Managing product quality along the supply chain without a vertical integration: the illycaffè case study

Since many years in the coffee industry the quality has become a strategic competitive priority for many enterprises and a lever to the de-commoditization. The competition in the food industry requires the realization and the development of appropriate policies of quality management with sustainable costs through the implementation of innovative and well-integrated Supply Chain Management (SCM) practices. In fact, the SCM can give a sustainable competitive advantage improving the product/service quality performance. The paper proposes the analysis of the illycaffe Group, an exemplary case study of how a small-medium enterprise can compete and win in the espresso coffee market. It describes the pursue of the business strategy, based on the quality competitive priority, not only by integrating the quality management practices along its supply chain but, above all, by becoming the Supply Chain Coordinator through a systematic diffusion of the knowledge, the know-how and the culture in a learning network.