Towards Electronic Markets in the next Millennium of the Horticulture Product Chain

An agricultural product chain is a chain of businesses extending from the production of primary raw materials via the processing of possible semiprocessed products through to the distribution of consumables to the consumer. In his paper, the author discusses the Dutch horticultural sector where the processing of the products mainly involves the sorting, packing and other logistic operations of fresh produce. The products of the Dutch horticultural sector are for the greater part sold at the auction to commission merchants and exporters. Figure 1 represents the main * by Drs. Chris Meijs Wageningen Agricultural University processes of the horticultural product chain, the divergency of the product flow and interorganizational information system