Halal procurement strategy in the food industry: a focus group discussion

A focus group discussion on halal procurement strategy was conducted with food multinationals. The focus group discussion illustrated that leading halal procurement strategies are founded on solid halal risk and reputation management; harmonise, standardise and simplify halal; backup plans for halal critical items purchasing; local suppliers of halal critical items; all suppliers of halal critical items need to be halal certified; business contingency plans by suppliers; and leveraging synergy advantages. There is a preference for local or regional sourcing instead of global sourcing, and a preference for multiple sourcing, instead of single sourcing. The substance of relationship between buyer and supplier evolves based on the maturity of a supplier relationship. Monitoring and evaluation of halal critical suppliers require a combination of vendor rating, benchmarking, and physical audits. There is potential for collaborative purchasing with purchasing organisations both within and outside their own group of companies. As halal procurement is a new field of research, further qualitative research has been recommended.