Ontario producers, agri-businesses, food processors, distributors and retailers can improve their profitability and competitiveness by adopting Value Chain Management practices. The Agricultural Adaptation Council (AAC), in partnership with the Guelph Food Technology Centre (GFTC), is offering a practical workshop on April 11, 2003 to show them how it's done.

“Worldwide evidence shows that adopting Value Chain Management strategies and practices enables organizations to improve their competitiveness by thinking differently about how they do business,” says Martin Gooch, Value Chains Facilitator with the AAC. “The essence of value chain philosophy is that through closely integrating their resources and operations, organizations can combine their resources to produce a final product that meets market needs. Because each attribute of the finished product originates from a particular point in the chain, the effectiveness of the entire value chain is essential to the final product’s success in the market.”

For example, explains Gooch, consumers’ food safety concerns now place greater demand on the food industry to provide quality assurance throughout integrating their production, processing and delivery systems.

The workshop will help participants to determine their readiness for value chain participation and explore the significant benefits that value chains formation may hold for their particular situation. The importance of integrating value chains with product integrity and HACCP initiatives will also be explained. They’ll also find out about funding opportunities available through the AAC to help them build value chains.

“Participants at this workshop will learn and practice elements vital to the establishment of value chains,” explains Kathryn Cooper, GFTC’s Vice President of Market Development and Client Services. “The workshop will illustrate factors that organizations should consider when seeking to develop close buyer-seller relationships and highlight the six key principles of value chain management."

The Value Chain Workshop will be held on Friday, April 11, 2003, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Arboretum, University of Guelph. The cost is $50/ participant.
 

-30- For more information contact:

Martin Gooch
Value Chains Facilitator, Agricultural Adaptation Council
Martin's e-mail or (519) 822-7554
or
Marlene Inglis
Training Manager, Guelph Food Technology Centre
minglis@gftc.ca  or (519) 821-1246 ext. 5028