Halal Supply Chain Management

With an existing turnover of 1.1 trillion dollars and growing at an explosive rate.. the market for halal certified products is still in its infancy. But even as they attempt to serve the needs of the market the bodies granting halal certification are often disorganised, sometimes at odds. Is the growing global population of Muslims being adequately served by its regulatory and religious leaders? A news report from Wednesday 26 August 2015. For the video visit Channel News Asia: Between the Lines .

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that motivate the halal food firms in  Malaysia to practice halal orientation strategy (HOS). Data were obtained from a survey of 137 halal food firms in Malaysia, and analyzed using the partial least squares technique. Results showed that halal market demand, government support, expected business benefits, and integrity positively affect HOS. The findings of the study will help policy makers and managers of halal food firms to understand external and internal drivers of HOS, which may lead to successfully motivating the implementation of HOS in halal food firms. For the full article, please visit the British Food Journal .

This week the World Halal Summit is held in Kuala Lumpur, a halal week covering six halal forums and the 12 th international halal showcase MIHAS. This platform is an annual gathering of world business and academic leaders in addressing current issues and shaping the future of halal. Malaysia has been the front-runner in halal standards, halal park development and new applications of halal (such as halal logistics, retailing and tourism). As a result of joint efforts between the Malaysian Government through HDC and JAKIM and the private sector Malaysia has become the global halal hub and important reference how to organise halal systems. Furthermore Malaysia is heading scientific research in halal logistics and supply chain management by the universities UiTM, UM, UMP and Unirazak. Their research is shaping our halal supply chains of tomorrow. Halal industry requirements are not static and new halal standards in Malaysia are covering new products (cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, leat...

The commercialisation of our natural resources, industrial food production approach and consumerism is endangering our food security, health and environment. Current industry practices are not sustainable and do not comply with Jewish, Christian and Islamic scriptures. Kosher, Christian and halal food laws share common principles in prohibition of certain animals (like pig), prohibition of blood, role of fasting, and animal welfare. As a change in our diet is the solution, there is a key role for the food industry to comply and for religious leaders to radically reduce meat consumption and food waste of its followers. New food industry directives should convert meat-based to plant-based ingredients and additives; replace porcine by bovine sources; and emphasise on animal welfare to better serve the Jewish, Christian and Muslim consumer. Religious logos (kosher and halal) should incorporate nutrient profiling through a traffic light system to promote healthy food choice. For the ful...

There is a higher halal awareness among Muslim consumers, where the product in the supermarket is no longer assumed halal and its halal certificate and country of origin is more and more checked for the acceptance of and trust in new products. Governments and halal certification bodies should extend halal requirements towards supply chain management for halal certification of producers and restaurants as a narrow perspective, limited to ingredients and production, highly exposes the company in today’s market place. For this halal certification bodies should promote halal certification of supply chain parties, in particular the logistics service provider, traders and retailers. A better insight into the perception of the Muslim consumer regarding its halal supply chain and halal value chain requirements is critical for the halal industry. For the full article, please visit Islam and Civilisational Renewal

Food production and trade has been described as the weak link in the halal value chain. In order to guarantee availability of and access to halal food, a new paradigm is required in better organising and upscaling the production and trade of halal food through halal clusters. To better address today’s issues in the halal industries (ingredients, certification, logistics, etc.), there are evident benefits by producing in strong halal clusters, providing easy access to halal ingredients and access to attractive Muslim markets. A cluster analysis is conducted on the Malaysia and Dubai halal cluster in order to provide a better understanding of their halal cluster models and sustainability. A halal cluster model is proposed based on five pillars, namely: (i) Muslim consumer; (ii) education and research; (iii) halal integrity network; (iv) halal supply chain; and (v) enablers. For the full article, please visit  Journal of Islamic Marketing