摘要：Retail produce managers were surveyed about anticipated changes in the supermarket produce department and in shipper-retailer relationships in one, two, and five years. With contracts becoming more common in produce procurement, whether or not retailers and shippers can identify mutual benefits- and thus opportunities for successful long-term cooperative relationships- is explored. The study's "View to the Future" section asks retail management to predict major trends in produce procurement: the growth of fresh-cut/branded products, produce-section growth in terms of total store sales, the increase in produce SKU's (Stock Keeping Units), how extensive contracting will become in produce, and the continuing decline in the number of suppliers and the further consolidation in the produce-supply sector.
