Using management information in broiler supply chains

The Dutch broiler supply chain involves several interdependent firms such as breeding and feed companies, rearing farms, breeder farms, broiler hatcheries and broiler farms. To stay competitive and sustain continuity, evaluation of production at each level of the chain is crucial. Good quality data and the use of management information systems (MIS) can facilitate this process. Firms in the Dutch broiler supply chain collect data as a routine practice. However, the data are not often analysed and not fully used to support management decisions. The focus of this thesis is on the broiler breeder farms, because eggs are the origin of broiler production. Thus, improving the management at broiler breeder farms could contribute to the improvement of the performance of subsequent firms and the whole supply chain. The objective of this research is, therefore, to develop MIS based on available data in the broiler supply chain to support management decisions at breeder farms. The thesis is composed of three parts. In the first part, management factors at breeder farms that are related to the performance indicators at the subsequent levels of the broiler production chain are explored. For this, field data from three Dutch hatcheries of 2004, 2005 and 2006 were analysed. Hatchability and first week mortality (FWM) of chicks are considered as performance indicators as these are related to the performance at the breeder farms, hatcheries and broiler farms. A significant difference in hatchability and FWM among eggs from different breeder flocks was found. Furthermore FWM differ significantly between broiler farms. Hatchability and FWM are significantly related with breeder flock age, egg storage length, strain, feed company of the breeder farm, season, year, as well as hatchery. It is concluded that breeder farm management factors are related to the performance in the subsequent levels of the chain next to hatchery and broiler farm factors. In the second part of this thesis, the availability and quality of data in the Dutch broiler supply chain was assessed. The data quality of the hatchery dataset (from part one) was assessed based on the intuitive approach whereby the quality attitudes are selected by the researcher intuitively. Results showed that the datasets had some fields with inaccurate, incorrect, inconsistent, non-uniform, incomprehensible, and/or incomplete data. In addition, a protocol was proposed and validated for standardization of data to improve the quality of data in the chain. In the third part of this thesis, two management information systems were developed aiming to support decisions at broiler breeder farms. The first management information system evaluates the tactical management at broiler breeder farms using individual farm analysis combined with a deterministic simulation model (IFAS). With IFAS, the performance of a breeder farm is compared with an average of similar farms or other standards, and relevant deviations are determined based on economic and statistical importance. According to the relevance of the identified deviations the strong and weak management practices are indicated. The second management information system determines the economic optimal replacement age of the broiler breeder flock using the marginal net revenue approach. A well informed replacement decision for breeder flocks improves profitability, not only at the breeder farms but also at hatcheries and broiler farms.