Optimal consolidation of fresh agricultural products in a multi-temperature joint distribution system

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 887-901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mu-Chen Chen ◽  
Chung-Cheng Lu ◽  
Yi-Ching Liu
Keyword(s):  
Shelf Life ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Joint Distribution ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Agricultural Products ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Product Loss ◽  
Consolidation Model ◽  
Logistics Process

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to deal with an optimal consolidation problem for fresh agricultural products (e.g. fruits and vegetables) in a multi-temperature joint distribution (MTJD) system that is developed to resolve the challenge of timely delivery of small and diverse shipments in food cold chains. Design/methodology/approach An integer programming optimization model is developed to consolidate a set of agricultural shipments with different storage requirements into a number of distinct containers according to the classification criteria. The formulated model for consolidating fresh agricultural products is evaluated using numerical examples. Findings Critical factors that affect the quality or shelf life of fresh agricultural products are examined to form the criteria for classifying the storage requirements of these products. The formulated model can minimize the consolidation cost and the loss of product value due to a reduction in shelf life after consolidation. Research limitations/implications Although the decision model for product consolidation developed in this paper takes into account practical concerns as much as possible, some additional conditions in the cold chain of fresh fruits and vegetables can be included to further enhance the application of the proposed consolidation model. Practical implications Provided that the container environment is appropriately controlled, the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables can be maintained during the logistics process. As a result, product quality can be managed to reduce product loss. Originality/value This paper adopts temperature, relative humidity and ethylene production, which generally affect the quality and shelf life of fresh agricultural products, as the main factors for determining the product consolidation. It is among the first to deal with the optimal consolidation of fresh agricultural products in the MTJD system with the consideration of product shelf life.

Multi-criteria clustering analytics for agro-based perishables in cold-chain

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 563-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aman Bhatnagar ◽  
Prem Vrat ◽  
Ravi Shankar
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Cold Storage ◽  
Ethylene Production ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Clustering Algorithm ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Clustering Approach ◽  
Food Wastage

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine compatibility groups of different fruits and vegetables that can be stored and transported together based upon their requirements for temperature, relative humidity, odour and ethylene production. Pre-cooling which is necessary to prepare the commodity for subsequent shipping and safe storage is also discussed. Design/methodology/approach The methodology used in this journal is an attempt to form clusters/groups of storing together 43 identified fruits and vegetables based on four important parameters, namely, temperature, relative humidity, odour and ethylene production. An agglomerative hierarchical clustering algorithm is used to build a cluster hierarchy that is commonly displayed as a tree diagram called dendrogram. The same is further analyzed using K-means clustering to find clusters of comparable spatial extent. The results obtained from the analytics are compared with the available data of grouping fruits and vegetables. Findings This study investigates the usefulness and efficacy of the proposed clustering approach for storage and transportation of different fruits and vegetables that will eventually save huge investment made in terms of developing infrastructure components and energy consumption. This will enable the investors to adopt it for using the space more effectively and also reducing food wastage. Research limitations/implications Due to limited research and development (R&D) data pertaining to storage parameters of different fruits and vegetables on the basis of temperature, relative humidity, ethylene production/sensitivity, odour and pre-cooling, information from different available sources have been utilized. India needs to develop its own crop specific R&D data, since the conditions for soil, water and environment vary when compared to other countries. Due to the limited availability of the research data, various multi-criteria approaches used in other areas have been applied to this paper. Future studies might be interested in considering other relevant variables depending upon R&D and data availability. Practical implications With the increase in population, the demand for food is also increasing. To meet such growing demand and provide quality and nutritional food, it is important to have a clear methodology in terms of compatibility grouping for utilizing the available storage space for multi-commodity produce and during transportation. The methodology used shall enable the practitioners to understand the importance of temperature, humidity, odour and ethylene sensitivity for storage and transportation of perishables. Social implications This approach shall be useful for decision making by farmers, Farmer Producer Organization, cold-storage owners, practicing managers, policy makers and researchers in the areas of cold-chain management and will provide an opportunity to use the available space in the cold storage for storing different fruits and vegetables, thereby facilitating optimum use of infrastructure and resources. This will enable the investors to utilize the space more effectively and also reduce food wastage. It shall also facilitate organizations to manage their logistic activities to gain competitive advantage. Originality/value The proposed model would help decision makers to resolve the issues related to the selection of storing different perishable commodities together. From the secondary research, not much research papers have been found where such a multi-criteria clustering approach has been applied for the storage of fruits and vegetables incorporating four important parameters relevant for storage and transportation.

scholarly journals The drug logistics process: an innovative experience

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 214-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Pinna ◽  
Pier Paolo Carrus ◽  
Fabiana Marras
Keyword(s):  
Distribution System ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Drug Distribution ◽  
Care Quality ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Unit Dose ◽  
Logistics Process

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the latest innovations in the drug distribution processes of hospital companies, which are currently dealing with high inventory and storage costs and fragmented organizational responsibilities. Design/methodology/approach – The literature review and the in-depth analysis of a case study support the understanding of the unit dose drug distribution system and the subsequent definition of the practical implications for hospital companies. Findings – Starting from the insights offered by the case study, the analysis shows that the unit dose system allows hospitals to improve the patient care quality and reduce costs. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of the research are those related to the theoretical and exploratory nature of the study, but from a practical point of view, the work provides important indications to the management of healthcare companies, which have to innovate their drug distribution systems. Originality/value – This paper analyzes a new and highly topical issue and provides several insights for the competitive development of a fundamental sector.

scholarly journals Reliability Analysis and Optimization of Cold Chain Distribution System for Fresh Agricultural Products

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 3618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinghan Zhang ◽  
Wujun Cao ◽  
Minyoung Park
Keyword(s):  
System Reliability ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Agricultural Products ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Agricultural Product ◽  
Tree Model ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Logistics Market ◽  
Calculated Probability

In recent years, with the Chinese government’s emphasis on the development of the cold chain logistics market for fresh agricultural products, the rapid development of agricultural cold chain logistics has been promoted in many aspects. However, in the circulation of fresh agricultural products, there is still a serious problem of “broken chain” leading to a high corrosion rate. Therefore, this research has analyzed the uncertain factors affecting the cold chain distribution system based on fault tree model, and then transform it into Bayesian network to evaluate the reliability of the cold chain distribution system for fresh agricultural product, and identify the key factors affecting the reliability of the cold chain distribution system through calculated probability importance of each node. Then we have constructed nonlinear equations with the limit of the cost, based on reliability allocation method to improve the system reliability. Numerical examples are given to validate the proposed models. The optimization result shows that higher reliability value assigned to the factors with high probability importance is more conducive to the improvement of system reliability.

scholarly journals Research on the Architecture of Cold Chain Logistics Multimedia Monitoring and Tracking Service Platform Based on Fuzzy Sorting and Heuristic Algorithm

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Qi Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Heuristic Algorithm ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Heuristic Algorithms ◽  
Social Economy ◽  
Agricultural Products ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Continuous Development ◽  
Logistics System ◽  
Service Platform ◽  
High Storage

With the continuous development of social economy, the logistics system has been continuously improved. In addition to traditional domestic postal transportation and car consignment, emerging logistics methods such as SF Express and Yunda have also emerged. Aiming at the features such as fragility of fruits and vegetables and high storage requirements, in this paper, a cold chain logistics multimedia monitoring and tracking service platform is built in an attempt to monitor the preservation environment and safety status of agricultural products relying on fuzzy sorting and heuristic algorithms, trace agricultural products with labels, and design the direction of the key data. The practice results show that the system is effective.

scholarly journals Organik Bahçe Ürünlerinin Hasat Sonrası Kalitelerinin Korunması

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fisun Gürsel Çelikel
Keyword(s):  
Shelf Life ◽  
Nutritional Quality ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Special Importance ◽  
Postharvest Handling ◽  
Ripe Stage ◽  
Organic Horticulture ◽  
Cooling Methods

Not only cultural treatments in orchard but also postharvest handling affect the taste, shelf life and nutritional quality of organic fruits and vegetables. Organic crops are mostly harvested at ripe stage or close to ripen, thus, their shelf life is shorter and they are more perishable. Postharvest physiology and requests of crops should be considered during postharvest handling in order to maintain their high quality and prevent postharvest losses. The main aim in postharvest concept is to slow down the metabolism of fresh crops continue to live after harvest. The most important factor is temperature. The fruits and vegetables should be protected from high temperatures and cooled immediately after harvest. The cold chain should be kept until consumer. In addition, diseases can be prevented by controlling environment. Sanitation is another rule to consider. All these rules are important for all growers; however they are of special importance for organic horticulture which allows limited postharvest technologies. In this review, the allowed postharvest treatments of certificated organic fruits and vegetables are given. Preharvest factors, harvest, postharvest factors, cooling methods, cold storage, sanitation methods and products, ethylene and its control, and other specific postharvest subjects are discussed.

scholarly journals A new risk assessment model for agricultural products cold chain logistics

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (9) ◽  
pp. 1800-1816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Zhang ◽  
Bin Qiu ◽  
Keming Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Index System ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Agricultural Products ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Assessment Index ◽  
Assessment Index System ◽  
Catastrophe Progression

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a quantitative risk assessment method for agricultural products cold chain logistics to assess the condition of the fresh agricultural products cold chain process objectively and accurately. Design/methodology/approach A risk assessment index system of agricultural products cold chain logistics is designed on the basis of the risk identification for the process of agricultural products cold chain logistics. This paper first uses catastrophe progression method and a new maximum deviation method to build an improved catastrophe progression assessment model for agricultural products cold chain logistics. In order to verify the reliability and validity of the model, two representative enterprises are selected as the case in the study. Findings The results in the empirical research indicate strong support for the assessment model and coincide with the reality. The risk assessment index system can also reflect the key risk factors from agricultural products cold chain logistics scientifically. In addition, the improved catastrophe progression assessment method proposed in this paper can be scientific and reasonable to predict risk. Research limitations/implications This paper contributes to provide a new risk assessment model for agricultural products cold chain logistics. The new model overcomes the limitation of subjective empowerment and it increases the objectivity and scientificity in the process of cold chain logistics risk assessment. This paper also shows that practitioners involved in the field of products cold chain logistics can manage the potential risk by a set of scientific methods for assessing the risk before the accident. Practical implications The paper provides a practical guideline to practitioners, especially for cold chain logistics managers, relevant management departments, and cold chain logistics management consultants. It is proved that the new risk assessment method and the risk assessment index system of agricultural products cold chain logistics can help them assess the risk scientifically and reasonably. Originality/value Although the calculation is simple, the new model can overcome the limitation of subjective empowerment scientifically and reasonably, and thus has important practical value.

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