MarketMaker - An interactive tool to create links between supply chain actors: Experience in the U.S. food sector

Understanding the need for a well-developed market information infrastructure, about twenty U.S. states have created an interactive, web-based software package (MarketMaker). By creating interrelationships between mapping software, customer demographics and business directories, MarketMaker provides an important link between producers, wholesalers, processors, food service providers, retailers and consumers in the agri-food sector of partnering states. Although the program in most states is led by Land-Grant Universities, specific funding models and partnership and management structures vary from state to state. Despite tracking of website hits and users, the program has not been rigorously evaluated and appropriate tools are not yet established to measure financial and economic impacts. The program’s future growth and success depends upon its ability to create a stable management and organizational structure, and increase in the number of users. There is also a need for designing and implementing an effective revenue generation strategy to make MarketMaker a self-sustained program.