Evaluating the Potential of VineAccess to Improve Supply Chain Efficiency in Australian Viticulture and Perennial Horticulture

The paper outlines the trading options that pertain to the Australian viticulture industry, some of the challenges for stakeholders that have surfaced in recent vintages and need to be managed differently in the changing market environment of intensifying competitiveness in the international market, concentration of supply chains and increasing food safety compliance requirements. A benefit:cost evaluation of data from the trial of a new information and communication technology (ICT) based viticulture supply chain management system, VineAccess, with leading winemakers in the 2004-05 vintage is presented. The ICT-based system indicates substantial savings compared to the traditional system of transacting business between winemakers and winegrape growers in the Australian wine industry. A benefit:cost ratio of 7, imputed from the trial, extrapolates to about $4 million of potential benefit for adoption by the Australian wine industry of ICT based systems. The paper also outlines the potential for like-systems to be developed and applied in other perennial horticulture industries.