Study On The Collaborative Quality Control Of Dairy Supply Chain And Its Operation Mechanism

Since the melamine incident,China's dairy industry has grown significantly,becoming the third largest dairy producer in the world.In recent years,incidents involving milk quality safety still occur from time to time,hidden dangers of milk quality safety still exist,conflicts between milk quality targets and production capacity targets,and the contradiction between the improvement of milk quality and the sustainable development of the dairy industry is prominent.There are many reasons for these problems,but the key is that the quality control level is not coordinated with the cost and the benefit distribution mechanism is not perfect.Theories and practices at home and abroad have shown that the implementation of collaborative quality control of supply chain is an effective way to improve milk quality and promote the healthy and sustainable development of the dairy industry.This article systematically studies the issues related to the collaborative quality control of the dairy supply chain consisting of dairy farm farmers(referred to as dairy farmers,the same for the full text),dairy processing enterprises and supermarkets and its operation mechanism,from the definition of the concept,description of the status quo,measurement of synergy,determination of influencing factors,analysis of the formation mechanism,analysis of the implementation mechanism and countermeasures,drawing on existing research results,comprehensively by model methods such as synergy,Logit-ISM,structural equations,evolutionary games,principal-agent,and simulation,based on related theories such as supply chain management,cognitive behavior,synergy,externalities,and information asymmetry.The main research conclusions were as follows:The key factors that affect the quality of milk in the supply chain environment were the input source or purchase,quarantine inspection,environmental maintenance,facility configuration,production archives and staff training.Dairy supply chain quality collaborative control was that dairy farmers,dairy processing companies and supermarkets were properly coordinated in 6 aspects to maintain milk quality and improve the competitiveness of the dairy supply chain.The model included horizontal levels and vertical level.Goals are composed of state goals and outcome goals.The outcome goals were the external performance of the state goals,and the state goals were the internal basis of the outcome goals.Its mark was that the quality control behaviors of dairy farmers,dairy processing enterprises and supermarkets were properly coordinated,and milk quality indicators were effectively guaranteed.Its decision-making parameters included quality prevention level,quality inspection level,quality cost allocation,quality income allocation and quality defect punishment.Each decision-making parameter not only played an independent role,but also correlated with each other to affect milk quality level and overall supply chain benefits.The quality control cognition,behavior,and synergy of dairy farmers,dairy processing companies,and supermarkets were firstly descriptively analyzed from 6 aspects,such as input sources or purchasing,and then used the composite synergy model to measure the synergy of the quality control of the dairy supply chain using questionnaire data from 590 dairy farmers,224 dairy processing companies,and 750 supermarkets in 10 provinces across the country,.The research results showed that the three parties' awareness of the importance of the six aspects was in a good cooperative state,and the cognition of the quality control standards of the six aspects was in a low degree of synergy.The quality control behaviors of input sources or purchasing,quarantine inspection and environmental maintenance were in a good state of synergy,but the quality control behaviors of staff training were poor,and the quality control behaviors of facility configuration and file management were coordinated.Generally speaking,the order of quality control in processing was higher than that of the breeding and marketing.The coordination and synchronization between the links were still poor.It was still in a state of disorderly competition,and the quality control of the dairy supply chain was at the primary collaboration phase.Based on the questionnaire survey data of 590 dairy farmers,the Logit-ISM model was used to empirically analyze the influencing factors and hierarchical structure of dairy farmers' quality willingness to implement collaborative control.The research results showed that the respondents' education level,breeding scale,raw milk quality standards,feed quality standards,feeding environment standards,stable sales channels,raw milk prices,risk sharing,information sharing,trust level,and the government's encouragement had a significant impact on the willingness of dairy farmers to implement collaborative quality control.Among them,the government's encouragement,raw milk quality standards,feed quality standards,and feeding environment standards were the direct factors at the surface level,stabilizing sales channels and improving raw milk price were middle-level indirect factors,and respondents' education level,breeding scale,risk sharing,information sharing,and trust level were the underlying causes.Based on the questionnaire survey data of 750 supermarkets,and the analysis ideas of "operating capacity,internal motivation,external thrust,partnership relationship,intermediate synergy,willingness to collaborate",the structural equation model was used to empirically analyze the influencing factors of the willingness of supermarkets to implement collaborative quality control and its mechanism of action.The research results showed that operating capacity,internal motivation,external thrust,intermediate forces,and partnerships had significant positive impacts on the willingness of supermarkets to implement collaborative quality control in different degrees.Among them,operating capability was the most important factor,followed by external thrust,and then followed by partnership and internal motivation.The influencing factors and interactions of the quality control of the dairy supply chain were analyzed from the aspects of dynamic factors,promoting factors,guarantee factors,conduction processes and implementation paths,based on the structural characteristics and operating laws of the dairy supply chain.It was concluded that meeting market demand,improving quality,avoiding risks,and increasing returns were the driving factors for the quality control of dairy supply chain.Through the transmission of quality information and behavioral information,the goal of collaborative quality control was achieved.Individual quality,benefit sharing,risk sharing,information sharing,and mutual trust were the promoting factors of the quality control of the dairy supply chain and played a role in accelerating the process of quality collaborative control.Government supervision,third-party testing,internal supervision,and market order were the guarantee factors,as the role of leading the trajectory of quality collaborative control.The evolutionary game model and simulation technology were used to analyze and confirm the evolution process,stability strategy and influencing factors of the quality control of dairy farmers and dairy processing companies in the dairy supply chain,as well as conditions for the realization of collaborative control,from the perspective of the combination of market failure and government intervention.The research results showed that low yields and high spillover rates could cause market failures.When dairy farmers adopted advanced prevention strategies and dairy processing companies adopted advanced inspection strategies with low returns,basic prevention and basic inspection would be a stable strategy for the quality control game between the two parties.At this time,the government should give the advanced control strategy sufficient subsidies to encourage both parties to implement quality collaborative control.When dairy farmers adopted advanced prevention strategies or dairy processing companies adopted advanced inspection strategies to increase yields,but the spillover rate was high,the other party would adopt a "free-rider" behavior.Advanced prevention and basic inspection or basic prevention and advanced inspection would be a stable strategy for the quality control game between the two parties.At this time,the government should increase penalties to force "free-rider" actors to carry out collaborative quality control.The effect was even more obvious for dairy farmers of government subsidies.Government punishment had the dual effects of “positive reinforcement” and “negative reinforcement”.Optimization principles,game theory,principal-agent model,and simulation technology were comprehensively used to analyze and confirm the optimal quality control strategies of dairy processing companies and supermarkets,as well as the conditions for the implementation of the quality control of both parties in the case of information symmetry,unilateral information asymmetry,and bilateral information asymmetry.The research results showed that when the quality prevention level was hidden,the dairy processing enterprise would adopt the "insufficient quality prevention" strategy.When the quality inspection level was hidden,the supermarket would implement the "excessive quality inspection" strategy.When the quality prevention level and quality inspection level were hidden at the same time,the “insufficient quality prevention” of dairy processing enterprises and the “excessive quality inspection” of supermarkets coexisted.The design of a reasonable benefit distribution contract in supply chain could prompt dairy processors and supermarkets to implement quality collaborative control.In light of the above research conclusions,countermeasures and suggestions for promoting collaborative quality control of the dairy supply chain were proposed from four aspects.The first was to improve cognition and behavioral capabilities,so as to improve quality control behaviors.The second was to improve the operating mechanism,so as to promote the formation of collaborative quality control.The third was to strengthen the comprehensive capabilities of dairy processing enterprises,so as to strengthen internal supervision and service capabilities.The fourth was to create a good collaborative environment,so as to improve the level of quality collaborative control.