Impact of product perishability on agri-food supply chains design

Perishability of agri-food products impacts the economic, environmental, and social aspects of agri-food supply chains (AFSCs). Product perishability is, usually, considered in tactical and operational decisions, but not in strategic ones, such as the design of the AFSC. The contribution of this paper is that it investigates the impact of product perishability on an AFSC design. To do so, first, a novel mixed-integer linear programming model is proposed to design entire AFSCs with multiple-products, which considers capacity, planting, harvesting, transporting and perishability constraints for a multiple-period horizon. A set of scenarios is generated by varying products’ shelf life and analysed. The results show that product perishability is relevant when designing AFSCs, especially for products with a short shelf life. The results show that an AFSC's economic performance improves when product perishability is considered. The model can also help in determining the investment needed extend products shelf life while remaining profitable. Other uses could include tactical planning for chains already in place.