Leveraging organisational agility in B2B ecosystems to mitigate food waste and loss: a stakeholder perspective

Facing global challenges and uncertainty, food wastage and loss (FWL) have become pressing concerns for food industry stakeholders across the supply chain, impacting United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2 (Zero Hunger) and 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). This study investigates how organisational agility within business-to-business (B2B) supply chains promotes innovative strategies to reduce FWL. Specifically, through qualitative methods involving interviews and observations with stakeholders in Nigerian food supply chains, this study explores the integration of technological innovations like data-driven decisions, and automation in B2B collaborations to enhance resilience and reduce waste. The findings demonstrate that active and proactive innovative strategies can effectively reduce FWL at the pre-consumption stage. This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating how technological innovation and organisational agility combine to mitigate food waste and loss within pre-consumption stages of B2B supply chains. It also promotes organisational agility within B2B settings, emphasising innovative partnerships and sustainable food supply chain development. These insights address waste in the context of pressing global challenges such as food inequality, economic disparities, environmental degradation, hunger, and malnutrition.