Optimization and Planning Models for more Sustainable Agrifood Logistics

粮食和农业部门面临着气候变化、资源枯竭和多年不可持续做法造成的环境破坏带来的越来越大的压力。新出现的概念与技术进步相结合，例如无人机、改进的传感器和自动化，使行为者能够减轻其中一些压力，并引领未来实现更可持续的粮食系统。然而，这些概念和技术的采用速度很慢，从物流的角度提出了新的规划和决策问题。为这些问题找到好的解决办法是一项复杂的任务，因为环境往往非常有限，而且目标之间存在权衡。我的研究重点将是开发数学优化模型和算法，在考虑到所涉及的不同权衡和约束的情况下，为这些问题提供良好的解决方案。所开发的工具还将有助于从可持续性的角度分析新概念和新技术的潜力，并对替代食品和农业物流的要求提供见解。该研究计划将涉及四个主要领域。第一个关键领域与农业生产有关，在这一领域，更高水平的精准和自动化与精准农业和间作等新概念相结合，改变了农业规划和田间物流。第二个领域将农业生产与最终消费者联系起来，通过研究短链和地方链的供应链配置，研究组织供应链的替代方式。研究的第三个领域将探讨系统中各行为者之间进行物流协作的潜力，以提高链内的效率，改善资源利用率，并在系统的不同级别分担费用。最后一个研究领域介绍了这些规划环境中的不确定性方面，其中可能会发生不确定性，例如，关于产量、需求和产品质量。除了在物流和运筹学领域开发新的数学问题公式和量身定做的解决方法外，该项目还将为农业食品工业中高度相关的规划和决策问题提供实用的见解。它是各学科之间的桥梁，旨在通过确定重要的先决条件和提供必要的决策工具来加快可持续发展。

The food and agricultural sector faces increasing pressure from climate change, resource depletion and environmental damage caused by years of unsustainable practices. New arising concepts in combination with technological advances, in the form of e.g., drones, improved sensors and automation, allow actors to relieve some of these pressures and lead the way towards a more sustainable food system in the future. The adoption of these concepts and technologies, however, is slow, posing new planning and decision problems from a logistics perspective. Finding good solutions to these problems is a complex task, due to the often highly constrained environment and the existing trade-offs between objectives. The focus of my research will be on the development of mathematical optimisation models and algorithms that provide good solutions to these problems under consideration of the different trade-offs and constraints involved. The developed tools will furthermore help to analyse the potential of new concepts and technologies from a sustainability perspective and provide insights into the requirements of alternative food and agricultural logistics. The research program will address four main areas. The first key area relates to agricultural production, where higher levels of precision and automation combined with new concepts, such as precision farming and intercropping, change agricultural planning and in-field logistics. Connecting agricultural production with the end-consumer, the second area investigates alternative ways of organising the chain by studying supply chain configurations for short and local chains. The third area of the research will explore the potential of logistics collaboration between actors in the system in order to increase efficiencies within the chain, improve resource utilisation and share costs at different levels in the system. The last research area introduces the aspect of uncertainty within these planning environments, where uncertainty may occur e.g., with respect to yields, demands and product quality. While contributing to the development of new mathematical problem formulations and tailored solution approaches in the area of Logistics and Operations Research, the program will also provide practical insights into highly relevant planning and decision problems in the agrifood industry. Bridging between disciplines, it aims to expedite sustainable development by identifying important prerequisites and providing the necessary decision-making tools.