Scenario analysis report with policy recommendations: An assessment of sustainability, resilience, efficiency and fairness and effective chain relationships in VALUMICS case studies : Deliverable 8.4

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, to view a copy of the license, see: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The final version of this report is available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6534011The functioning of food value chains entails a complex organisation from farm to fork which is characterised by various governance forms and externalities which have shaped the overall food system. VALUMICS food value chain case studies: wheat to bread, dairy cows to milk, beef cattle to steak, farmed salmon to fillets and tomato to processed tomato were selected to enable explorative and empirical analysis to better understand the functioning of the food system and, to identify the main challenges that need to be addressed to improve sustainability, integrity, resilience, and fairness of European food chains. The VALUMICS system analysis was executed through four operational phases starting with Groundwork & analysis including mapping specific attributes and impacts of food value chains and their externalities. This was followed by Case study baseline analysis, which provided input to the third phase on Modelling and exploration of future scenarios and finally Policy and synthesis of the overall work. This report is an overall synthesis of the VALUMICS results as follows: • Key findings from the VALUMICS project on the functioning of European food value chains and their impacts on more sustainable, resilient, fairer, and transparent food system are summarised through a compilation of 25 Research Findings and Policy Briefs. • By highlighting the major contributions from the research activities throughout the four phases of the VALUMICS project, this report delivers an assessment of various factors influencing sustainability, resilience, efficiency and fairness and effective chain relationships of different food value chains, and their determinants. • The synthesis of the outcome allows the identification of opportunities and challenges characterising the functioning of food supply chains, and thus, the prospects and potentials for strengthening the EU food sector

Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2021

This open access book is the proceedings of the International Federation for IT and Travel & Tourism (IFITT)’s 28th Annual International eTourism Conference, which assembles the latest research presented at the ENTER21@yourplace virtual conference January 19–22, 2021. This book advances the current knowledge base of information and communication technologies and tourism in the areas of social media and sharing economy, technology including AI-driven technologies, research related to destination management and innovations, COVID-19 repercussions, and others. Readers will find a wealth of state-of-the-art insights, ideas, and case studies on how information and communication technologies can be applied in travel and tourism as we encounter new opportunities and challenges in an unpredictable world

The Development of A Corporate, Marketing, Operations, and Financial Strategy for A Swiss Cosmetics Start-up

The aim of this Group Management Project is to explore the different strategies that can be implemented by a Switzerland based decorative cosmetics start-up business owned by one of the author of this document Mr. Axel Schmidt. The authors of this project Mr. Swapnil Deshmukh and Mr. Axel Schmidt are pursuing their MBA in Finance and MBA in Entrepreneurship degrees respectively and thus have provided insights gained from the overall MBA programme and particularly in their respective specialisations. The document consists of seven chapters elaborating on corporate, marketing, operations and financial strategies for the start-up business in decorative cosmetics. The Swiss decorative cosmetics industry is characterised by a fierce and turbulent market conditions dominated by multinational cosmetics firms. The first chapter introduces the authors and their reason and motivation behind this project, the concept of family start-up businesses, outsource production (private label) and the company lipCat Private Limited. The company lipCat Private Limited will indulge in selling decorative cosmetics products in the low price segment targeting young Swiss women on an online basis focussing only in Switzerland at its nascent stage. However, depending on the success of the business the company aspires to expand its operations to selected European countries. The second chapter reveals the corporate strategy of the company and includes the analysis of Swiss cosmetics market. Strategic tools such as SWOT, PEST and PORTER’S FIVE FORCES have been employed to gain more insight into the internal and external factors affecting lipCat. It also includes the analysis of its competitors, mentions the values, mission and the vision of the company owners. The chapter also mentions that lipCat will pursue a cost focus strategy based on its existing limited resources. The third chapter deals with the marketing strategy and defines marketing objectives of the company and underlining the different marketing mix options that lipCat plans to implements during its business operations. One of the major tools used in this chapter is consumer segment analysis, also different marketing steps such as creating an USP, Value proposition and copy strategy and brand personality. It also lays down the marketing budget and the marketing roadmap for lipCat. It also provides for certain marketing strategies that should be specifically implemented by start-up businesses. The fourth chapter exposes the operational activities of the business. It describes the process of the company starting with its purchasing the products from its supplier based in US to selling the products in the local Swiss market. The fifth chapter divulges the financial strategy of the company. It explore the existing financial structure of the company and how company can finance its future growth and expansion with its limited available resources. It also suggests for specific financial options that a small size business firm can explore to succeed. The chapter also includes and explore different strategic options that the company can explore in order to gain financial advantage. Finally it provides for different exit strategies in case of failure as well as success of the business. The sixth chapter mentions strategy implementation roadmap for lipCat based on the previous four strategy chapters. In the seventh chapter we conclude that lipCat as a business has certain negative aspects, such as reluctance of women to purchase decorative cosmetics over the internet and has limited resources to compete in the highly competitive market. However we also believe that the existence of a niche market, high flexibility and very low fixed costs will allow lipCat to exploit its potential in a manner that will yield positive results for the company

The Development of a Corporate, Marketing, Operations, and Financial Strategy for a Swiss Cosmetics Start-up

The aim of this Group Management Project is to explore the different strategies that can be implemented by a Switzerland based decorative cosmetics start-up business owned by one of the author of this document Mr. Axel Schmidt. The authors of this project Mr. Swapnil Deshmukh and Mr. Axel Schmidt are pursuing their MBA in Finance and MBA in Entrepreneurship degrees respectively and thus have provided insights gained from the overall MBA programme and particularly in their respective specialisations. The document consists of seven chapters elaborating on corporate, marketing, operations and financial strategies for the start-up business in decorative cosmetics. The Swiss decorative cosmetics industry is characterised by a fierce and turbulent market conditions dominated by multinational cosmetics firms. The first chapter introduces the authors and their reason and motivation behind this project, the concept of family start-up businesses, outsource production (private label) and the company lipCat Private Limited. The company lipCat Private Limited will indulge in selling decorative cosmetics products in the low price segment targeting young Swiss women on an online basis focussing only in Switzerland at its nascent stage. However, depending on the success of the business the company aspires to expand its operations to selected European countries. The second chapter reveals the corporate strategy of the company and includes the analysis of Swiss cosmetics market. Strategic tools such as SWOT, PEST and PORTER’S FIVE FORCES have been employed to gain more insight into the internal and external factors affecting lipCat. It also includes the analysis of its competitors, mentions the values, mission and the vision of the company owners. The chapter also mentions that lipCat will pursue a cost focus strategy based on its existing limited resources. The third chapter deals with the marketing strategy and defines marketing objectives of the company and underlining the different marketing mix options that lipCat plans to implements during its business operations. One of the major tools used in this chapter is consumer segment analysis, also different marketing steps such as creating an USP, Value proposition and copy strategy and brand personality. It also lays down the marketing budget and the marketing roadmap for lipCat. It also provides for certain marketing strategies that should be specifically implemented by start-up businesses. The fourth chapter exposes the operational activities of the business. It describes the process of the company starting with its purchasing the products from its supplier based in US to selling the products in the local Swiss market. The fifth chapter divulges the financial strategy of the company. It explore the existing financial structure of the company and how company can finance its future growth and expansion with its limited available resources. It also suggests for specific financial options that a small size business firm can explore to succeed. The chapter also includes and explore different strategic options that the company can explore in order to gain financial advantage. Finally it provides for different exit strategies in case of failure as well as success of the business. The sixth chapter mentions strategy implementation roadmap for lipCat based on the previous four strategy chapters. In the seventh chapter we conclude that lipCat as a business has certain negative aspects, such as reluctance of women to purchase decorative cosmetics over the internet and has limited resources to compete in the highly competitive market. However we also believe that the existence of a niche market, high flexibility and very low fixed costs will allow lipCat to exploit its potential in a manner that will yield positive results for the company

Socio-Technical Innovation Bundles for Agri-Food Systems Transformation

This open access book is the result of an expert panel convened by the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and Nature Sustainability. The panel tackled the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 head-on, with respect to the global systems that produce and distribute food. The panel’s rigorous synthesis and analysis of existing research leads compellingly to multiple actionable recommendations that, if adopted, would simultaneously lead to healthy and nutritious diets, equitable and inclusive value chains, resilience to shocks and stressors, and climate and environmental sustainability

Adding values to commerce : the complementary practices of fair trade intermediaries and co-operatives

The fair trade movement attempts to use the market to bring about social change. Fair trade supports small-scale commodity producers in the global South by paying them a negotiated, fairer price. It also provides consumers with products that meet certain environmental, economic, and social criteria. While the primary goal of some fair trade enterprises is to provide market access for producers, others seek to reform the market, and still others would replace it. Like the fair trade movement, the co-operative movement strives to ensure that the benefits of production and exchange are more fairly distributed. Producer co-operatives in the South and consumer co-operatives in the North use aspects of globalization to create mutually beneficial links between producers and consumers. In some instances, these linkages are brokered by fair trade enterprises that are themselves organized as co-operatives, or are members of second-tier trading and distribution co-operatives.Most intermediaries are involved in fair trade for diverse reasons and act in ways that may have a range of consequences with respect to market reform and market access. This research investigates the activities of large and small co-operatives involved in fair trade to examine whether, and to what degree they contribute to market reform. Based on secondary sources and on interviews with member-owners of first and second-tier fair trade co-operatives, as well as several co-operative specialists, I conclude that although co-operatives rarely transform markets, they can and do help to reform the market while helping producers to gain access to it on more equitable terms. Some leading retail co-operatives actively support the fair trade movement, promoting the interests of producers and consumers through the exchange of good quality products, promoting a critical view of the conventional market, and advocating for change. Although none of the enterprises in this study has been able to substantially change the market through its own activities, they are part of the international movement to achieve a fairer globalization. Fair trade’s commercial success, however, has attracted transnational enterprises not committed to the philosophy of fair trade, and this may ultimately threaten its ability to achieve lasting market reform