# Key Performance Indicators for Food Supply Chain: A Bibliometric and Systematic Literature Review
## 4 Discussion
### Practical Implications  
From a practical perspective, this study highlights the importance of analyzing KPIs in different sectors and stages of the FSC. In particular, it is clear that some specific areas or activities of the FSC are poorly studied from the point of view of the social, environmental, and economic KPIs; examples of these areas are supply, raw material selection, and procurement. Similarly, the production stage exhibits a small percentage of studies that analyze performance and KPIs in the planting and harvesting phase. The distribution phase of food products is also little analyzed in terms of KPIs. The outcomes of this study, therefore, suggest a deeper investigation of these areas and phases of the supply chain by conducting specific analyses (e.g., in the form of case studies) and defining specific KPIs to be monitored, consequently obtaining greater benefits for the entire food value chain.  
On the basis of the contents developed, the framework proposed in Figure 16 was built. In detail, for each previously identified stage of the FSC (i.e., supply, production, and distribution), the framework summarizes the most common KPIs that can be effectively used for performance measuring and monitoring. Note that most of the KPIs are in common for all three stages (as partially expected), and that the three different Venn diagrams refer to each of the three sustainability dimensions (i.e., social--red, environmental--green, and blue--economic).  
Moreover, for completeness, the list of the specific KPIs found for each of the identified products is also provided; in this case, some KPIs are very specific and are clearly related to the FSC to which they refer. Table 9 resumes the findings.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Products** & **Economic KPIs** & **Social KPIs** & **Environmental KPIs** \\ \hline
**Agricultural products; Fruits;** & Farm profit per hectare & Employment in agriculture & Soil fertility \\
**Animal and plant production** & Weight of the fruit/vegetable & Number of agri-tourists & Plant growth and well-being \\  & Volume and dimensions of the fruit/vegetable & Agricultural food safety & Water quality indicators \\  & Crops distance & Foodborne diseases & Water footprint \\  & Crops yield & Flavor of the product & Pesticide usage \\  & Net/Gross economic & Rural community & Soil Ph \\  & irrigation water productivity & participation & Soil Ph \\  & (NEWP–GEWP) & Landowner independence in & \\  & Agronomic productivity & decision making & \\  & Farmers income & & \\  & Dried product quality & & \\  & \% of permanent grassland and & & \\  & pasture areas & & \\  & \% of the area for biological & & \\  & agriculture & & \\  & Weight of parturient sheep & & \\  & Value of sheep bodies at & & \\  & slaughter & & \\ \hline
**Meat** & Number of livestock & Animal well-being & Reducing meat waste \\  & & Meat consumption rate & \\ \hline
**Dairy products** & Young versus adult cows & - & - \\  & \% of self-produced food & & \\  & Animal density & & \\  & Calf births & & \\ \hline
**Bread** & Wheat level in silos & - & - \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 9: KPIs for the different FSC products.  
Figure 16: Most common KPIs for each stage of the supply chain.  
Given their common characteristics, agricultural products, fruits, and animal and plant production were evaluated together; indeed, they share most of the KPIs found. It is interesting to note that most of the KPIs refer to economic issues, as the nature itself of businesses tends to the prioritization of these aspects. Environmental KPIs were found for these FSCs only; this does not surprise us at all, since this category includes environmentally related activities such as cultivation of livestock, above all, in the supply stage. For fish and alcohol-free drinks, no specific indicator was detected, and this is the reason for their exclusion from this table; the KPIs involved for these products were the ones in common with other FSCs referring to more general aspects.