My Research Map is divided into the following five segments.

← Phase 1: Literature Review – July to September 2010
The literature review will focus on the Supply Chain business segment in a global sense. My objective is to benchmark industries with respect to the data shared between business partners and business to business transactions. The Food industry is not known as the leader in Customer – Vendor data sharing, so my research will first seek to define the leading industry and then define what characteristics separate the leaders. The secondary research will result in the following outputs. • Journal article summaries, with citations, of relevant information

• Book chapters or segments that establish an academic foundations for the B to B interactions including relevant history and future expectations

• A repository of my findings to share with my cohort

1. Research the current world class state-of-the-art in customer service.

a. Define the world class quality reporting (WCQR) and service currently available

i. By Industry segment

ii. Include Depth of disclosure, delivery timing,

iii. Business to Business commitment to achieve WCQR

iv. Define WCQR Customer satisfaction and service levels

v. Find, interview and evaluate the best companies, as possible

← Phase 2: Primary Data Collection – September to October 2010 Primary research will include Farmland Foods stakeholders and key Customer’s chosen to participate. Research will be conducted various methods that will be defined and changed to fit the environment as the data collection progresses. 1. Conduct an environmental scan within Farmland – August 2010 a. Internal: Customer Culture, Business Structure, conflicting or coinciding initiatives, resource allocations, b. External: Choosing a Customer Partner