Industrial Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Narmak, Tehran, IR.
Agricultural Garden, Yaman Avenue, Shahid Chamran Highway, Tehran, IR.
PLoS One. 2024 Sep 3;19(9):e0303054. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303054. eCollection 2024.
Effective logistics management is crucial for the distribution of perishable agricultural products to ensure they reach customers in high-quality condition. This research examines an integrated, multi-echelon supply chain for perishable agricultural goods. The supply chain consists of four stages: supply, processing, storage, and customers. This study investigates the quality-related costs associated with product perishability to maximize supply chain profitability. Key factors considered include the network design, location of processing and distribution centers, the ability to process raw products to minimize post-harvest quality degradation, the option to sell the excess produce to a secondary market due to unpredictable yields, and the decision not to fulfill demand from distant customers where significant quality loss and price drops would be involved, instead diverting those products to the aforementioned secondary market. Quantitative methods and linear mathematical programming are employed to model and validate the proposed supply chain using actual data from a real-world case study on vegetable supply chains. The main contribution of this research is the incorporation of quality costs into the objective function, which allows the supply chain to prioritize meeting nearby customers' demands with minimal quality loss over serving distant customers where high quality loss is unavoidable. Additionally, deploying a faster transportation fleet can significantly improve the overall profitability of the perishable product supply chain.
有效的物流管理对于易腐农产品的分销至关重要，以确保它们以高质量的状态到达客户手中。本研究考察了易腐农产品的综合多环节供应链。供应链由四个阶段组成：供应、加工、储存和客户。本研究调查了与产品易腐性相关的质量成本，以最大限度地提高供应链的盈利能力。考虑的关键因素包括网络设计、加工和配送中心的位置、加工原材料以最小化收获后质量下降的能力、由于不可预测的产量而将多余的产品销售到二级市场的选择，以及决定不满足来自遥远客户的需求，因为这将涉及到重大的质量损失和价格下降，而是将这些产品转移到上述二级市场。采用定量方法和线性数学规划，使用真实案例研究中的实际数据对所提出的供应链进行建模和验证。本研究的主要贡献是将质量成本纳入目标函数，这使得供应链能够优先满足附近客户的需求，同时将质量损失最小化，而不是服务于那些不可避免会出现高质量损失的遥远客户。此外，部署更快的运输车队可以显著提高易腐产品供应链的整体盈利能力。
