Modelling the barriers of rice supply chain in India using the fuzzy logic approach

Purpose - Rice is an important grain in Indian scenarios, and the purpose of the research work is to identify the attributes which can be the possible barriers in the traditional rice supply chain network. Design/methodology/approach - A multilevel conceptual model is developed based on the literature review, and a field study is conducted by administering a questionnaire from the experts. Fuzzy logic methodology and a ranking score method is applied to identify the rice supply chain performance and the barriers of the traditional rice supply chain network. Findings - The rice supply chain performance index for the traditional rice supply chain network is obtained, and the performance of the existing rice supply chain is found to be “fair”. The “information flow” is the attribute that can be a critical weak attribute in the traditional rice supply chain network. A proposed model of the blockchain technology-enabled rice supply chain network is developed as a solution for the “information flow” barrier. Research limitations/implications - The present research work is focussed on the generalized rice supply chain model of the Indian scenario, and more detailed studies can be carried out based on the regional issues. Originality/value - The rice supply chain plays an important role in Indian economic development, and hence the current research paper focusses on identifying the barriers and the performance of the existing rice supply chain network.