Procurement strategies of small retailers faced with uncertainty: an analysis of channel choice and behaviour

This paper reports a study of buying behaviour by small retailers of fruit, vegetables and flowers. Its objective is to examine the extent to which practices in the supply chains used by large multiple retailers have been replicated in the channels used by their smaller counterparts. Results suggest considerable variations in behaviour between small retailers, a number of which are explained by the initial choice of type of supplier. Decision processes in the main wholesale market channel are very traditional, with little evidence of integrated behaviour, but there are indications of different relationships with suppliers outside markets. This has implications for the performance and management of these channels and for the relevance of modern theories of supply chain management in this sector.