An integrated multitiered supply chain network model of competing agricultural firms and processing firms: The case of fresh produce and quality

In this paper, we develop an integrated multitiered competitive agricultural supply chain network model in which agricultural firms and processing firms compete to sell their differentiated products. The focus here is on fresh produce and minimally processed such agricultural products, with quality also captured. The competition among agricultural firms and processing firms is studied through game theory, where the governing Cournot–Nash equilibrium conditions correspond to a variational inequality problem. The algorithm, at each iteration, yields explicit closed form expressions for the agricultural product path flows, the agricultural product shipments from agricultural firms to the processing firms, and the Lagrange multipliers. A numerical study consisting of several supply chain disruption scenarios demonstrates the applicability of our modeling framework.