A hard systems approach to the management of quality in apple distribution

The management of quality in the distribution of produce which exhibits significant and inevitable deterioration with time and event is a neglected but essential component of physical distribution management. This paper concentrates on horticultural produce and, in particular, on apples.Horticultural distribution is described as a system and systems thinking is employed to develop a ‘hard systems’ methodology for the management of quality. A management system is defined in terms of quality-price, quality-cost and quality-happening relations. An example from apple distribution demonstrates the methodology and is used to emphasize the central importance of quantitative models of price, cost, quality and of their interactions with time and happening.