Logistics integration processes in the food industry

Purpose – This paper sets out to empirically analyse the integration process that firms follow to implement supply chain management (SCM). This study has been inspired by the integration model proposed by Stevens. Design/methodology/approach – Uses the survey method. Findings – The results show that there are companies in three different integration stages. In stage I, companies are not integrated. In stage II, companies have a medium‐high level of internal integration in the logistics‐production interface, a low level of internal integration in the logistics‐marketing interface, and a medium level of external integration. And, in stage III, companies have high levels of integration in both internal interfaces and in some of their supply chain relationships. Research limitations/implications – First, only one side of the manufacturer‐retailer relationship was considered, and, second, there was a reduced number of cases in each cluster. Practical implications – As firms' survival lies on integration, a good understanding of the integration process is a key aspect. In this subject, this study has a main implication for managers: in the integration process, firms must achieve a relatively high level of collaboration among internal functions before initiating any external integration. Originality/value – The contribution of this study is to describe the integration process, comparing two levels of internal integration (logistics‐marketing and logistics‐production) and analysing the relationship between these internal integration levels and the level of external integration. Many studies consider internal or external integration from the logistics point of view, but very few consider both levels of integration simultaneously. This study differs from the existing literature in the fact that it explores the sequence of integration stages in an integration process.