EFITA/WCCA 2005 25-28 July 2005, Vila Real, Portugal 2005 EFITA/WCCA JOINT CONGRESS ON IT IN AGRICULTURE Information Management Schemes in Agri-Food Chains G. Schiefer University of Bonn, Meckenheimer Allee 174, D-53115 Bonn, Germany. e-mail schiefer@uni-bonn.de Abstract The establishment and management of information infrastructures in chains and beyond is a prerequisite for the implementation of the emerging comprehensive requirements on tracking, tracing and quality assurance in agriculture and the food sector. They support the guarantee of food safety and the focus on consumers’ quality needs. The challenge for the sector is the agreement on, and the implementation of, appropriate information infrastructures. The paper discusses the issue by extending the classical enterprise information hierarchy by two additional information layers that cross the enterprise boundaries and form a sector-wide information network. Keywords Information Management, Chains, Tracking and Tracing, Quality 1 Problem Scenario Traditionally, information management in enterprises builds on a number of information layers that correspond with the different levels of business management and decision support. They reach from transaction information at the lowest level to executive information at the highest level (e.g., Turban et al., 1999). These traditional layers are presently being complemented by two additional layers at the lower, transaction, level that incorporate information for tracking and tracing and for quality assurance and improvement activities (figure 1). EIS DSS MIS TIS-Values TIS-Quantities Quality Tracking/Tracing Marketing Enterprise Information Pyramid 1 2 Enterprise focus Chain/Sector focus EIS: Executive Inform. Systems DSS: Decision Support Systems MIS: Management Inform. Systems TIS: Transaction Inform. Systems (values, quantities) Fig. 1: Information layers with enterprise (1,2) and chain/sector focus These new layers differ from traditional enterprise information layers by their focus. Their focus is not the individual enterprise but the vertical chain of production and trade. They are linked to the flow of goods and connect, in principle, the different stages of production and trade with each other and the consumer. The layers were initiated by requirements from legislation and markets for tracking and tracing capabilities (see, e.g., EU regulation 178/2002) and increased consideration of consumer needs and expectations regarding the quality of products and production processes. 401