Models for cost efficient and environmentally friendly inventory replenishment decisions for perishable products

This study presents a bi-objective, mixed-integer programming model in support of inventory replenishment decisions for age-dependent perishable products. The bi-objective optimization model minimizes costs and emissions due to inventory replenishment-related decisions in the supply chain, such as transportation mode selection, supplier selection, and inventory management. The model captures the tradeoffs that exist between transportation costs and remaining shelf life of products, transportation and inventory costs, and total costs and CO2 emissions resulting from transportation and inventory holding. We use two different approaches to solve the bi-objective model, a modified weighted sum approach and an e-constraint method. Our experimental results show the tradeoffs that exist between costs and emissions as well as the impacts of lead time and deterioration rates in the performance of the supply chain of perishable products.

Models for cost efficient and environmentally friendly inventory replenishment decisions for perishable products Conference Paper