The degree of inventory centralization for food manufacturers

For food manufacturers, limited shelf-lives and ‘freshness’ requirements increase inventory holding costs. Accuracy in choosing the most advantageous degree of inventory centralization (MADIC) is therefore central for competitiveness. While extant research contains several industry-generic factors that influence centralization decisions, influencing factors for food manufacturers, in particular, is under-explored. This paper identifies the factors that influence the MADIC for food manufacturers and develops a method that integrates all factors for MADIC-determination. The study examines a single case facilitating deep-dives into unknown areas. Results show nine factors of which three are specific to food manufacturing. Furthermore, the paper details how practitioners can determine a MADIC-score on a 1–100 scale for their particular operations. While food manufacturing inventory centralization literature is scarce, this paper contributes to a holistic study of multiple relevant factors and a method that integrates all factors into one result.