scholarly journals Strategic Supply Chain Planning for Food Hubs in Central Colombia: An Approach for Sustainable Food Supply and Distribution

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1792
Author(s):  
Gonzalo Mejía ◽  
Daniela Granados-Rivera ◽  
Jairo Alberto Jarrín ◽  
Alejandra Castellanos ◽  
Natalia Mayorquín ◽  
...  

This paper investigates the problem of sustainable rural supply and urban distribution of fresh food products in central Colombia. Paradoxically, while farmers in the countryside suffer from poverty due to the low profitability of the agricultural activity, inhabitants at urban centers pay high prices for fresh and nutritious foods. In this work, we propose a supply chain system and a business model based on food hubs located on existing (and often abandoned) public facilities in the central region of Colombia. There are many examples in which the hub strategy has facilitated trade and logistics in supply chains. However, few studies consider the particularities of the presented case. We study a business strategy through a mathematical model which considers both the sustainable and efficient operation of the food hubs and better trading conditions for farmers. We propose a variant of the competitive hub location problem adapted to this case study. We tested the model under different scenarios such as changes in the attractiveness parameters, operation costs, and profit margins. The results suggest that if hubs are able to attract farmers, the model can be both sustainable for the hub concessionaires and for the farmers.

Author(s):  
Zhaohui Wu ◽  
Madeleine Elinor Pullman

Food supply chain management is becoming a critical management and public policy agenda. Climate change, growing demand, and shifting patterns of food production, delivery, and consumption have elicited a series of new challenges, such as food security, safety, and system resiliency. This chapter first introduces the typical players in a food supply chain and examines the global food system characterized by consolidation and industrialization. It then discusses some critical topics of the sustainable food supply chain that aim to address these challenges. These topics include traceability, transparency, certification and standards, and alternatives to industrialized food systems, including cooperatives, community-supported agriculture, and roles of small and medium-sized growers in regenerative agriculture. The chapter ends with a discussion of several important emerging logistics management topics, including last-mile delivery, new technology, and cold chain management.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7278
Author(s):  
Tamoor Azam ◽  
Songjiang Wang ◽  
Muhammad Mohsin ◽  
Muhammad Nazam ◽  
Muhammad Hashim ◽  
...  

Over the past few years, sustainable supply chain initiatives (SSCIs) have grabbed attention in the domestic, as well as global, marketplace of the food sector. Nowadays, the success of the entire food supply chain depends on the prosperity of farms, local communities, trader processors, and agro-based industries. Despite its importance, food processing industries (FPIs) are encountering various hurdles in achieving sustainable business goals due to the sheer number of potential barriers. Due to this reason, stakeholders are continuously pressuring the management of FPIs to embrace sustainable food processing activities. In light of this, the present study aims to apply a hybrid fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (F-AHP) framework, based on fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to the ideal solution (F-TOPSIS), for analyzing the barriers and prioritizing the possible pathways in adopting the SSCIs for the development of FPIs. Based on the extensive review of literature and panel consultation with experienced experts, a total of seven main barriers, forty-two sub barriers, and five possible pathways as strategic tools were finalized and ranked. An empirical case investigation of a Pakistani-based food processing company has been taken to check the practical application of the proposed framework along with sensitivity analysis. The findings of this study reveal that the lack of sustainable outsourcing factors were found as the top-ranked barrier in implementing SSCIs, and the possible pathway to overcome this barrier is the appropriate management of the procurement cycle. The major contribution of this study is to establish a barriers prioritization framework and suggest possible pathways to overcome these barriers for the successful implementation of SSCIs. Finally, the theoretical, managerial, and policy implications are provided as a way forward for the concerned stakeholders and policymakers.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sen Liu ◽  
Zhilan Song ◽  
Shuqi Zhong

Urban public transportation hubs are the key nodes of the public transportation system. The location of such hubs is a combinatorial problem. Many factors can affect the decision-making of location, including both quantitative and qualitative factors; however, most current research focuses solely on either the quantitative or the qualitative factors. Little has been done to combine these two approaches. To fulfill this gap in the research, this paper proposes a novel approach to the public transportation hub location problem, which takes both quantitative and qualitative factors into account. In this paper, an improved multiple attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) method based on TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) and deviation is proposed to convert the qualitative factors of each hub into quantitative evaluation values. A location model with stochastic passenger flows is then established based on the above evaluation values. Finally, stochastic programming theory is applied to solve the model and to determine the location result. A numerical study shows that this approach is applicable and effective.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1115
Author(s):  
Shufan Zhu ◽  
Kefan Xie ◽  
Ping Gui

Incorporating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mask supply chain into our framework and taking mask output as a state variable, our study introduces the differential game to study the long-term dynamic cooperation of a two-echelon supply chain composed of the supplier and the manufacturer under government subsidies. The study elaborates that government subsidies can provide more effective incentives for supply chain members to cooperate in the production of masks compared with the situation of no government subsidies. A relatively low wholesale price can effectively increase the profits of supply chain members and the supply chain system. The joint contract of two-way cost-sharing contract and transfer payment contract can promote production technology investment efforts of the supply chain members, the optimum trajectory of mask production, and total profit to reach the best state as the centralized decision scenario within a certain range. Meanwhile, it is determined that the profits of supply chain members in the joint contract can be Pareto improvement compared with decentralized decision scenario. With the increase of production technology investment cost coefficients and output self-decay rate, mask outputs have shown a downward trend in the joint contract decision model. On the contrary, mask outputs would rise with growing sensitivity of mask output to production technology investment effort and increasing sensitivity of mask demand to mask output.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5299
Author(s):  
Giovanni Mattia ◽  
Alessio Di Leo ◽  
Carlo Alberto Pratesi

Sustainable packaging design plays a strategic role across several industries. Using the Italian market as the perimeter of the analysis, this paper aims to broaden the knowledge of corporate attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors toward sustainable packaging along the entire supply chain. A mixed-method approach was used, integrating qualitative and quantitative data collected from 33 in-depth interviews and a survey on a sample of 462 companies. The results revealed that a challenging goal will consist of reconciling technological advances and marketing instances, and that the entire supply chain should be synergistically involved in packaging sustainability. It was also found that larger companies consider sustainability as part of a broader business strategy, whereas smaller ones possess a tactical vision. The study provides valuable insights to better comprehend and manage a complex ecosystem such as that of sustainable packaging.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document