This study examines how different supply chain characteristics impose different coordination costs on vegetable processors. The results provide a basis for understanding the relative importance of four alternative supply chain characteristics to vegetable processors: (1) the size of the producers’ production base; (2) the distance between the producer and the processing plant; (3) the level of detail specified in the contract between processors and grower; and (4) whether the producer has food safety certification. Vegetable processors from Laiyang County, Shandong province, China’s largest horticultural production and export region, provide the data underlying the following analysis. Conjoint analysis suggests that the vegetable processors consider the size of the production units as the most important supply chain characteristic influencing their choice of producers, followed by distance to producer, type of contract and food safety certification.