Global food supply chains consist of many processes. Bananas, for example, are grown on farms in South or Central America. At the farm, the growth and quality are monitored continuously, and samples are tested periodically. Once the bananas in a cluster reaches a certain size, it is cut from the tree. Workers cut the cluster into smaller clusters of five to six bananas. The bananas are rinsed, and then inspected. If the fruit is approved, the importer’s sticker is placed on the bananas and the fruit is packaged to avoid bruising. Boxes of bananas are loaded into containers and shipped via cargo ships to a port in the United States. If the bananas are not ripe enough, they can be treated with a gas to hasten ripening. Bananas are sorted by color, as different customers have different requirements (for example, green, yellow, or brown). They are then boxed per customer specifications and sent to the customer (retailer, restaurant, hotel, and so on).
a. Construct a flowchart depicting the supply chain for bananas.
b. Describe the principal processes in this supply chain.
c. What types of supplier management activities might the importer use to help control the quality of the bananas?