Abstract: India is considered to be among the leading global food producers of the world. The supply chain involved in the sector is extremely long and complex and has a lot of participating intermediaries. Delays at various points result in delivery issues, which affects the efficiency and delivery performance of the overall supply chain. In this study, seventeen sub-parameters have been identified (after brainstorming sessions with experts from industry and academia) from the top five parameters obtained by implementing Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) in an earlier research work by the author. Further, the Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) model has been formed. As per the current F&V supply chain in India, the major delivery issues are related to demand management, transportation, logistics, outsourcing, and lead time management, considering the highly perishable nature of the products involved. The paper aims to investigate the relationship among the important sub-parameters of the F&V supply chain. The study involves responses from fifty people from different F&V SMEs across north India and the data is gathered using a five-point Likert scale. An ISM model is used to reveal interdependencies of delivery performance sub-parameters. MICMAC (Cross-Impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification) analysis is also performed to find out the driving power and dependence power of the sub-parameters. The analysis determines the structural relation between sub-parameters, affecting the delivery performance in the F&V supply chain.

Keywords: Indian fruits & vegetable supply chain, delivery issues, perishability, delivery performance, interpretive structural modelling, SME, MICMAC analysis.