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The Food and Drink Federation carried out a survey in 1999 to clarify the usage and functionality of salt as an ingredient in UK manufactured branded food products. The results demonstrate the availability of a choice of labelled products, with a wide range of sodium content within product categories. Salt serves a variety of purposes in manufactured foods particularly as a preservative and flavouring. Many UK manufacturers have implemented recipe alterations to reduce the sodium content of their products or are keeping this possibility under review. In many product categories, there are constraints to reducing the sodium content of products, including detrimental effects on product safety, quality and consumer acceptance. The industry is responsive to consumer demand and is committed to providing nutrition labelling information about sodium content, when practicable, on the pack.

The aim of this paper is to analyse simplified traditional fashion clothing supply chain models between the UK and China to identify the key issues in quality and communication management.

Qualitative research utilising key informant interviews was used. A total of nine full interviews were undertaken from three simplified supply chains. A content analysis approach was used to analyse the data based on recurring themes. The focus was on the management of quality and communication including design development, sample development and approval, fabric/trims order and approval, bulk production management and shipping/warehouse management.

The research suggested that for fashion supply chain organisation and management between the UK and China attention should be focused on improvement of three common aspects capable of inhibiting performance: deficiencies in design specification, language barriers, and cultural/human barriers.

Explores the suggestion that the UK is at the forefront of Europe with respect to animal welfare issues and looks at farm animal welfare legislation and consumer concern in the UK and Europe. Results of a survey conducted in 1992 and a follow‐up in 1994, which looked at the importance with which meat manufacturers in the UK, Germany and Switzerland, view consumer concerns for animal welfare. Concludes that the meat industry needs to develop ways in which real concerns for animal welfare can be satisfied in a manner which both reassures the consumer and brings about improvement where it is necessary.

There can be no doubt that distribution, in the widest sense of the word, is operating in a rapidly changing environment in the UK new car market. In particular, the supply and stocking systems for new vehicles have been subject to greater change since 1992 than at any time in the past and, it must be emphasized, this change is still ongoing. There has been very little academic research on distribution generally and some of the points drawn from this work in the automotive industry may have viability in other contexts with suitable localization. Summarizes the research carried out in the UK by the International Car Distribution Programme. Shows that some franchises have instituted revolutionary changes while others are more evolutionary. Some would seem to have carefully considered philosophies and strategies while others appear to have more of a “me‐too” approach. Many franchises have introduced central‐stocking systems as the first step in trying to make their supply systems leaner and they have achieved both an increase in customer matching (customers actually getting the exact specification of car that they wanted) and a decrease in stock and costs. Those already operating such systems are making them more sophisticated as time goes on. During the fieldwork for the research some systems had received major updates and others were due to occur in early 1995. There are many different approaches and in the research they have been classified into broadly similar types. The systems operated by some franchises are already pan‐European while others are confined to the UK with continental markets operating traditionally. In addition, wholly new approaches and systems are in the process of being introduced ‐ such as one specialist manufacturer who has introduced a “supply to order” policy. The improvements in distribution efficiency have the potential to provide savings typically of about £150 (but up to £360) per new car sold to the franchise as a whole. In addition there are unquantified benefits from the considerable improvements in customer satisfaction. Part of such savings can be realized by the dealer and part by the manufacturer. Some franchises had already realized large proportions of these savings and benefits before this research took place while others still have opportunities ahead of them and could yet achieve the sort of amounts suggested above.

Interest in international physical distribution in Britain has traditionally focused on the problems exporters experience in transporting their goods to overseas customers. Very little consideration has been given to the way in which foreign manufacturers distribute their products in the home market. In a country such as Britain, where import penetration has reached a high level, foreign produced goods accounts for a large proportion of total freight movement and warehouse stock. Foreign manufacturers have invested heavily in distribution facilities in the UK and many are major clients of specialist distribution companies. The quality and efficiency of foreign manufacturers' distribution operations in the UK also affect their ability to compete with indigenous producers and to meet wholesalers' and retailers' delivery requirements. This article examines the nature and extent of foreign manufacturers' involvement in physical distribution in the UK.

This special “Anbar Abstracts” issue of the Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing is split into seven sections covering abstracts under the following headings: Marketing strategy; Customer service; Sales management; Promotion; Product management; Marketing research/customer behavior; Sundry.

This special “Anbar Abstracts” issue of the Marketing Intelligence & Planning is split into seven sections covering abstracts under the following headings: Marketing Strategy; Customer Service; Sales Management; Promotion; Marketing Research/Customer Behaviour; Product Management; Logistics and Distribution.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate which resources and capabilities are most important to enable large manufacturers undergoing servitization to develop and deliver successful services.

A survey of 155 UK-based manufacturers provided the basis for the study. Data analysis was undertaken using confirmatory factor analysis and multiple regression.

In total, five constructs (“resource configurations”) which enable the development and delivery of successful services and a construct to measure services performance (“Success of Services”) were developed from the literature. A measurement model based on these constructs was empirically tested and verified. Two resource configurations; “Leaders and Services Personnel” and “Services Methods and Tools” were found to make a unique and statistically significant contribution to “Success of Services.”

The study highlights the importance of corporates leaders and service employees in developing and delivering success. Service-specific methods and tools are important for developing compelling customer offerings. The study demonstrates the utility of a resource-based perspective in terms of understanding the factors that enable successful services, but also exposes the limitations of using such broad measures, with common lower order resources underpinning multiple resource configurations. The study was conducted from the manufacturer’s perspective, and future studies could also include the customer’s perspective.

The research identifies important factors in developing a greater service orientation in manufacturing companies.

This is one of the first studies to develop and test a model of services success, generalizable to the population of large manufacturers.

Explores the scope for using genetically modified organisms by undertaking a survey which considered awareness (knowledge) of and policy implications for both the UK food retailer and manufacturer. Uses interviews and a postal questionnaire. Finds that the UK food retailing industry is generally well‐informed, while in contrast to the retailers, food manufacturers are, in general, poorly informed and show a lack of awareness of possible products and the implications their usage may have for their companies. Few are abreast of research and development in this area. Both retailers and food manufacturers believe that biotechnology could be applied beneficially to many aspects of food production, and are aware of the many consumer concerns and issues which need to be addressed.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges that small firms in the UK clothing manufacturing sector encounter. It has been suggested that small manufacturers' main problems are based on an inadequate information‐sharing structure. This research will explore the strategic significance of information to effective supply chain decisions in small garment‐manufacturing firms.

The paper is designed to employ Porter's five forces to explain the key factors influencing competition in the UK garment manufacturing industry and the relationship of information technology as a facilitator of shared information. In‐depth interviews and observations are conducted in a multiple case approach.

Empirical evidence shows that the slow and inefficient reaction of small garment manufacturers to competitive pressures is associated with inaccurate and untimely information sharing among trading partners.

The methodological approach justified the particularity, the specificity, and the boundedness required in case studies and demonstrates the depth of thoroughness and authentic explanations. It might, however, be useful to obtain a broader and wider sampling frame in any future research.

A successful supply chain will have implications for the upstream and downstream managers, who need to integrate their supply chains as part of a team that creates and adds value to the garments that end up in the hands of the consumers.

This paper has been able to stimulate concerns and interests in owner/managers of small garment manufacturers with special reference to their information needs. The evidence obtained demonstrated the overriding need for structured information strategies that will encourage the efficient flow of accurate and timely information across their supply chains.