Supply Chain Consolidation and Cooperation in the Agriculture Industry

本研究的目的是构建模型和设计算法，以（i）优化运输和库存成本的农业供应链与小供应商，易腐产品，和整合中心，（ii）分配整合成本的供应商的方式，鼓励参与和持续的合作。特别是，研究人员将考虑与快速易腐农产品的小供应商的模型，这些供应商将受益于整合带来的规模经济。将考虑具有连续更高水平的整合、集成和复杂性的模型，从仅允许通过整合中心直接发货的系统开始，直到允许在供应商、客户和整合中心之间进行路由的系统。精确的方法，以及利用这些模型的自然可分解性的各种方法将被开发。此外，研究人员将研究这些模型的相关合作博弈论问题，重点是计算公平的成本分配与补贴或奖励，如果必要的。调查人员将与代表加州花卉种植者的加州切花委员会密切合作，以便制定新颖的整合方案和成本分配方法，这些方案和方法在实践中既可行又有益，如果成功，这项研究将导致新的系统，运输和库存整合农业供应链与许多小供应商，（i）通过利用规模经济和满载率降低所有种植者的总运输成本，（ii）足够简单，可以有效解决问题，并且大多数情况下可以分散控制，（iii）允许公平的成本分配计划。此外，解决这些模型的运输和库存整合将需要新的算法方法，结合运输科学，离散优化和合作博弈论的技术。

The objective of this research is to construct models and design algorithms to (i) optimize the transportation and inventory costs of an agricultural supply chain with small suppliers, perishable product, and a consolidation center, and (ii) allocate the costs of consolidation to the suppliers in a way that encourages participation and sustained cooperation. In particular, the investigators will consider models with small suppliers of quickly perishable agricultural products who would benefit from the economies of scale resulting from consolidation. Models with successively higher levels of consolidation, integration and complexity will be considered, starting with a system that only allows direct shipping through a consolidation center, up to a system that allows routing between the suppliers, the customers, and the consolidation center. Exact methods as well as various heuristics will be developed that take advantage of the natural decomposability of these models. In addition, the investigators will study the associated cooperative game-theoretic problems for these models, focusing on computing fair cost allocations with subsidies or incentives if necessary. The investigators will work closely with the California Cut Flower Commission, which represents California flower growers, in order to develop novel consolidation schemes and cost allocation methods that are both feasible and beneficial in practice.If successful, this research will result in novel systems for transportation and inventory consolidation in agricultural supply chains with many small suppliers that (i) reduce the total transportation costs for all growers by exploiting economies of scale and full truckload rates, (ii) are simple enough for efficient solution and mostly decentralized control, and (iii) allow for fair cost allocation schemes. In addition, solving these models for transportation and inventory consolidation will require novel algorithmic approaches, combining techniques from transportation science, discrete optimization, and cooperative game theory.