Australasian Agribusiness Review - Vol

The aim of this paper is to understand the extent of e-business utilisation in the horticulture supply chain, an area where there is little research coverage. To achieve this, we assess the current and planned adoption of e-business technologies and functions. Data were collected through a survey of Australian horticulture growers, service providers and industry associations. The findings indicate that, while farm management systems (such as computerised accounting) and mobile technologies are widely diffused, the uptake of e-supply chain technologies is limited. Correspondingly, existing e-business functions are by and large informational and there is a general lack of sense, monitor, track and supply chain coordination and collaboration ebusiness capabilities. The future doesn’t look promising as most of the respondents have neither a plan nor an intention for upgrading the implementation of e-business. Some of the reasons appear to be lack of pressure from market forces and the fact that respondents are yet to be convinced about the value of e-business to generate efficiency and return on investment. The results have established a benchmark that provides an understanding of developments in ebusiness in agribusiness. Some implications of the results are discussed.