A framework for early warning and proactive control systems in food supply chain networks

It is inherent to food supply chain networks that performance deviations occur occasionally due to variations in product quality and quantity. To reduce losses, one wants to be informed about such deviations as soon as possible, preferably even before they occur. Then it is possible to take actions to prevent or reduce negative consequences. In practice, extensive operational data is recorded, forming a valuable source for early warning and proactive control systems, i.e. decision support systems for prediction and prevention of such performance problems. Data mining methods are ideal for analyzing such data sources and extracting useable information from them. In this paper, we present a novel framework for early warning and proactive control systems that combine expert knowledge and data mining methods to exploit recorded data. We discuss the implementation of a prototype system and the experiences from a case study regarding the applicability of the framework. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V.