IT-based tools for the integrated management of the food chain: the development of the cereal territorial chain of the PGI “Pane di Matera” within the Rural Development Program of the Basilicata Region by means of technological innovations

The purpose of the research is the analysis and implementation of an IT-based system for PGI Matera Bread food chain management and integration system. The work, developed in the context of the Integrated Project of Food chain (IPF) “Mangiare Matera: il grano, il pane, la pasta”, is mainly based on the gathering and elaboration of data pertinent to the manufacturing, transformation and commercialization of PGI “Pane di Matera” food chain productions. The issues observed during the analysis have pushed the research towards the individuation of a methodology and a technology aiming to integrate a vertical with a horizontal food chain coordination. Acting upon the IT system identified and its architecture it was therefore possible to construct and test the technological HUB instrument as an ITC platform of services for the food chain and test how it influences the economic results of companies within the IPF.