Sustainable Delivery System in a Temperature Controlled Supply Chain
Date
2018Author
Gharehyakheh, Amin
Cantu, Jaime
Krejci, Caroline
Rogers, Jamie
Metadata
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A modern customer expects high quality of food products, and consequently, retailers must present their products in a decent quality to improve their reputation and customer retention in the market. There are many factors which can influence the quality of food products; one of the vital factors is maintaining products in a predetermined temperature through their life cycle since it can slow the bacteria growth which deteriorates food quality. The necessity of implementing a proper temperature-controlled system creates various challenges in a supply chain. This research is focused on selecting a sustainable fleet of vehicles to minimize environmental effects and costs of delivering food products from a distribution center to retailers. A simulation model was developed to represent the relationship of supply chain actors, and it was followed by an optimization approach to determine the optimal number of vehicles. The results of this study show a comparative analysis of delivery costs and environmental effects to show that the sustainable selection of the fleet of vehicles is an efficient approach to preserve the quality of perishable products during transportation phase.