Coordinated Location, Distribution, and Inventory Decisions in Supply Chain Network Design

Important Problems in Supply Chain Management in the Food Sector

Almost without exception, all well-known industries are redesigning their distribution networks in a bid to meet global trends and continue to meet customer demands. Considering the competitive market, key food industries must work on the optimal supply chain structure. However there is no doubt that supply chain networks are confronting new challenges. Hunt et al. summarise these challenges:

• More instances of multi-site manufacturing
• Increasingly cut-throat marketing channels
• The maturation of the world economy
• Heightened demand for local products
• Competitive pressures to provide exceptional customer service
• Quick, reliable delivery
• Commonality of turbulence and volatility in markets
• Time-to-market for new products
  

Based on these challenges, in this paper we focus on supply chain costs, customer service level, and delivery time in food distribution planning.