フードシステムのインテグレーターとしての総合商社

企業間システム論の一事例として

抄録

The Japanese food system is characterized by fragmented vertical specialization in production and marketing. However, in many cases, food production in Japan is performed under the coordination activities of integrators. For example, in broiler production, there are many kinds of integrators who own and operate meat processing plants.
The integrators purchase chickens from growers based on contracts, or raise chickens in their own chicken houses. At the same time, many of these integrators are cntrolled by big trading firms (called sogo shosha or simply shosha). In some cases, shoshas own broiler processing firms, and in other cases their related feed manufacturing companies do the same or lend financial support to local integrators. shoshas import grain and sell it to feed manufacturers, and they also buy and sell poultry directly or through their related meat merchants.
Furthermore, shoshas act as organizers in the distribution system of processed foods. Many food wholesalers are now controlled by shoshas. These wholesalers own and operate distribution centers equipped with advanced computer systems and play the role of sending goods to big chain stores.
To sum up, the role of shoshas ranges from ownership of totally integrated systems to various arrangements performed by contracts. And shoshas are acting as the integrator of integrators in many economic fields.
But if we evaluate the degree of the integration performed by shoshas, it is not so high as that of holding companies in terms of ownership. Also, in terms of coordination, the degree of coordination is not so high as that of hierarchically organized big corporations. The integrated system under the shosha is an example of keiretsu, which are large “families” of intercorporate relationships.