Through the minor Business Models & Financial Technology I worked on a consultancy assignment for the Business Models course. This assignment was initiated by Trends & Concepts from Enschede. In collaboration with Regio Twente (Agenda for Twente office), representatives of the business community, governments, knowledge institutions and NGOs exchanged ideas about regional chain integration. And the possibility to promote the regional economy in Twente. The reason was to realize a different distribution of revenues over the production chain. So that the farmer receives a fair price, in addition to protecting the environment and landscape.
A so-called “chain cooperative” is being considered, in which the four links in the agri / food chain in Twente have been combined into one business model. These are the producer (farmer and horticulturist), processor(s), retailer and consumer. Such a cooperative is new because it extends over the various links in the chain and distributes the total profit generated evenly among the links. Until now, cooperatives have often limited themselves to one link in the chain, mainly producing farmers.
My assignment was to investigate what a chain cooperative might look like. I studied relevant literature and conducted interviews with various links within the chain to gain insight into their side of the story. I also looked at other chain cooperatives to inspire me. They each try to give substance to cooperation within the chain in their own way. If you want to read more, you can find them below.
- Local2Local, aimed at bringing regional products to the market,
- Fruitmotor, chain cooperative aimed at making fruit cultivation in the region more sustainable,
- Zwolse Stadslanderijen, farmers who want to set up a local food chain together.
- Amstelgoed Natuurzuivel / Boeren van Amstel, processing of own milk by farmers,
- Markelokaal, a cooperative that strives for locally produced food.
I shaped the business model of chain cooperation with the help of a value network. In a value network you visualize the value created by collaborating parties through the exchange of knowledge or information or the delivery of goods and services. The figure shows an example of the value network of a possible chain cooperative.
These value networks provide various options for a new business model in the chain. For example, a collaboration between a few links or a collaboration between all links in the chain. Based on these new business models, I hope to give shape to a proportional profit distribution between links in the agricultural sector and the food industry. The results of this assignment will be used to realize concrete cooperation and chain cooperatives in Twente.
