Food waste negatively affects the planet, people, and economy. The issue of food waste is an increasing source of concern for suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, and end consumers, mainly in the era of online shopping. This study aims to (i) reveal the major causes of waste across the online food supply chain (O-FSC), (ii) identify the food waste mitigation and destination strategies, (iii) measure food waste contribution at each supply stream, and (iv) impose practical policies and practices for decision/policymakers to boost food waste management for the case country food waste in an O-FSC.

This research used a mixed-method approach to deliver research objectives. First, the literature was thoroughly analysed via template analysis to surface food waste management throughout supply chains, focusing on three aspects: food waste enablers, destinations, and mitigation strategies. Second, structured interviews and surveys were employed to collect data from a leading regional retailer and consumers, respectively. The template analysis and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the collected data.

This research highlights key waste enablers across the food supply chain networks, including procurement and storage, processing, operation strategy, people, and consumers. The enablers differed in the amount of food waste produced, and the research outcome demonstrates that the end consumers were the largest contributors to the food waste generated. The changes in people's habits and tastes have hereby a significant effect on the O-FSC. Interestingly, results demonstrated that 40% of consumers use food waste as pet food. From a retailer, a record of 25% of food waste compared to the rest of the intermediaries is considered the highest amount of food waste that occurred due to insufficient forecasting, demand fluctuation, and improper use of data, which has led to unfortunate levels of food waste. Findings suggest that the waste within the online food supply chain can be addressed and eliminated sustainably.

The article presents an end-to-end exploratory methodology for managing food waste throughout an online food supply chain (i.e., supply, distribution, catering, delivery, and consumption). This work enlightened key causes of food wastage and associated food waste mitigation and destination strategies and practices to demonstrate how those causes could be targeted. The proposed food waste management initiatives have the potential to support online food companies in minimizing and mitigating food waste at each supply chain stage. Managers can use the identified causes and mitigation strategies to implement mitigation efforts and translate them into a doable action plan.

Mohammed Albalushi

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Food waste the online food supply chain in Oman: Causes, implications, and strategies