
infrastructure and capacity, often in response to projected or actual demand increases. To accommodate
increased sales and anticipated future growth, Co-op Partners Warehouse significantly expanded its
warehouse and trucking capacity [133]. This investment strategy has helped them become one of the
biggest distributors of organic products in the upper Midwest. In some cases, however, innovative
solutions can reduce the need for investment. For example, a local food distributor in Vermont had
its producers dip their eggplants in ice water before loading them on the truck to the warehouse to
reduce spoilage [150]. Adopting this strategy eliminated the need for investing in a refrigerated truck.
5.2.4. Efficient Warehousing Policies

Recommended practices—Standardized methods for product storage, picking, and packaging are
critical to the success of regional food hubs [164]. The use of consistent and high-quality packaging
methods is particularly important to food buyers [54,140,147,155,183,184,189–192]. A survey of
local food retailers in Michigan found that inconsistent product labeling and packaging by regional
producers was a major reason for decreased regional food sales [54]. Therefore, buyers typically require
standardized packaging materials and consistent sizing and grading methods [156]. In particular,
restaurants are accustomed to working with large-scale food distributors that use standardized
packaging, which is designed for shipping and handling, refrigeration, extended shelf life, and
user-friendliness [163]. Therefore, regional food hubs must work with producers to ensure that packed
products meet all buyer requirements [45]. In particular, they should select appropriate containers
that do not break down when exposed to water, allow for ventilation, and fit in customer storage
facilities and displays. A food hub may also need to repack items from small-scale producers to reach
a customer’s desired order size [4].
Efforts should also be made to reduce packaging and to use recyclable packaging materials [120].
A study comparing cardboard boxes and reusable plastic containers concluded that cardboard is a
better packaging option (both economically and environmentally) for short food supply chains [193].
On the contrary, a similar study conducted in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, concluded that reusable plastic
containers will reduce environmental impact [194]. However, increased transportation and labor
handling costs associated with reusable containers could result in overall product cost increases.
Implemented practices—Many regional food hubs and producers have made efforts to standardize
their packaging methods. The owners of JenEhr Family Farm in Wisconsin visited the kitchens of area
restaurants to gain a better understanding of the chefs’ preferences, which helped them to improve
their picking and packaging policies [146]. Similarly, a group of farmers in Ohio gained insights
from a personnel at a regional grocery chain to learn about customers’ packaging requirements [156].
Members of HomeGrown Wisconsin standardized their packaging and delivery methods to meet
the needs of their restaurant customers [144]. An aggregator for small farmers in northern Virginia
packs products differently for different customers: Products for retailers are packed in cases, whereas
products for processors are packed in bulk [179].
Balls Food Stores provides packing supplies at cost to their regional food suppliers and educates
them on how to appropriately pack and deliver products [131,176]. Winter Harvest, an online regional
food buying club based in Philadelphia, sends all of the shipping labels for each delivery date and site
to participating farmers at the beginning of the growing season [195]. They also assemble individual
orders at each delivery site, rather than at the time of picking or at the beginning of a delivery
route, which has helped them reduce delivery errors. An organic potato packing plant in Minnesota
provides custom packaging by implementing sorting and packing technologies that are used in
conventional food supply chains [38]. An automated screen sizer is used to remove small potatoes,
and an expanding roll sizer sorts out larger sizes to meet consumer needs. Similarly, Coop Partners
Warehouse offers custom-sized packs that are smaller than cases to satisfy the requirements of their
restaurant clients [133]. Sysco has successfully incorporated apples grown by small and midsize farms
near Grand Rapids, Michigan, into its mainstream supply chain [162]. They customized volumes
and pack sizes to meet customer requirements, which led to increased sales to convenience stores
and hotels.
Some regional food distributors have made efforts to develop environmentally sustainable
packaging systems. For example, Organically Grown Company uses reusable plastic bins instead of
waxed boxes [145]. Good Earth Farms is working with FedEx to develop a box with insulating foam
that can be returned and recycled [158]. Packaging at Red Tomato uses sustainable materials and is
designed to feature local farms’ growing practices and to protect perishable products [131,132,196].
5.2.5. Warehousing Collaboration and Resource Sharing

Recommended practices (Horizontal Collaboration)—Collaborative warehousing activities can reduce
RFSC costs and improve distribution efficiency [197]. For example, producers can purchase packaging
materials as a group [163]. Producers can also share storage facilities to reduce warehousing costs in the
post-harvest season [148,167,198]. Retailers and food hubs often prefer to pick up products at common
aggregation points to address the challenge of managing too many vendors [156]. Therefore, multiple
producers selling to the same food hub or retailer should consider forming collective aggregation points
at one of their farms, which can enable a more consistent volume and frequency of supply, require fewer
transactions for the retailer/food hub, and reduce transportation costs [4,9,51,147,154,156,199,200].
Food hubs should also consider collaborative warehousing; new food hubs in particular can
benefit from partnering with existing distributors or organizations [18,56]. For example, a food
hub can lease warehouse space to other organizations to generate additional revenue [51,129,140].
Collaboration between food hubs can facilitate inter-hub brokerage and increase each hub’s access
to infrastructure and technical assistance [157]. In [201], an overview has been provided on how the
capacities of regional food hubs can be increased by partnering with other food hubs in proximity. The
report also provides information on important attributes that food hub stakeholders should consider
before establishing a food hub collaborative network.
Recommended practices (Vertical Collaboration)—Cross-dock consolidation centers allow small-scale
farmers to aggregate their products without incurring the high capital and operational costs of a
full-service food hub [202]. Cross-docking can also help full-service food hubs improve their logistics
operations without requiring additional capital investment [136,148]. For example, an analysis of
the distribution network of a food hub in North Carolina determined that expanding its service to
an additional grocery store would require collaborative cross-docking with the grocery’s regional
distribution center [136]. A feasibility study for the development of a network of food hubs in
California recommended that the food hubs pay to use the existing distribution infrastructure and
cross-docking services of food banks [157].
Implemented practices (Horizontal Collaboration)—In a survey of 143 food hubs in the U.S., more
than half (52%) reported that they were engaged in either a formal or an informal collaboration, and
several had increased their revenues by renting space to other businesses in their region [44]. Some
food hubs share extra space in their warehouses with other regional food organizations to bring in
additional revenue. For example, Co-op Partner’s Warehouse leases space to Featherstone Farm and
Equal Exchange when the space is not needed for its own operations [133,161]. Local Food Hub
in Charlottesville, Virginia, serves as an aggregating hub for many specialty food distributors in
the region [52]. Working with the Local Food Hub has helped Keany Produce, a regional produce
distributor in Landover, Maryland, source a greater volume of locally grown produce for its customers
than how much it could otherwise have managed independently.
Implemented practices (Vertical Collaboration)—Some farms and food hubs have reported successfully
incorporating cross-docking into their operations. For example, Full Circle has developed several small
cross-docking facilities in Idaho and eastern Washington to facilitate local deliveries [132]. Others
have partnered with larger distributors. Good Natured Family Farms, integrated cross-docking into
its distribution network by leveraging the distribution infrastructure of a large grocery chain [174].
Farmers’ products are delivered to the grocery’s central warehouse, where they are aggregated by
Good Natured Family Farms personnel and then distributed to retail stores via the grocery’s trucks.

This sub-section describes recommendations for the five inventory management best practices by
RFSC researchers, as well as implementation examples of these practices by RFSC practitioners.
5.3.1. Warehouse Inventory Management Systems

Recommended practices—Implementing systematic inventory management procedures will
significantly increase the likelihood of a food hub’s success. In particular, the use of inventory
management technology can increase the speed of information exchange and therefore enhance RFSC
efficiency [174]. A good inventory management system will keep track of which products are in stock,
on order, and on backorder, and which products have been sold to customers [181]. It will also support
the use of first-in-first-out inventory control to ensure that products are sold within their shelf life.
If an organization manages a large number of SKUs or has a retail location, it may be necessary to
implement a system that supports barcode labeling and scanning [51].
An inventory management system can also serve as an interface that facilitates ordering and
information sharing with buyers [156]. For example, Local Dirt (localdirt.com) provides a software
platform that allows buyers to quickly and easily assess product availability and order items that
are currently in stock, although its usefulness relies on prompt and accurate inventory updates [119].
Alternatively, Local Orbit provides food hubs with all the necessary software tools required to run
their business along with customized sales portals, marketing support, and payment processing
services [52]. If both producers and distributors/retailers implement inventory management systems
and EDI, they can co-manage their inventory through continuous surveillance of electronic purchases,
which is a common practice in conventional food supply chains. Implementing inventory management
systems will also help producers better manage their record keeping and improve their overall farm
management [203]. Ideally, a food hub’s inventory management system should also be able to share
inventory information with other nearby aggregators that can extend its distribution services beyond
its current distribution radius [121].
Food hubs can use either an Excel-based inventory management system, which is highly
dependent on manual data entry, or an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, which automates
data exchange as transactions are performed [204]. While inventory management software can be
very useful for RFSCs, the price of the software can be prohibitive [123]. Open-source software would
eliminate this cost barrier, but a lack of quality and reliable support could be problematic. If a food
hub decides to develop its own proprietary inventory management software, this software should
be customized using inputs from stakeholders who are familiar with the food hub’s operations [139].
An overview of software solutions for RFSC inventory management has been provided in [204].
Implemented practices—Some food hubs have reported successfully implementing warehouse
inventory management systems. Ecker’s Apple Farm in Wisconsin currently records its inventory
transactions on paper and transfers this data to QuickBooks, with an eventual goal of adopting
inventory management software and eliminating manual record keeping [126]. Bix Produce currently
uses an inventory management system that requires manual data entry for order picking but plans
to upgrade this system to include electronic scanning [123]. A regional food business in Iowa
invested $1 million to develop the sophisticated tracking and inventory systems required to work
with Sysco [205]. Sysco has worked with the Wallace Center to develop new ordering codes and an
inventory management system to support regional food distribution in Grand Rapids, Kansas City,
and Chicago [162]. Capay Valley Farm Shop uses a combination of CSAware software, Excel, Google
Documents, and QuickBooks for order management and internal tracking [139]. This Old Farm uses
custom-designed software to manage traceability, bar-coding, labeling, and order fulfillment [139].
Greenmarket Farmers Markets in New York used QuickBooks to manage orders and inventory in
the initial phase of the business’s development but then switched to software designed by Food
Connex [139]. Oklahoma Food Cooperative uses Local Food Cooperative Software, an open source
platform. Though the software make some assumptions on the operational structure of a food hub
like weekly delivery cycle, it acts as a cost-effective option for the food hub, especially in their starting
phase [52].
5.3.2. Inventory Tracking and Food Traceability

Recommended practices—The ability to track inventory as it moves throughout an RFSC is very
useful (and often necessary) for producers, distributors, and retailers [9,142,183,197,206]. In particular,
the ability to identify which product (i.e., crop type, originating farm, harvest date) was ordered
by which customer on what day is essential to successfully manage recalls [204]. Additionally,
many consumers want to know the story of the farmers whose products they are buying, including
geographic information, and processing methods [47,150,152,167,174,190–192,207–210]. Providing this
story can add to regional products’ perceived value, such that customers are sometimes willing to pay
more [211]. Some consumers also want precise information on production methods, agrochemical
treatments, frame-size and breed of animals (for meat products), transport and storage methods, the
number of hands through which the products have passed from farm to fork, and harvest dates of the
products they are buying [157,203,212,213]. Therefore, it is important for RFSCs to implement inventory
tracking systems that will help them to build customer trust and comply with legal traceability
requirements [173,214]. Producers and intermediaries that share this information with their customers
via labels and packaging make their products more competitive in the market [154,168,185]. However,
the cost and inconvenience associated with implementing inventory tracking systems may require that
producers be incentivized to participate, such as being awarded with long-term contracts [215].
Regional food organizations can use software to track a bill of lading, accept delivery confirmation,
and support food recalls [121]. Inexpensive applications developed using tools like MS Office can
also be used to improve traceability [215]. Accounting software can provide both inventory tracking
and accounting functions in the same system. For example, The Leopold Center for Sustainable
Agriculture published a how-to guide with step-by-step instructions for tracking inventory using
QuickBooks [216]. For organizations that process food products, the software system should also
be able to track lot numbers throughout the production line and the supply chain [181]. To meet
food safety requirements, temperature tracking on the production line is also very important for food
processors [204]. Temperature tracking is also often required in cold chains [140].
To expedite the inventory tracking process, regional food organizations can replace manual
methods with an electronic bar coding system, or an RFID system if selling to wholesale customers [126].
Although RFID tags are more expensive than printed barcode labels, RFID is more efficient, because
the tags do not need to be visible to be scanned, and multiple items can be scanned at once. Labels
with QR codes allow consumers with smartphones to access product and traceability information to
learn about the farm or region where the product originated [126]. However, producers can provide
this information to their customers without scanning technology by adding information about their
products on signage, cases, and PLU codes [155].
Implemented practices—Systems that enable inventory tracking and food traceability have proved
to be beneficial to RFSCs. Grass Run Farms and Edina Couriers have both implemented electronic
scanning and software systems to track the movement of their products and to provide other supply
chain members with accurate inventory data [123]. However, Grass Run Farms found that consumers
did not value QR codes enough to justify the cost of implementation [126]. Cherry Capital Foods
has ensured food safety by implementing traceability systems throughout their supply chain [131].
Organic Valley implemented its own inventory tracking system that has the ability to trace and
recall every case of products [159]. Similarly, every item sold by All Natural Beef Cooperative and
Niman Ranch can be traced back to its source [47,128]. FarmLogix, a Chicago-based technology
platform, and Fifth Season Cooperative worked together to develop an inventory tracking system that
would provide product origin information to consumers [217]. An Irish organic meat brand provided
their customers with an access code that can be entered on the distributor’s website to access the
location of the source farm and how the livestock was raised [218].
Food hubs that aggregate and commingle products from multiple producers are typically unable
to identify the specific source of each item they distribute. However, they may still be able to offer
some degree of traceability. Red Tomato maintains product traceability by allowing apples from
only one producer in each tote, along with the name and description of the farm [133]. By contrast,
Bix Produce knows from which two or three farms each product originated and provides customers
with information on all of these farms to consumers, thereby maintaining farm identity but avoiding
overburdening their operations [123]. Appalachian Harvest addressed this issue by building a single
brand that represents all of their farmers and farming methods, rather than maintaining individual
farmer identities [125].
5.3.3. Demand Forecasting

Recommended practices—Matching regional food supply with demand is a major challenge [17,148].
In fact, it is the most cited challenge for food hub growth, based on responses to two U.S. food hub
surveys [17,44]. Therefore, it is recommended that all RFSC participants have a detailed understanding
of supply and demand across their region [121,167]. If producers, aggregators, and buyers are all able
to monitor the RFSC’s production capacity, quantities purchased, and any unmet demand, they can
improve future planning efforts and potentially increase productivity over time. This allows producers
to plan their production accordingly and lower their business risk [185]. Therefore, food hub managers
should conduct pre-season crop planning with both buyers and producers to more consistently match
supply and demand throughout the season [119,155,190]. Ideally, food hub managers should have a
core group of dedicated producers that participate in crop planning, as well as relationships with a
broader range of producers to help fill in any gaps caused by unplanned events [154]. Additionally,
setting up informal intent-to-buy agreements with buyers will yield standing orders that make demand
patterns more predictable [219].
Market research can provide food hubs with useful demand information and assist them in
choosing which products to procure [143]. The granularity of this information varies, from rough
overall demand estimates to information on specific customer demand. For example, New Venture
Advisors provides a free tool called Local Food MarketSizer, which assists regional food organizations
in determining the demand for local food in a particular metropolitan area or state [181]. This tool is
unable to provide demand information for specific products, but it can roughly estimate the demand
for a class of products (e.g., fruits and vegetables). Alternatively, food hubs and other regional
food organizations can go directly to their customers to gather demand information. This can be
accomplished through online surveys, tracking ordering habits, and speaking with customers about
their needs [143].
Implemented practices—Many producers simply track their sales and watch for demand trends for
each product that they sell, and they use this information to help plan for the following season [220].
Some food hubs work with buyers to determine their needs and forecast demand. For example,
Common Market developed strong customer relationships with several school districts and hospitals
that provide them with data on the volumes and types of products demanded by consumers [221].
Oklahoma Food Cooperative also surveys its customers to determine their preferences and then shares
the survey results with their producers to support crop planning [133].
Other organizations work closely with producers to manage supply. Balls Food Stores works
with the local farmers to have them grow new crop varieties based on customer demand [176]. Alba
Organics, a food hub in Salinas, California, develops a crop plan with its producers based on historic
sales volumes. This plan is updated periodically as new crops are added and removed, based on
customers’ requests and producers’ constraints, respectively [157]. However, information management
has been a challenge for them—the available software in the market is either too sophisticated or
costly, or not sophisticated enough. Tuscarora Organic Growers coordinates crop planning with all its
farmers to meet weekly market demand based on a historical database for each produce item sold [52].
At HomeGrown Wisconsin, each grower has a pre-season meeting with the co-op manager to review
production and sales data from the previous season and examine projected sales for the coming season.
While this meeting helps producers with production planning, there is no sales contract between the
co-op and its members [144]. Country Natural Beef begins communicating demand requirements
to producers 18 months before cattle are needed on farms to ensure that demand is met for special
events and holidays [222]. Southeast Minnesota Food Hub Network works with buyers and producers
before the growing season to ensure that there is sufficient supply [130]. Organically Grown Company
practices extensive production planning with its producers, working with them to create crop plans
and production estimates [223]. Appalachian Harvest found that allocating 10–20% more supply
than expected demand was a good strategy, since some producers do not meet their production
projections [125].
Some organizations have begun using software to facilitate more accurate and efficient demand
management. Keewaydin Farms is developing software to manage its inventory, match supply with
demand, and approximate the volumes that each of its producers is able to sell [123]. Local Harvest
Supply, a local food distributor in Iowa, also uses software to analyze customer purchasing patterns in
an effort to balance supply and demand [123].
5.3.4. Improved Supplier Reliability

Recommended practices—Improving supplier reliability can significantly reduce a food hub’s
exposure to risk, since delivering products in desired quantities at the promised times is critical for
maintaining customers [54,146,154]. However, this can be a challenge when the food hub and the
producers have different objectives. Producers may prefer to primarily sell directly to customers and
only sell surplus products to the food hub, whereas food hubs prefer a consistent supply [173,224,225].
To maintain a consistent supply of products for their customers, food hubs should work with producers
to determine how much they are able to supply and how frequently, and they should consider offering
producers incentives to increase consistency and loyalty [51]. Establishing long-term relationships
with a few strategic suppliers will ensure consistent pricing, higher quality, and steady product
availability [122].
To reduce overall risk, food hubs should buy products from several suppliers, rather than relying
on one producer to fulfill their entire demand [226]. This is particularly important for food hubs with
wholesale customers, which require consistent deliveries, contract pricing, and volumes [156,174].
To maintain a consistent year-round supply of products for its buyers, food hubs should consider
carry both regional and non-regional foods [225]. The food hubs in California have been advised to
collectively monitor the supply and demand of individual hubs to facilitate sales across member hubs
and to reduce problems that arise due to seasonality of their growers [157].
Producers and food hubs can also help to ensure that they have a consistent supply by adding
post-harvest management technologies (e.g., food processing and preserving capabilities) to their
facilities [47,52,118,120,148,152,167,206,227]. Processing (e.g., freezing, canning, drying) can extend
the season for fresh foods, allowing farmers to produce greater volumes during the growing season
and then store and sell products year-round without compromising quality [197]. The convenience of
processed food is also appealing to many buyers—it is easy to store, ready to use, and less perishable
than fresh products [140,221]. Thus selling processed food products can help farmers capture better
prices [228]. Processing can also increase the utilization of cosmetically imperfect food products [18].
For example, a farmer may be unable to sell imperfect fresh tomatoes, but with the proper equipment
and certifications, he/she could process the tomatoes into tomato paste, which can be sold profitably to
foodservice customers. Nearly 43% of surveyed farmers in Minnesota stated that they would be more
likely to sell their products through a local food hub that had facilities for processing and value-added
activities [119]. However, the up-front costs of purchasing equipment and facilities, as well as daunting
certification and licensing requirements, may prevent many growers and food entrepreneurs from
producing and selling processed food items [140]. Another possibility is the use of mobile processing
units [46]. These may require less up-front investment than a fixed-location unit; however, operating
costs may be greater, due to fuel and maintenance.
Implemented practices—Idaho Bounty, a food hub in Idaho, manages risk by using a small group
of large-scale producers to fill its wholesale customers’ orders [229]. These producers are capable
of meeting the quality and quantity requirements of wholesale markets. To maintain consistent
availability of regional produce for its customers throughout the year, a local food co-op in Ohio
developed relationships with farmers that can supply both fall and spring crops [156]. Similarly,
Red Tomato leverages producer networks across the state to extend seasonal availability for its
customers [131]. Country Natural Beef has increased the reliability of its supply by paying higher
prices to farmers who are willing to breed calves in difficult calving seasons, as well as having farmers
breed more cattle in these difficult periods to serve as insurance [222].
Common Market expanded its year-round supply of products by including frozen regional
products sourced from its own producers or partner processors [131]. Similarly, Fifth Season
Cooperative offers a line of frozen and value-added vegetable blends to extend their season [139].
The co-op also acts as a broker for frozen and refrigerated meat, to avoid inventory holding costs.
Originally, each rancher member of the All Natural Beef Cooperative was responsible for producing,
processing, and distributing their beef [128]. To reduce its members’ costs and increase overall
efficiencies, the co-op purchased and renovated an existing processing facility, which has also helped
it to maintain a steady supply of beef throughout the year and meet increasing demand [128]. Good
Natured Family Farms owns a state-inspected meat processing plant and has found that processing
both chicken and beef in the plant maximizes facility and distribution system utilization [230].
They also plan to have the plant become a federally-inspected facility to enable them to distribute their
products across state lines [231]. Developing processing facilities has allowed Colorado Homestead
Ranches, a distributor of natural beef products raised by family ranches in Gunnison, Colorado, to
establish greater economic control of its supply chain and to provide processing capacity to other meat
producers in the region [185]. Lorentz Meats in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, is able to efficiently run
its processing unit by keeping its three key customers in constant communication with them about
scheduling [46]. Anna Marie Seafood in Louisiana developed a cost-effective method of flash freezing
shrimp onboard their fishing vessels [232].
5.3.5. Collaboration and Resource Sharing for Inventory Management

Recommended practices (Horizontal Collaboration)—RFSC participants are highly interdependent,
and “coopetition”—cooperation with competitors—among them is a collective strategy that can expand
markets and support prices [53,155]. For example, food hubs can reduce their inventory management
costs by sharing deliveries, taking advantage of group purchasing, and purchasing pooled insurance
policies [139,154,157,174].
Recommended practices (Vertical Collaboration)—Collaboration between upstream and downstream
RFSC participants can facilitate frequent just-in-time (JIT) deliveries and inventory reduction. Although
holding inventory helps RFSC participants to buffer against supply and demand uncertainties [184],
adopting frequent JIT deliveries and systems that support inventory tracking and demand forecasting
can reduce the need for excess inventory and large warehouse spaces [51,183]. Food hubs, which have
limited cash flows, will benefit from keeping their inventory levels low and ensuring rapid inventory
turnover [233]. However, the high level of coordination that is needed to support JIT deliveries
requires significant information sharing between RFSC participants, which can be challenging if they
are competitors [173].
Implemented practices (Horizontal Collaboration)—Stonyfield Farm, a dairy company in New
Hampshire, has benefited from collaborating with Organic Valley to aggregate and process organic
fluid milk [159]. Both companies jointly market the milk, and Wisconsin-based Organic Valley benefits
from Stonyfield’s strong brand presence in the Northeast region. La Montanita Co-op realized that
developing a strong regional supply base would require partnering with competitors, such as Whole
Foods [133]. Sysco has encouraged its regional operators to share both information and suppliers,
thereby extending its geographic radius of regional food distribution [162].
Implemented practices (Vertical Collaboration)—Vertical coordination in RFSCs for inventory
management is practiced by successful food hubs in the U.S. through the development of strategic
relationships between upstream and downstream participants [20]. For example, Iowa Food Hub
was able to reduce its inventory levels by ordering products more frequently from producers [233].
This also allowed the food hub to make more frequent deliveries, which helped their customers to
avoid shortages and to reduce their own inventory levels. Capay Valley Farm Shop uses a JIT system to
purchase and pick up products from producers and immediately deliver them to their customers [139].
Grass Run Farms manages its inventory using Excel spreadsheets and has been able to reduce its
week-to-week inventory to just a few boxes of product [126]. Country Natural Beef participates in
a vendor-managed inventory system in which its customers own six warehouses and purchase the
products, but Country Natural Beef manages the inventory for them [222].
Vertical information sharing has increased the effectiveness of many RFSC collaborations.
For example, Walsma and Lyons and Sysco Grand Rapids, two food distributors in Michigan, regularly
visit producers to learn about their operations and to build trust [174]. Over a three-year period of
building relationships, they have doubled the amount of regional produce that they distribute, and
they have helped producers expand their delivery reach. Sysco maintains a vertically integrated
supply chain by establishing a communication channel between Sysco’s staff, local aggregators, and
farmers, as well as connecting farmers with customers at the beginning of the season [162]. Kansas
City retail chain Balls Food Stores has been able to source more regional food by partnering with
Good Natured Family Farms [131]. The grocery managers regularly visit the producers to gain a better
understanding of their production practices, and the producers visit stores to showcase products and
engage customers. This strategic partnership has yielded $3 million in sales for the cooperative and
has helped to maintain consistent supply to the stores, even in slow seasons [128], [174]. Similarly, a
large-scale food distributor in Ohio maintains relationships with regional growers by visiting their
farms, inspecting their facilities and growing standards, and conducting soil tests [156]. If the producers
meet the distributor’s required standards, they become an approved supplier; otherwise, they are
dropped as a vendor.
6. Summary of Findings
This section provides a summary of the works cited, identifies several gaps in the existing
research on RFSC logistics management, and recommends directions for future research. This paper
summarized and analyzed 106 technical reports (published between 2002 and 2015) and 28 journal
articles (published between 2007 and 2016) that provided recommendations and/or examples of
implementation with respect to logistics best practices in RFSCs. A summary of the references
reviewed in Section 5 for each best practice is provided in Table 3. The RFSC implementation examples
are make reference to 67 different regional food practitioners (e.g., farms, cooperatives, food hubs).
Table 3. Summary of reviewed literature on RFSC logistics best practices (technical reports; journal articles).
Best Practice Recommended Implemented

Efficient Vehicle Utilization [4], [8], [9], [119–123], [125]; [118], [124] [123], [126–134]; [124]
Backhauling [37], [123], [135–137] [56], [123], [138], [139]
Vehicle Selection [18], [37], [51], [119], [125], [134], [140–142] [37], [133], [139], [143–145]
[123], [125], [126], [133], [144],
On-time and Frequent Deliveries [4], [47], [146–149]; [150–152]
[153], [154]
[9], [122], [123], [126], [127], [131],
Third-party Logistics (3PL) [37], [38], [125], [129], [154], [155] [132], [138], [139], [143], [144],
[147], [154], [156–162]
Horizontal collaboration—[4], [9], [140], [144],
Horizontal collaboration—[123],
[157], [163], [164], [166], [167], [170], [171];
[130], [133], [175], [176]; [177]
Transportation Collaboration [39], [165], [168], [169]
Vertical collaboration—[18], [131],
Vertical collaboration—[8], [123], [138], [144],
[133], [161]
[156], [173], [174]; [172]
[17], [51], [125], [129], [133], [139], [155],
Effective Labor Utilization [125], [133], [139]
[157], [178]
[17], [53], [119], [123], [154], [155], [157],
Facility Location [46], [140]
[175], [179], [180], [181]; [182]
[4], [45], [119], [125], [133], [139], [143], [148],
Infrastructure Development [154], [155], [167], [179], [181], [184], [188]; [133]; [150]
[183], [185–187]
[38], [131–133], [144–146], [156],
[4], [45], [120], [140], [147], [155], [156], [163],
Efficient Warehousing Policies [158], [162], [176], [179], [195],
[164], [184], [189–192]; [54], [183], [193], [194]
[196]
Horizontal collaboration—[4], [9], [18], [51],
[56], [129], [140], [147], [148], [154], [156], Horizontal collaboration—[44], [52],
Warehousing Collaboration and
[157], [163], [167], [197], [198], [201]; [199], [133], [161]
Resource Sharing
[200] Vertical collaboration—[132], [174]
Vertical collaboration—[136], [148], [157], [202]
Warehouse Inventory [51], [52], [119], [121], [123], [139], [156],
[52], [123], [126], [139], [162], [205]
Management Systems [174], [181], [203], [204]
[9], [47], [121], [126], [140], [142], [154], [155],
[157], [167], [174], [181], [190–192], [197],
Inventory Tracking and Food [47], [123], [125], [126], [128], [131],
[203], [204], [207–211], [213], [216]; [150],
Traceability [133], [159], [217], [218]
[152], [168], [173], [183], [185], [206], [212],
[214], [215]
[17], [44], [119], [121], [143], [148], [154], [52], [123], [125], [130], [133], [144],
Demand Forecasting
[155], [167], [181], [190], [219]; [185] [157], [176], [220–223]
[18], [46], [47], [51], [52], [119], [120], [122],
[140], [146], [148], [154], [156], [157], [167], [46], [128], [131], [139], [156], [222],
Improved Supplier Reliability
[174], [197], [221], [224], [226], [228]; [54], [229–232]; [185]
[118], [152], [173], [206], [225], [227]
Horizontal collaboration—[133],
Horizontal collaboration—[53], [139], [154],
Collaboration and Resource [159], [162]
[155], [157], [174]
Sharing for Inventory Vertical collaboration—[20], [126],
Vertical collaboration—[51], [184], [233]; [173],
Management [128], [131], [139], [156], [162],
[183]
[174], [222], [233]
This substantial literature reflects the growing importance of logistics in regional food system
research over the past decade. Figure 3 shows the publication trend of the reviewed literature over
time, which demonstrates significant growth in the number of publications in this domain from 2006
through 2014. However, there was a significant decrease in publications in 2015. This paper reviewed
journal articles that were available online as of February 2016 and technical reports available as of
March 2016, which may be the reason for the significant drop in the number of publications published
that year. 2018, 10, 168
Sustainability 31 of 43
Figure 3. Publication trend of the reviewed literature.

Figure 3. Publication trend of the reviewed literature.
An analysis of this literature indicates that majority of the research on RFSC logistics is being
performed in specific geographic areas. Figure 4 shows the geographic dispersion of authors of the
literature reviewed in this study. Most of the journal articles on RFSC logistics have been published
by researchers in Europe (46%), and United States (46%). The remaining (8%) articles were from
either Mexico or Canada. For shortlisting the technical reports, only research centers in the U.S.
were considered. Therefore, reports originated mainly from the U.S., with two reports from the
United Kingdom. In the U.S., the research is concentrated on the East Coast, the upper Midwest,
and California. Figure 3. Publication trend of the reviewed literature.
Figure 4. Geographic dispersion of reviewed literature.
In the reviewed literature, the most frequently recommended best practice for RFSCs is
inventory tracking and food traceability, with 35 publications mentioning its importance. Having
detailed information about a food product’s origin is very important to most regional food
consumers, and an inventory tracking system can help producers, distributors, and retailers to
preserve and share this information as the product moves along the RFSC. Moreover, a high degree
of traceability helps RFSCs differentiate themselves from the conventional food system, which serves
as a competitive advantage.
After inventory tracking and food traceability, the next most frequently recommended best
practice for RFSCs is horizontalFigurecollaboration,
4. Geographic dispersion
which can of reviewed literature.
Figure 4. Geographic dispersion of be applied
reviewed to transportation, warehousing,
literature.
and inventory management (recommended in total by 32 publications). The potential to reduce
In theand
operational reviewed
overhead literature, the most
costs makes frequently
horizontal recommended
collaboration best practice
particularly promisingforfor
RFSCs
RFSCis
In the reviewed
inventory tracking literature,
and food the most frequently
traceability, with 35recommended
publications best practiceits
mentioning forimportance.
RFSCs is inventory
Having
participants, who typically lack access to capital. Horizontal collaboration can also facilitate the
tracking
detailed and food traceability,
information about a with
food35product’s
publications mentioning
origin is veryFor its importance.
important Having detailed
implementation of other highly-recommended best practices. example,topartnerships
most regional
amongfood
RFSC practitioners can be leveraged to develop new shared infrastructure (recommended in 19to
consumers, and an inventory tracking system can help producers, distributors, and retailers
preserve andsuch
publications), shareasthis information
food processingasand
thecold
product moves
storage along and
facilities, the RFSC. Moreover,
to improve a high degree
the reliability and
of traceability
off-season supply helps
of RFSCs
regionaldifferentiate themselvesby
food (recommended from
28 the conventional
publications). food
Such system, which
partnerships canserves
also
as a competitive
enable the creationadvantage.
of a common vehicle fleet that can support efficient vehicle utilization
information about a food product’s origin is very important to most regional food consumers, and an
inventory tracking system can help producers, distributors, and retailers to preserve and share this
information as the product moves along the RFSC. Moreover, a high degree of traceability helps RFSCs
differentiate themselves from the conventional food system, which serves as a competitive advantage.
practice for RFSCs is horizontal collaboration, which can be applied to transportation, warehousing,
and inventory management (recommended in total by 32 publications). The potential to reduce
operational and overhead costs makes horizontal collaboration particularly promising for RFSC
participants, who typically lack access to capital. Horizontal collaboration can also facilitate the
implementation of other highly-recommended best practices. For example, partnerships among RFSC
practitioners can be leveraged to develop new shared infrastructure (recommended in 19 publications),
such as food processing and cold storage facilities, and to improve the reliability and off-season supply
of regional food (recommended by 28 publications). Such partnerships can also enable the creation of
a common vehicle fleet that can support efficient vehicle utilization (recommended by 11 publications),
backhauling (recommended by 5 publications), and frequent and on-time deliveries to customers
(recommended by 9 publications).
The third most frequently recommended best practice is supplier reliability improvement
(recommended by 28 publications). This is unsurprising, given that the irregular supply of products is
one of the major reasons for food hub failure and closure in the U.S. [234].
By contrast, the most frequently cited implementation of RFSC logistics best practices was the
use of 3PLs (19 examples). Because most RFSC organizations lack the financial capability to invest
in infrastructure development, hiring a 3PL to support their logistics operations is a logical choice.
The second most frequently cited examples of implementation were from efficient vehicle utilization
(16 examples) followed by vertical collaboration (13 examples).
Based on the review of the RFSC logistics literature, three major gaps in the research were
identified. These gaps suggest potential avenues for future research to address the biggest logistics
challenges faced by RFSC practitioners.
Research Gap #1: Appropriately tailored implementation of logistics best practices—The regional food
community is highly diverse. Regional producers’ logistics management requirements vary widely,
based on their production capacity, the types of food they are producing, the location of their farm,
and seasonal weather conditions at their location. Similarly, regional food distributors and food hubs
have unique logistics requirements and capabilities. For example, there are approximately 302 regional
food hubs in the U.S., and no two have the exact same business structure. They are characterized by a
variety of different capacities, financial models, ownership structures (e.g., non-profits, farmer groups,
private entities) and business missions (e.g., maximizing producer profits, providing healthy food to
underserved areas, supporting environmentally-friendly agricultural practices). There are also many
different food hub operational structures and strategies, including farm-to-school distribution, retail
grocery stores, acting as a 3PL provider for regional producers, farm-to-wholesale distribution, as well
as hybrid combinations of these structures.
For this reason, it is very difficult to identify from the existing literature which logistics approaches
are most appropriate for a specific RFSC entity, and at what level they should be implemented.
An examination of best practices at a more targeted level (e.g., by closer examination of food
hubs with similar social goals) would greatly help RFSC participants make informed decisions.
For example, horizontal collaboration is one of the most widely discussed logistics best practice
in the literature. However, none of these publications addressed the need for a framework for
successful RFSC collaborations. Such a framework could provide guidance on how to efficiently
build and manage the collaboration, how to decide on adding a new member to a preexisting
network of collaborating members, how to assign roles and responsibilities to each member (including
leadership), and how the benefits of collaboration will be shared among members. There is a large
body of literature on collaboration in conventional supply chains [81], some of which focuses on
small and midsize enterprises in the agri-food industry [235]. However, many RFSC participants
are values-based organizations with strong social and environmental components in their business
missions [236,237], and the existing profit-focused frameworks on horizontal collaboration may conflict
with RFSC objectives [238]. Also, RFSC participants typically face financial constraints that prevent
them from adopting sophisticated supply chain technologies that are typically recommended to
facilitate horizontal collaboration in conventional supply chains [239]. Therefore, the development of
an appropriate framework to provide RFSC practitioners with guidance on how to collaborate that is
aligned with their structures and missions is needed.
Research Gap #2: Economically viable logistics solutions—Infrastructure development (recommended
by 19 publications), maintaining a professional and skilled workforce (recommended by 9
publications), making frequent and on-time deliveries (recommended by 9 publications), and deploying
traceability tools (recommended by 35 publications) and warehouse inventory management systems
(recommended by 11 publications) are highly recommended for RFSCs to help them grow and
successfully compete with conventional food supply chains. These best practices will help RFSCs to
preserve farm identity throughout the supply chain and make frequent deliveries of fresh food to
customers, which are capabilities that differentiate RFSCs from conventional food systems and are
necessary to fulfill customers’ requirements for product traceability and freshness. However, these
best practices require significant financial investment for implementation, which prevents most RFSC
participants from adopting them. Many RFSC practitioners are heavily dependent on external funding
and grants to survive, particularly in the early stages of their business development. Because of
this, technologies for food traceability and inventory management that have been widely adopted by
conventional food supply chains are out of reach for RFSCs.
Unfortunately, research on cost-effective strategies for implementing these technology-based best
practices in RFSCs is lacking. RFSCs would greatly benefit from the development of innovative and
economically viable versions of the tools used by conventional supply chains. For example, a low-cost
and low-maintenance inventory tracking system was developed for collaborating food hubs and
farmers in Iowa [240]. This system includes an Excel-based label generator interface for the farmers
and a mobile application for the food hub managers and truck drivers to track the movement of the
farmers’ products through the supply network in real time.
Research Gap #3: Data-driven decision support—Transportation cost has been cited as a major
logistical barrier for RFSCs. To overcome this barrier, RFSC participants are advised to use the efficient
services of a 3PL provider, or to tap into the existing distribution networks of conventional supply
chains to transport products to their customers (recommended by 6 publications). This best practice
is the most highly-cited implementation (19 examples). However, decisions about adopting these
practices are typically made on an ad-hoc basis, because RFSC practitioners usually have very little
background in business planning and supply chain management [44,197].
Therefore, data-driven decision tools based on quantitative evaluations should be developed
to help RFSC practitioners make smart logistics management decisions, such as determining the
maximum delivery distance for which they should use their own transportation network and the
appropriate terms and conditions for a third-party contract. Such decision support tools can help
producers decide which costs (i.e., transportation, warehousing, processing) to absorb and which to
pass on to their customers [47]. For example, a computer simulation model was developed to enable
food hub managers to understand the effects of various scheduling policies on the efficiency of their
warehouse operations [241–243].
7. Conclusions
This paper presented a structured review of the literature on logistics management in RFSCs.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first organized effort in conducting a systematic literature
review on RFSC logistics. This review can serve as a source guide and starting point for RFSC
practitioners to gain insights on potential solutions to logistics challenges, which are often the biggest
barriers to their growth and success. The recommendations and implementation examples for the
16 best practices cited in this paper will also give RFSC practitioners an opportunity to connect with
fellow practitioners and RFSC researchers who have experienced similar challenges and have identified
workable solutions. Most importantly, this review has identified several gaps in the existing RFSC
literature, which opens up potential research avenues and provides research directions for the academic
community. As demand for regionally-produced food continues to grow, the knowledge gained from
this research will be increasingly necessary to support efficient and effective connections between
consumers and producers and overall regional food system success.
Acknowledgments: This work was supported by grant M2015-11 from Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Received: 15 December 2017; Accepted: 30 December 2017; Published: 11 January 2018

Sustainability 2018, 10, 168; doi:10.3390/su10010168 www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability

2. Challenges in Regional Food Logistics

• Transportation: The movement of inventory from point to point in a supply chain.

Effective logistics management requires sufficient infrastructure to support consistent deliveries

2.3. Inventory Management

3. Logistics Best Practices

3.1.1. Efficient Vehicle Utilization

3.1.3. Vehicle Selection

3.1.4. On-Time and Frequent Deliveries

3.1.5. Third-Party Logistics (3PL)

3.1.6. Transportation Collaboration

3.2.1. Effective Labor Utilization

3.2.2. Facility Location

3.2.3. Infrastructure Development

3.2.4. Efficient Warehousing Policies

3.2.5. Warehousing Collaboration and Resource Sharing

3.3. Inventory Management

3.3.1. Warehouse Inventory Management Systems

3.3.2. Inventory Tracking and Food Traceability

3.3.3. Demand Forecasting

3.3.4. Improved Supplier Reliability

3.3.5. Collaboration and Resource Sharing for Inventory Management

Table 1. Sources of technical reports.

Keyword 1 Boolean Keyword 2 Boolean Keyword 3

Figure 2. Flowchart of literature search and screening process.

5.1.3. Vehicle Selection

5.1.4. On-Time and Frequent Deliveries

5.1.5. Third-Party Logistics (3PL)

5.1.6. Transportation Collaboration

5.2.1. Effective Labor Utilization

5.2.2. Facility Location

5.2.3. Infrastructure Development

5.2.4. Efficient Warehousing Policies

5.2.5. Warehousing Collaboration and Resource Sharing

5.3. Inventory Management

5.3.1. Warehouse Inventory Management Systems

5.3.2. Inventory Tracking and Food Traceability

5.3.3. Demand Forecasting

5.3.4. Improved Supplier Reliability

5.3.5. Collaboration and Resource Sharing for Inventory Management

Best Practice Recommended Implemented

Sustainability 2018, 10, 168 31 of 43

Figure 3. Publication trend of the reviewed literature.

Figure 4. Geographic dispersion of reviewed literature.

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