Design of a distribution network for the school lunch program

The national school lunch program (NSLP) is crucial for providing healthy, inexpensive, or free lunches to children, thus benefiting society. Designing a distribution network for the program requires solving a location and routing problem. In this paper, first, we formulate a multi-objective non-linear integer programming formulation of the problem. Next, we develop a two-step approach since the problem is Np-hard. The first stage presents a K-mean clustering method that deals with routing decisions by determining the locations of food processing centers and allocating schools to these centers. The second stage offers a multi-objective mixed-integer linear mathematical model for finding the locations of distribution centers. Besides economic and environmental factors, we optimize travel time in the network as perishable items are involved. A weighted sum approach is presented for different weights of objectives. We provide a real case study in Turkey to demonstrate the applicability of the two-stage approach proposed in this study. The numerical results provide valuable information for decision-makers and authorities to prioritize and prepare action plans.

A RESEARCH PAPER ON AIR COOLING USING PELTIER EFFECT

The rise of temperature of the earth atmosphere has changed the engineering scenario, and to resolve such issues, significant changes are required to sustain the habitat. The main polluters are petroleum, coal power plant and airconditioner. This paper mainly focused on the cooling effect by eliminating hazardous fluid flow by the flow of electrons. As the home has, the energy consumption is in heating, Cooling, and lighting. The heating is used in cooking, warm bath water or utensil washing. Cooling chills the drinking water, space cooling, refrigerator and storing perishable items, and lighting is used to glow light at dark or in a darker area. The energy utilization for lighting has decreased after discovering LED (Light Emitting Diode), but other applications are huddling for energy feasibility in this direction. Peltier has another window to be found as it provides one side cooling, and another side offers heat. So, this spontaneous heating and cooling effect can serve domestic and commercial applications and become a new milestone act as energy efficient. This paper explains the Space cooling of fixed volume to analyze the experimental setup on based define parameter to obtain this time frame goal.

Simulation of different reordering policies for optimizing the inventory of perishable food: an Italian case study

Inventory management represents one of the main criticalities that companies have to face. The challenge is twofold: being able to satisfy a demand whose behavior can significantly vary and be unpredictable in order to avoid stock-out situations, whilst limiting excessive stocks and consequently costs. Some factors can complicate this already inherently difficult task. An example is the presence of constraints on the time for storage, which is the typical case for perishable products such as food and beverages, core business of the Italian company subject of the case study described in this paper. To optimize the reorder process in that context, a simulation model was developed for evaluating the potentials of three traditional reordering policies (i.e., Re-Order Point, Re-Order Interval, and (s, S)) to be applied to a set of products managed by the company, including perishable items, and for testing their performance. The items tested were selected through a preliminary ABC analysis, carried out on the volumes handled. A comparison with the current performance of the company’s and that achievable with the optimized policies is proposed.

A Fuzzy type Backlogging Production Inventory Model for Perishable Items with Time Dependent Exponential Demand Rate

Production inventory models have an important role in production planning and scheduling. In any economic production quantity (EPQ) model, the production rate is dependent on demand. In this paper we have established a production inventory model for perishable items with partial backlogging and time dependent exponential demand rate. Allowing shortage, it is partially backlogged. The unsatisfied demand is backlogged and it is considered a function of waiting time. The aim of our study is to optimizing the total profit during a given cycle. A numerical example is given in showing the applicability of the developed model.

Joint Pricing and Inventory Policies for Perishable Items with Price Discount based on Freshness Index

It is generally observed that the products losses its freshness with the course of time that stimulates depression in demand of the product. In these circumstances, price discounts are necessary to raise the market. This is why, when the product's the index of freshness reaches a certain level, we created an inventory model wherein price reductions are provided at a sale price. The main goal is to figure out what the best selling price and cycle time are in order to maximise profit. The meaning and uniqueness of an ideal model solution are incorporated into the circumstances. The next move is to use a simple algorithm to find an optimal solution. Finally, a numerical example is presented, followed by a sensitivity analysis.