COMPETITIVENESS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT STUDY ON TAIWAN GROUPER INDUSTRY

Grouper is one of the major aquaculture products in Taiwan; however, we need to streamline the process in production, further enhance marketing activities, and boost or strengthen channels of distribution for grouper to develop an efficient and effective strategy to promote the grouper industry. Thus, integrating the producing and marketing channels including the consumers need, order form manufacturing, products certification, and transportation and sailing systems is important. This paper conducts questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews, and it examines the competitiveness and supply chain system of the Taiwan Grouper Industry. Empirical results show the major key factors that can improve the intercalation of leading supply chain management into this industry successfully as follows: 1). government should promote collaboration between industry and academic community in bioscience research and strengthen their partnership; 2). industry should set up a center for handling goods and materials at the place of production in order to construct a supply chain network; 3). productions should establish an E- business management system; 4). members of the supply chain must establish a common understanding to form partnerships; 5). The grouper industry must comply with the GAP and HACCP systems, and open up the international market and aim for sustainable development. Finally, this research provides recommendations for development, and market strategy to the grouper industry in the future.