Quality Matters
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There are a number of ways Scottish companies are working with their partners to ensure that their customers consistently receive the expected quality products.
Scottish pork and bacon, apart from its niche markets, had generally languished in the commodity market. Multiple retailers have used bacon specifically, and pork to a lesser extent, to attract shoppers, by promoting own-brand 'value' rather than 'quality' - until recently. 'Scottish' provenance has now become a focus for increasing value and Scottish Pig Producers are responding to this new challenge - how do they produce a product that is better than the rest and recognised by the retailer and consumer as such? This has led to the development of a new strategy, which requires whole chain collaboration, towards producing pork that is naturally tender. It requires every link in the entire supply chain to develop systems to reduce unacceptable variation in meat quality.
Coldwater Shellfish's commitment to improving quality involves working with skippers and the Seafish Authority through the Responsible Fishing Scheme. The scheme is a third party accreditation scheme, run by the Seafish Authority and all the boats based in north east Scotland who supply Coldwater Shellfish are part of the scheme. It gives Coldwater Shellfish's suppliers and customers a clear indication of the importance that Coldwater Shellfish places on improving quality.
Product quality also encompasses consistency in providing flavour, correct size, cleanliness and freshness. The drive to improve the quality of the catch, by sharing knowledge on achieving consistency of specification, is one of the reasons that Coldwater Shellfish continues to do well in an extremely competitive sector.
When it comes to the quality of inputs, Mackays has different parameters for different berries, but the overriding parameters are cleanliness, freshness and taste. Strict limits are set for admixture, to prevent any problems associated with contamination from leaves, stems and straw. Originally, farmers were not aware of how critical it was for the factory to receive clean processing fruit, assuming that, because Mackays were making jam, where the specification for the size and shape of fruit is different to that for the fresh market, other standards were not as critical. Working through the supply chain, Mackays resolved the situation by communicating directly with farmers, to explain exactly what was wanted on a consistent basis and why.
Key points from this case study:
- Improving the reputation of a product takes whole chain collaboration to establish and maintain product quality
- Specifying standards to suppliers can improve quality and overcome lack of product consistency
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