A holistic approach for the design and management of an agri fresh produce supply chain, a literature review

Ho Thanh Phong et. al. | 137

A holistic approach for the design and
management of an agri-fresh produce supply
chain: A literature review
HO THANH PHONG
International University, Vietnam National University HCMC –

CHANDANA HEWEGE
Swinburne University of Technology –

PHAN THUY KIEU
International University, Vietnam National University HCMC –


Abstract
The paper is a systematic review of the existing literature on the operational research
models applied by previous researchers in the context of an agri-fresh produce supply chain.
The paper aims to generate a deeper understanding of the trends and mathematical modelling
methods used in previous research by employing a structured taxonomy of literature
classification. A chain of intermediaries tends to play a critical role in delivering agri-fresh
commodities from farmers to consumers. These intermediaries perform various functions
including the collection, preservation and delivery of agri-fresh produce, creating linkages
among all stakeholders of the supply chain. Essentially, the study summarizes most of the
technical, organizational and functional solutions that have been used to design optimal fresh
produce supply chain management approaches. Findings of the paper generated by applying a
systematic literature review protocol have significant practical implications and stress the
crucial of holistic approaches for the design and management of Agri-fresh produce supply
chains with a view to overcoming current challenges in production, distribution and inventory
management.
Keywords: supply chain; operational research; design; agri-fresh produce; modelling;

performance measurement.


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1. Introduction
A supply chain encompasses all activities associated with the flow and
transformation of goods from the raw material stage to end users, as well as the
associated information flows. As part of operations, the supply chain management
(SCM) also plays an important role in maintaining the flow of materials from
processing units to the production of finished goods, and then to end consumers
(Chopra and Meinnd, 2001; 2007). While producing perishable goods is vital to
satisfying the growing global demand for food, the supply chain management of agrifresh produce is equally crucial to delivering goods to the market at the right time and
with minimum loss of food quantities and qualities, i.e. perishability may occur in one
or more stages across the chain (Amorim et al., 2013; Boselie et al., 2003; Nahmias,
1982) from the extremely short processing to transportation times (Gigler et al., 2002;
Van Der Vorst et al., 1998). Other characteristics, such as seasonality of Agriculture
production (Salin, 1998; Tsubone et al., 1983), long supply lead times (Aramyan et al.,
2006; Lowe and Preckel, 2004) and uncertainty in harvest time due to unpredictable
weather conditions (Dorfman and Havenner, 1991; Salin, 1998), also make the Agrisupply chain management even more complex. As a result, the operational research of
Agri-fresh produce supply chain (APSC) has attracted considerable interest of
researchers as a mechanism to generate management efficiency through the use of
modern decision technology tools.
It is evident that the major trends related to the principles of operational research
models have spread across the scientific literature. Over the last 20 years, many lead
authors across the world have dramatically concentrated on designing and managing
agri-fresh produce supply chains (Greenberg, 1995; Carter, 2011; Pokharel and Mutha,
2009; Seuring and Muller, 2008; Srivastava, 2007). However, it is found that there is a
significant level of inconsistency and confusion in segmenting fruits, flowers, and
vegetables. Thus, there is an acute need for the categorization of the produce to

enhance the scalability of the developed models. As such, this paper will adopt the
definition of Shukla and Jharkharia (2013) on agri-fresh produce (Figure 1).


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Figure 1: Product differentiation (Shukla and Jharkharia, 2013)

In fact, this paper reviews the key literature on the operational research models that
are applied in the fresh produce supply chains and thereby aims to generate deeper
understanding of the trends through the structured taxonomy of literature
classification. Concurrently, the authors synthesize the progression of the previously
published papers related to the design and management of agri-fresh produce supply
chains with a view to providing directions for further studies.
The remainder of this paper is structured as follows. The next section presents the
review methodology we employed in this study. This is followed by a detailed
description of fresh produce supply chain background. In section 4, we synthesize
supply chain models that have been developed for agri-fresh produce. Then, we discuss
the findings towards designing and managing the fresh produce supply chain in
Vietnam in section 5. Finally, section 6 concludes this review paper.
2. Review methodology
“A literature review is a systematic, explicit, and reproducible design for identifying,
evaluating, and interpreting the existing body of recorded documents” (Fink, 1998).
Thus, the objective of the literature review is to: (1) summarize existing research by
determining patterns and issues and (2) identify the conceptual content of the field
(Meredith, 1993).


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To synthesize the existing body of knowledge pertinent to the design and
management of the supply chain of fruits and vegetables, the authors review various
published research articles using a combined approach of deductive and inductive
reasoning. First of all, the authors focus on some key words by using Google Scholar,
including “design and management of agri-fresh produce supply chain”, “Operational
models applied for fruit and vegetable supply chain”, “harvesting”, “scheduling”,
“Mathematical programming models”, “Multi-objective programming”, “supply chain
linear programming models”, “supply chain design”, and so on. The search for these
key words results in many relevant articles and then the articles are screened by
applying criteria of Thomson Reuters, SCOPUS, Elsevier, Wiley or Emerald and in Web
of Science to avoid reference biases and select journals that are closely related to the
key words. Finally, the authors check each paper. We follow three common rules: (1)
papers written in English language; (2) papers consisting of decision variables
modelling the production planning or logistic of fruit and vegetable supply chains,
intended for fresh consumption and for production; (3) and even papers of other agrifresh produce are selected after satisfying the rules 1 & 2. Our review results in
selecting papers based on their abstracts and highlights, covering 20 review articles
and 62 papers in particular.
3. Agri-fresh produce supply chains background
Lowe and Prackel (2004) reviewed the literature on applications of decision
technology tools for a selected set of agribusiness problems in crop planning calling for
more research into solving these problems. When engaging in a pioneering review of
planning models relating to the production and distribution of the agri-food supply
chains, Ahumada and Villalobos (2009) pointed out: (1) agri-fresh produce supply
chain are more complex and harder to manage than other supply chains, (2) relating
to preserving freshness and product quality, it requires more limited delivery
deadlines, more controlled storage conditions, better quality of end-products and
minimum losses due to deterioration (Dabbene et al., 2008; Verdouw et al., 2010).
Audsley and Sandars (2009) revise Operations Research models in agriculture but they
limit the review to British developments. However, these authors only synthesized
holistic systems modelling of the agricultural sector in the past and gave some

arguments to explain observed shortcomings.


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What is more, Akkerman et al. (2010) reviewed the quantitative operations
management approaches to food distribution management, mainly focusing on three
aspects: food quality, food safety, and sustainability. Proposing a taxonomy framework
based on the following elements: supply chain structure, decision level, modelling
approach, purpose, shared information, limitations, novelty and application, Mula et al.
(2010) review mathematical programming models for supply chain production and
transport planning. More recently, Zhang and Wilhelm (2011) provided growers and
distribution managers’ insights into the variety of decision support possible and
benchmarks for improvements in the specialty crops industry, including vegetables,
fruits, grapes and wine, ornamentals, tree nuts, berries and dried fruits. Meanwhile,
Lehmann et al. (2012) presented three cases covering agriculture, logistics and food
awareness to overview on technology, information content, information organization,
and communication and assure the successful utilization of the potential of the future
Internet.
Next, Shukla and Jharkharia (2013) conducted a detailed literature review covering
all the operational issues related to the fresh produce supply chain management
(fruits, flowers and vegetables). They also paid attention to the consumer satisfaction
and revenue maximization with post‐harvest waste reduction as a secondary objective.
With the product‐problem‐methodology mapping may serve as a framework for the
managers addressing issues in FSCM. Furthermore, Tsolakis et al. (2014) considered
Agri-food Supply Chain management as a rapidly evolving research field and offered
an integrated hierarchical decision-making framework. Concurrently, the critical
issues for the design and planning of Agri-food Supply Chain management are defined
and discussed to identify gaps and overlaps in the Agri-food Supply Chain literature. In
addition, Kusumastuti et al. (2016) reviewed harvesting and processing in agricultural

supply chains based on the findings from a systematic review of 76 papers. Soto-Silva
et al. (2016) reviewed Operations Research (OR) methods in fresh fruit supply chains
and come up with future perspective of OR developments in this field of application.
Moreover, Borodin et al. (2016) provided a state of the art OR use in agriculture under
uncertainty while Paam et al. (2016) looked in to optimization of agri-fresh food
supply chains, with a focus on loss minimization in the fruits and vegetables supply
chains. Lastly, in terms of food waste, Raak et al. (2017) pointed out causes of
processing and product-related food waste, especially new insights from expert


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interviews, whereas Balaji and Arshinder (2016) identified 16 causes of food wastage in
the Indian fruits and vegetables supply chain.
In regards to supply chain network design, Beamon (1998) reviewed the literature
in the area of multi-stage supply chain design and analysis with a view to developing a
research agenda that may serve as a basis for future supply chain research. Shen
(2007) reviewed recent developments in the area of integrated supply chain design, in
which the decision maker needs to take into consideration inventory costs and
distribution costs when the number and locations of the facilities are determined.
Farahani et al. (2014) covered the field of supply chain network design (SCND),
particularly in competitive environments, throughout 200 references which
categorized different SCND problems and the potential gaps as the future research
areas. Besides, it proposes a general framework for modelling the competitive SCND
problems. Eskandarpour et al. (2015) reviewed 87 papers to address at least two
dimensions of sustainable development and give a special focus on Life-Cycle
Assessment (LCA) based models.
The articles included in Table 1 (Appendix) are obtained from the journals listed in
Table 2. One group of three journals represents 45% of all, including European Journal
of Operational Research, International Journal of Production Economics, and Omega

which account for 20%, 15%, 10% respectively. Eleven journals consist of the rest
representing highly statistical-focused papers.


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4. Review of Fresh produce supply chain models

4.1.

The structured taxonomy

This paper follows the proposed classification of the literature used in Ahumada
and Villalobos (2009); Mula et al. (2010); Soto-Silva et al. (2016).

Figure 2: Proposed taxonomy criteria

4.2.

Decision levels

This review is based on the published paper of Ahumada and Villalobos (2009b)
related to three levels of the decision strategy directly: (1) The strategic level deals with
decisions regarding product design, what to make internally and what to outsource,
supplier selection, and strategic partnering as well as well as decisions on the number,
location, and capacity of warehouses and manufacturing plants and the flows of
material through the logistics network; (2) The tactical level includes decisions of
harvest planning, scheduling of crops, selection of labour, capacity, etc; (3) The
operational level refers to production scheduling activities on an hour-to-hour basis,
lead time quotations, storage, routing, and truck loading (Simchi et al., 2008). In fact,

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this classification is always unclear when dealing with mixture of activities between
strategic and tactical decisions or between tactical and operational levels (Shukla and
Jharkharia, 2013; Farahani et al., 2014).
Table 3 (Appendix) depicts decision levels of 62 reviewed papers. Out of these,
Twenty-six articles relates to strategic issues, thirty-eight deals with tactical levels and
twenty at the operational decisions. Whereas fourty papers have some reference to
one specific decision level, twenty-four papers simultaneously consider aspects related
to two issues in the form of strategic-tactical or tactical-operational stages. However,
there are several papers amongst of 26 papers at the strategy level, which mention
designing and managing supply chains while most of them consider the optimal
models on business aspects. To illustrate our synthesis, we adopt Broekmeulen (1998)
approach toward formulating a tactical decision model for managing the operations of
a distribution center. Four key decisions specify the amount of storage space needed in
each zone within a storage facility, the storage conditions in each zone, the assignment
of each product to a zone for storage, and the storage policy.

4.3.

Modeling approach

Modeling approach is driven by the nature of the inputs and the objective of the
study. A variety of mathematical approaches are used to model and solve decision
problems related to the reviewed fruit and vegetable supply chain.


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Besides, an array of decision support models is also mentioned in this paper with
the goal of providing perspectives to models like LCA, sampling method, Stackelberg
game, Fuzzy Logic, reference model, Triple Helix Model, and so forth. Table 5
(Appendix) shows that a wide variety of methodologies are applied. To illustrate this
further, these methodologies include the linear programing-based modelling approach
(14 papers), multi-objective linear programming (6 papers), nonlinear programming
(2 papers), simulation models (2 papers), dynamic programming (3 papers), and HEU
and HYB (4 papers). The reviewed articles in the current study also present the
inclusion of two different methods, achieved by MILP and HEU (5 papers), SM and DP,
ILP and stochastic programming, NIP and HEU, HEU and SM, LCA and s-LCA,
information discovery and a well-structured contract allocation methodology,
innovative strategies and an Expert System (ES) using Fuzzy Logic, an algebraic
modelling language and an optimization software of mathematical programming, the
optimal solution of the pricing and lot-sizing problem. Likewise, the main approaches
appear to be Fuzzy multi-objective programming model, Life Cycle Assessment
Analysis, Sampling method, Stackelberg game, a novel multi-objective hybrid approach
called MHPV, Optimal policies; Cross-docking centre, the Triple Helix Model, Target
Minimization of Total Absolute Deviation (MOTAD) model, a planning methodology, a
two-stage stochastic program, Logistics service performance, a reference model. To be
more precise, Soto-Silva et al. (2017) are the first authors to use Optimization models
and a bi-objective method in their paper.

4.4.

Published papers

The distribution of 62 revised papers has been depicted in the table below.

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The Figure describes the distribution of journals having 62 selected papers. It is
noted that five journals account for 56.45% of the total publications, including
International Journal of Production Economics (20.97%), European Journal of
Operational Research (9.68%), Computers and Electronics in Agriculture (8.06%),
Agricultural Systems (8.06%), Journal of Food Engineering (4.84%), and Journal of
the Operational Research Society (4.84%).
4.4.1. Novelty seeking
The novelty associated with each of the reviewed papers is presented briefly in
Table 7 below.


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Table 7
Novelty seeking associated with reviewed papers
Author

Novelty seeking

Soto-Silva et al.
(2017)

Optimization models to support fresh produce supply chain and using a
bi-objective method to analyze purchasing and storing costs.

Banasik et al.
(2017)

Assess economic and environmental performance of closed-loop
mushroom supply chain and calculate trade-offs between economic and
environmental indicator.

Garofalo et al.
(2017)

Greenhouse gas emissions of whole-peeled tomato production are
assessed and cultivation, processing, packaging, waste and end-of-life
scenarios are analysed.

Mohammed and
Wang (2017)

The LP-metrics method, the ε-constraint method and the goal
programming method are tested to choose the best solution: the MaxMin method by comparing the obtained Pareto solutions.

Keizer et al. (2017)

Comprehensive modelling of quality decay in network design for
perishable products.

Catalá et al. (2016)

The lexicographic approach integrates production, processing,
distribution, and inventory decisions considering two conflicting
objectives: profit and product supply shortage to address the bi-objective
optimization.

Tecco et al. (2016)

The introduction of mulching and covering on raspberry agro food
system is assessed. The results of LCA and S-LCA have been combined
within a cause-effect chain.

Lamsal et al.
(2016)

Introduces a solution approach that overcomes challenges found in the
literature. A novel use of a technique borrowed from the piecewise
linearization. Also introduces a provably optimal algorithm for truck
assignment to known loads.

Mirmajlesi and
Shafaei (2016

An integrated robust supply chain problem for short lifetime products is
developed. A cyclic feedback procedure is proposed in between location
and allocation models.

Suryaningrat et al.
(2015)

A direct visit to farmers and discussion with some industries are
implemented and strong involvement actors in supply chain of cassava
product are farmers, big and small collectors, industries (processors or
producer), food store and consumers.

Etemadnia et al.
(2015)

Optimal hub locations to control excess capacity because insufficient
quantities of food


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Author

Novelty seeking

Mason and
Villalobos (2015)

An auction based coordination mechanism is formulated, which leads
production decisions toward a coordinated outcome despite each
individual acting independently and on his/her best interest.

Zhang et al. (2015)

A one-manufacturer–one-retailer supply chain model for deteriorating
items with controllable deterioration rate and price-dependent demand
is developed

Govindan et al.
(2014)

Proposes a novel multi-objective hybrid approach with two echelons
location–routing problem with time-windows for sustainable supply
chain network.

Cai and Zhou
(2014)

The make-to-order and make-to-stock production systems to minimize
the total expected loss

Lambert et al.
(2014)

Innovative strategies and methodology are required to assist farmers in
decision making.

Munhoz and
Morabito (2014)

Using a robust optimization approach to support decision making in the
production process, blending and storage of juices, the nominal and
robust models.

Agustina et al.
(2014)

A mixed integer program with the objective of minimizing the earliness,
tardiness, inventory holding, and transportation cost with customer
zones and hard time windows has relatively short computational time.

Qin et al. (2014)

A model for optimal pricing and lot-sizing for fresh produce and foods is

developed to find the optimal solution to the problem.

Soysal et al. (2014)

A model for decision makers who are concerned with logistical network
problems of perishable products under emissions consideration,
including road structures, vehicle and fuel types, loads, distances and
return hauls while integrating emissions.

Velychko (2014)

The model for preparing decisions on organizing sales of vegetables and
fruit, focusing on minimization of costs of cooperative services and
maximization of profits for members of the cooperation.

Manzini and
Accorsi (2013)

A general and conceptual framework for the assessment of food supply
chain (FSC) and logistics of food products in agreement with a
multidisciplinary and integrated view.

Tsao (2013)

Develops an algorithm to solve the nonlinear problem, provides
numerical analysis to illustrate the proposed solution procedure, and
discusses the effects of various system parameters on the decisions and
total profits.

Ampatzidis et al.

The fruit harvest and the bin collection process are modelled to evaluate


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Author

Novelty seeking

(2013)

the performance of the system and improve confidence in sizing the fleet
(workers and machines).

Teimoury et al. (
2013)

A simulation model using the system dynamics approach is proposed to
study the behaviours and relationships within the supply chain and to
determine the impact of the supply, demand and price interactions.

Duan and Liao
(2013)

A new replenishment policy based on old inventory ratio is developed to
measure the freshness of the entire inventory.

Catalá et al. (2013)

The model decides the optimal investment policy for a given farm,
maximizing the net present value of business while dynamically deciding
its planting structure along a given time horizon under different
financing scenarios.

Perdana and
Kusnandar (2012)

The application of “triple helix model” on interaction between
universities, exporters, government, and supporting institutions in
developing FFV supply chain management.

Haddad and
Shahwan (2012)

Target Minimization of Total Absolute Deviation (MOTAD) model is used
to evaluate three levels of water availability and these are: current
normal situation, 50% and 30% water reduction.

Amorim et al.
(2012)

Formulates models for the case where perishable goods have a fixed and
a loose shelf-life (i.e. with and without a best-before-date).

Yu et al. (2012)

A Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) type supply chain where the
manufacturing vendor decides how to manage the system-wide
inventories of its fast deteriorating raw material and its slowly

deteriorating product.

Tan and Çömden
(2012)

A planning methodology to determine the farm areas and the seeding
times for annual plants that survive for only one growing season in such
a way that the expected total profit is maximized.

Banaeian et al.
(2012)

A nonparametric method to study the technical efficiency of producers
with regard to effective energy utilization on strawberry yield.

Ahumada et al.
(2012)

The model incorporates the uncertainties encountered in the fresh
produce industry when developing growing and distribution plans due
to the variability of weather and demand. The main motivation for
building this model is to make tools available for producers to develop
robust growing plans, while allowing the flexibility to choose different
levels of exposure to risk.

Ahumada and
Villalobos (2011a)

An operational model that generates short-term planning decisions for
the fresh produce industry.

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Author

Novelty seeking

Rong et al. (2011)

Provides a methodology to model food quality degradation by integrating
in a mixed-integer linear programming model used for production and
distribution planning.

Ahumada and
Villalobos (2011b)

An integrated tactical planning model for the production and distribution
of fresh produce.

van der Merwe et
al. (2011)

A nested tabu search approach is presented to solve these two scheduling
problems simultaneously.

Bohle et al. (2010)

A wine grape harvesting scheduling optimization problem subject to
several uncertainties

Hsiao et al. (2010)

A research framework is formulated to discuss the effect of the
outsourcing decision of different levels on perceived logistics service
performance and includes the moderating role that supply chain
complexity may play in the proposed relationships.

Verdouw et al
(2010)

The model consists of a reference modelling framework and an
application of the framework to fruit supply chains.

Arnaout and
Maatouk (2010)

The vineyard harvesting problem in developing countries, with the
objective of optimizing the wine quality and minimizing the operational
costs

Van Der Vorst et
al. (2009)

Proposes a new integrated approach towards logistics, sustainability and
food quality analysis, and implements the approach by introducing a
new simulation environment, ALADIN™.

Blackburn and
Scudder (2009)

Using the product’s marginal value of time (MVT), the rate at which the
product loses value over time in the supply chain.

Dabbene et al
(2008)

A novel approach for the optimization of fresh-food supply chains that
manages a trade-off between logistic costs and some indices measuring
the quality of the food itself as perceived by the consumer, such as
ripeness, microbial charge or internal temperature.

Bai et al. (2008)

Investigates heuristic and meta-heuristic approaches as alternatives for
the generalized reduced gradient algorithm, which becomes inefficient
when the problem size becomes larger.

Cittadini et al.
(2008)

A dynamic farm-scale optimization model called OPTIFROP is developed
to generate alternative farm development plans, by allocating, in the
course of the time horizon of the run, production activities to different
land units, while optimizing different objective functions, subject to
several constraints.

Cholette (2007)

Formulating a mixed-integer program that is an embellished

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Author

Novelty seeking
transportation model.

Ferrer et al. (2007)

A practical tool for optimally scheduling wine grape harvesting
operations taking into account both operational costs and grape quality.

Ortmann et al.
(2006)

Two models (a single-commodity graph theoretic model and a multicommodity mathematical programming model) are derived for
determining the maximal weekly flow or throughput of fresh fruit
through the South African national export infrastructure.

Caixeta-Filho
(2006)

A mathematical model is formulated that links pertinent chemical,
biologic, and logistic restrictions to the quality of the fruit to be
harvested

Blanco et al.
(2005)

A realistic planning model of a packaging plant, the most important
instance within the fresh fruit supply-chain industry.

Leven and
Segerstedt (2004)

Polarica considered investments in freezing-in capacity and cold-storage
capacity.

Vitoriano et al.
(2003)

Two alternative mathematical models to attain the proposed objective.
The first model splits the time into discrete units spread throughout the
planning horizon; the second model keeps a continuous time horizon.

Hester and Cacho
(2003)

The complex biological and economic relationships present in an apple
orchard system and describe a dynamic simulation model based on these
interactions.

Gigler et al. (2002)

A methodology for optimization of Agri-chains by dynamic
programming (DP) is presented which explicitly deals with the
appearance and quality of products.

Caixeta-Filho et al.
(2002)

A decision-support system based on linear programming as a
production-planning and trade tool for the management of its lily flower
business.

Munhoz and
Morabito (2001)

A model based on linear and goal programming to support decisions in
the blending process and distribution of frozen concentrated orange
juice.

Broekmeulen
(1998)

The operations are complicated in the case of vegetables and fruits due
to the seasonal fluctuations in production and demand and the need for
special storage conditions for different products.

Maia et al. (1997)

A mixed-integer linear programming model is proposed for the selection
of technology routes for fruit and vegetable crops between harvest and
market.

Starbird (1988)

The use of a dynamic programming model to sequence the loading of

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Author

Novelty seeking
storage facilities at an apple-packing plant operating in the state of New
York, USA

Willis and Hanlon
(1976)

A temporal model utilizing dynamic linear programming is constructed
to aid in selecting an “optimum mix” of varieties of apples for planting
over time.

4.4.2. Practical Application
In terms of practical application, each paper considers supporting practical (real
case) or case study at each researched land. Ten works use numerical examples to
emphasize modelling or resolution (none); thirty-two of them are based on real cases
and twenty focus on case studies. Besides, Table 8 (Appendix) also depicts types of
agri-fresh produce and the projected country/countries.

4.5.

Performance Measurement in agri-fresh produce supply chain

To design and manage a supply chain effectively, appropriate performance
measures need to be developed and applied. Measurement of supply chain

performance gives decision makers inside (producers, distributors or marketers) and
outside (policy makers or investors) full information for decision making, policy
development, or redesigning. A wide spectrum of supply chain performance measures
are discussed in the literature covering areas such as customer satisfaction, services,
responsiveness, costs, categories of either qualitative and quantitative measures
(Beamon, 1996; 1998). However, this paper focuses on the types of performance
measures relevant for fresh agricultural products supply chains, more specifically
relating to fruits, vegetables and flowers. The performance measures also focus on the
behaviour of actors such as growers, retailers, wholesalers and exporters. The main
operations consist of productions, storage, packing, transportation and trading of these
produce. Syntheses from the analysis of the authors (Beamon ,1999; van der spiegel,
2004; Lohman et al., 2004; Gunasekaran et al., 2004; van der vorst, 2006), Aramyan
et al. (2006) classify performance measurement as Table 9 (Appendix) below.
In this paper, the authors review and analyze performance measurement in each
reviewed article to determine the efficiency or/and flexibility or/and responsiveness
or/and food quality, aimed at seeking the establishment of approciate, as an important
component in supply chain design and management. As shown in Table 10 (Appendix),
fourty-three papers focus on efficiency indicators. Among them, cost minimization is


Ho Thanh Phong et. al. | 153

the most widely used objective for an entire supply chain (total cost) or for particular
business units or stages. For example, Soto-Silva et al. (2017) pointed out an average
reduction of 8% in total cost when supporting fresh produce supply chain. Moreover,
Etemadnia et al. (2015) declared that there was always a trade-off between
transportation costs and fixed costs of building hub capacity to control excess capacity
because of insufficient quantities of food. Next, profit is considered in some papers, for
instance, Mirmajlesi and Shafaei (2016) showed the maximizing profit is an indication
of the effectiveness of the model or Zhang et al. (2015) demonstrated the revenue

sharing and cooperative investment contract coordinates the supply chain. Moreover,
according to Ahumada et al. (2012), for the same level of risk experimented by the
producer, planning based on the proposed stochastic models rendered increases
expected profit to over 50%. At the same time when risk aversion policies are
implemented, the expected losses decrease significantly over those recommended by
deterministic planning models.
Based on the specification of Agri-fresh production, the indicators reflect quality,
divided into intrinsic (product) and extrinsic (process) quality indicators by Luning et
al. (2002). First of all, the quality aspects of product consist of (1) shelf life constraints
for raw materials and perishability of products, intermediates and finished products,
and changes in product quality level while progressing through the supply chain, such
as taste, color, appearance, texture and sound, (2) product safety increased consumer
attention concerning both product and method of production, no risks for the
consumer of foods are allowed while health refers to food composition and diet, and
(3) product reliability refers to the compliance of actual product composition with
product description and convenience shows the ease of use or consumption of the
product for the consumer (Van der Spiegel, 2004). For example, Suryaningrat et al.
(2015) depicted the details of flow of material, financial and information are identified
in this research and add value of selected products of cassava, or Lambert et al. (2014)
demonstrated from the results which have an increase in production yield and fruit
quality in the orchard, or followed by van der Merwe et al. (2011), selecting the best
possible dates to harvest the respective vineyard blocks in order to preserve grape
quality. Secondly, the quality aspects of process include (1) Production system refers
the way of the production throughout time (production of new or additional products,
(2) Environmental issues, and (3) perceived quality, also relevant for food application,
e.g. advertisements or brands (marketing) can have a considerable influence on quality


154 | ICJED2017

perception. For instance, Ortmann et al. (2006) illustrated that the infrastructure of
the South African fresh fruit export industry is more than adequate (infrastructure
utilization was only approximately 55% during the winter and 40% during the
summer) to accommodate export levels planned for 2003 as well as those expected in
ensuing years, or Garofalo et al. (2017) pointed out the composting of waste and
compost as the fertilizer improves the environmental performance of the supply-chain.
By the same token, fourty papers mention more than one performance indicator. It
is worth highlighting in relation to Quality (Q) and Efficiency (E) in twenty-three
papers, six papers with Responsiveness (R) and Quality (Q), five with Efficiency (E)
and Responsiveness (R), and one examines Flexibility (F) and Responsiveness (R) of
Hsiao et al. (2010). Moreover, this current review consists of two papers emphasizing
three features, Efficiency, Flexibility and Quality. Finally, there are two papers
highlighting all four aspects of performance measurement. Munhoz and Morabito
(2014) showed in the production, blending and storage of juices; the blending process
of different types of juices to match product specifications, for example, using orange
acidity to calculate the ratio specification. Likewise, Ahumada and Villalobos (2011a)
proved that significant savings can be obtained by managing the trade-off of the
freshness at the delivery of the product with the added labor and transportation cost at
the grower's side. Moreover, dynamic, information based management practices might
be preferred over traditional practices based in fixed labor allocation and distribution
practices.
5. Discussion towards designing and managing Agri Fresh
Produce Supply Chains in Vietnam
Supply chain design is becoming more important as Agriculture is a crucial part of
the global economy, especially related to timeliness, packaging, temperature and
humidity control, and storage time of perishable farm products (Fernandes, 2003;
Soysal et al. 2012). Likewise, Lowe and Preckel (2004) declared that these challenges
generate a requirement for management efficiency and the use of modern decision
technology tools. Moreover, Vaart and Pieter (2003) pointed out the importance of an
inter-disciplinary approach, integrating the relational and technical aspects from the

corresponding fields of system dynamics and partnership in order to deliver better
order replenishment performance. Rumbaugh (1996) claimed that associations are


Ho Thanh Phong et. al. | 155

very important, for example, the addition of multiple items, complex transportation
policies, or assembly nodes would make the use of associations necessary. This added
complexity further justifies the use of a formal modelling approach. To illustrate, Maia
et al. (1997) applied a mixed-integer linear programming model to propose the
selection of technology routes for fruit and vegetable crops between harvest and
market in the case of vegetables and fruits due to the seasonal fluctuations in
production and demand and the need for special storage conditions for different
products. Besides, Blanco et al. (2005) detailed a packing plant planning model for the
fruit industry in Argentina. Based on usage and requirements, fruits can pass through
up to ten different processes as they flow through a packing plant. Their model deals
with eight fruit varieties in three categories of quality with five different gauges (i.e.,
sizes) by using MIP. In addition, Ferrer et al. (2007) solved a mixed-integer linear
programming model to support harvest scheduling, labor allocation, and routing
decisions. A quality loss function is used to represent wine quality reduction at each
vineyard block due to premature or deferred harvest with respect to an optimal date.
Recently, Munhoz and Morabito (2014) showed that a frozen concentrated orange juice
aggregate production planning is modelled using linear programming to support
decision making in the production process of a citrus company with multiple products,
stages and periods. Then the model is extended to take into account uncertainty in
some model parameters using a robust optimization approach. Furthermore, Duan
and Liao (2013) proposed a simulation optimization framework for supply chain
inventory management of highly perishable products. A new replenishment policy
based on old inventory ratio is developed, called OIR policy. It is an age-based policy
using only partial age information to measure the freshness of the entire inventory.

The efficiency of the new policy is evaluated in detail for a single-vendor-multi-buyer
platelet (with a limited shelf life of 5 days) supply chain.
On the other hand, because of the wide variety of Food supply chains (FSCs)
structures, Broekmeulen (1998) complemented his heuristic with a simulation model
to study the impact that a product-to-zone assignment makes on daily requests for
storage and retrieval by testing three different storage policies: the preferred zone
policy, the free zone policy, and the temperature policy. With the proposed model,
incorporating factors such as seasonality and perishability would enhance the
efficiency of a fruit and vegetable distribution centre. Hester and Cacho (2003)
reported a biological model that describes the growth of an apple tree using a carbon-


156 | ICJED2017

balance approach. They use the output of this model, orchard yield (fruit quantity, size,
and weight) while the input to a related economic model, forming a bio-economic
model to predict the weight of fruit. Results show that the relationship between
thinning and net present value is nonlinear and that net present value is not
maximized by the maximum price, yield, or weight of the fruit. The authors use a
dynamic optimization approach consisting of a nonlinear model they formulate and a
genetic algorithm they devise. A limitation of this model is that it does not deal
explicitly with the stochastic aspects of the system. Thus, addressing uncertainty
explicitly remains a challenge for future research. Specifically, Vitoriano et al. (2003)
presented two alternative mathematical models to attain the proposed objective. The
first model splits the time into discrete units spread throughout the planning horizon;
it is presented in connection with flexible manufacturing. The second model keeps a
continuous time horizon; a scheduling model is used for which a family of
incompatibility conditions is introduced to avoid a certain type of simultaneous usage
of resources. Next, Verdouw et al. (2010) addressed a basic model with templates for
the design of fresh and processed FSCs in a deep detail. The paper of Rong et al. (2011)

focused on the management of fresh food quality modelling quality degradation, given
a general approach to fresh food and the problem of preserving the quality as happens
with fresh fruit. Moreover, the general structure of the FSC described by Nadal-Roig
and Plà (2015) was common in modern FSCs, although the actors taking part may
vary. Therefore, as problems and needs in terms of modelling can be different, slight
variations in the structure can be found in literature. For instance, Canavari et al.
(2010) emphasized the role of producers and consider three different FSCs. Similarly,
Srimanee and Routray (2012) modelled the FSCs in Thailand as a network of five
different FSCs linked by the producer who establishes a percentage of production
according to the final consumer (local market, local collectors, cooperatives,
assemblers and export agents). A different approach is presented by Zang and Fu
(2010) who presented four different FSCs designs existing in China (worldwide the
first fruit producer) with different characteristics, stakeholders and limitations.
Using the product's marginal value of time (MVT), Blackburn and Scudder (2009)
showed the rate at which the product loses value over time in the supply chain. They
also show the appropriate model to minimize lost value in the supply chain is a hybrid
of a responsive model from post-harvest to cooling, followed by an efficient model in
the remainder of the chain and these two segments of the supply chain are only loosely


Ho Thanh Phong et. al. | 157

linked, implying that little coordination is required across the chain to achieve value
maximization. Similarly, Etemadnia et al. (2015) developed a mixed integer linear
programming (MILP) and a heuristic solution for regional food access through optimal
hub locations to minimize total network costs which include costs of transporting
goods and locating facilities. A scenario study is used to examine the model's sensitivity
to parameter changes, including travel distance, hub capacity, transportation cost, etc.
Catala et al. (2016) used a multi-period mixed integer linear programming formulation
for the medium-term planning of the apples and pears supply chain is presented.

Given the supply chain structure, demand data, and harvesting dates, the proposed
approach integrates production, processing, distribution, and inventory decisions
considering two conflicting objectives: profit and product supply shortage. The
mathematical model is solved by using the lexicographic method to deal with the
multi-objective optimization. Also, Banasik et al. (2017) proposed a multi-objective
mixed integer linear programming model to quantify trade-offs between economic and
environmental indicators and explore quantitatively alternative recycling technologies,
developed to re-design the logistical structure and close loops in the mushroom supply
chain. Furthermore, Mohammed and Wang (2017) described a development of a
product distribution planner for a three-echelon green meat supply chain design in
terms of issues including numbers and locations of facilities that should be opened in
association with the product quantity flows. These issues are formulated into a fuzzy
multi-objective programming model (FMOPM) with an aim to minimize the total cost
of transportation and implementation, the amount of CO2 emissions in transportation
and the distribution time of products from farms to abattoirs and from abattoirs to
retailers, and maximize the average delivery rate in satisfying product quantity as
requested by abattoirs and retailers.
In terms of management supply chain, Perdana and Kusnandar (2012) discussed
the application of “triple helix model” on interaction between universities, exporters,
government, and supporting institutions in developing fresh fruit and vegetable supply
chain management. Particularly, Manzini and Accorsi (2013) presented a general and
conceptual framework for the assessment of food supply chain (FSC) and logistics of
food products in agreement with a multidisciplinary and integrated view. The target of
the proposed integrated approach to supply chain design and management is the
simultaneous control of quality (1), safety (2), sustainability (3) and logistics efficiency
(4) of food products and processes along the whole FSC ‘‘from farm to fork’.


158 | ICJED2017

Vietnam’s Agricultural sector accounts for considerable GDP and growth. Over 70%
of the population continues to depend on this field. Unfortunately, the massive wastage
and inefficiencies are always the unsolvable problems in the Agri-fresh produce supply
chain due to the linkage between intermediates in the traditional supply chain with the
major constraints such as poor transport facilities, non-availability of large scale cold
storage, no clean policy guidelines from government and especially small farmers,
leading to a mismatch between supply and demand and high transaction costs. Hence,
the holistic approach for design and management of the Agri-fresh produce supply
chain in Vietnam is the foremost and necessary, especially in today’s competitive global
market place.
6. Conclusion and future research opportunities
This paper engaged in a systematic review of literature related to design models of
agri fresh produce supply chains. Previous works spanning over 50 years (1976-2017)
have been scrutinised to analyse fresh produce supply chain models applied in these
studies with special emphasis on design components relating to solving decision
problems, designing supply chain structures and evaluating performance
measurement. Our review shows that there is a gap in designing and management of
the agrifresh produce supply chains. It is expected that further research would emerge
in the future to fill this gap and thereby extending theory and practice of agri-fresh
produce supply chain design and management.
Based on the findings of our review, it is suggested that a holistic approach for the
designing and management of agri fresh produce supply chains need to be adopted.
Firstly, performance measurement aspects need to be embedded in to the system at
the designing stage. It is also suggested to test empirically agri-fresh supply chain
performance measurement systems to justify or challenge previously suggested
indicators considering the unique characteristics of agri-fresh produce.
Secondly, operation models with newly developed components can then be
formulated using a variety of modelling approaches such as linear programming,
multi-objective linear programming, stochastic optimization, and even the game
theory related to alternative design and risk distribution. In the other words, the

holistic approaches need to be applied to support strategic, tactical and operational
level decisions in the most comprehensive and effective way, taking into consideration


Ho Thanh Phong et. al. | 159

key decision variables such as the mix of crops to be grown (strategic issue), timestaged to maximize long-term productivity (tactical decision) and time annual thinning
or harvesting, storage (operational decisions) throughout the optimal mix of an array
of decision variables linked to a system of the appropriate performance measures.
Apart from the holistic approaches mentioned above, supply chain management
should be considered as the design and operation of physical, management
information and financial systems needed to transfer goods and services from point of
production to point of consumption in an efficient and effective manner. The entire
supply chain management process is a valuable chain where bottlenecks, value adding
factors and liability factors are determined and addressed to improve and ensure that
the right product is in the right place, at the right time and at the right cost.
Appendix
Table 1
Highlights of reviewed references
No

Title

Author

Key themes addressed

1.

Processing- and

product-related
causes of food
waste and
implications for the
food supply chain

Raak et al.
(2017)

- Summarizing causes of processing- and
product-related food waste
- Supplementing a literature review with
information from practitioner interviews.
- Presenting expert interviews providing new
insights into causes of producer-related food
waste.
- Summarizing product-related mechanisms
leading to suboptimal foods.
- Discussing potential factors for reducing food
waste.

2.

Decision support
models for
managing
returnable
transport items in
supply chains: A
systematic

Glock (2017)

- Presenting the results of a systematic literature
review of decision support models for the
management of closed-loop supply chains
involving returnable transport items (RTIs).
- Ensuring the finished product reaches the
customer at the least total cost and/or with a
minimal environmental impact.


160 | ICJED2017

No

Title

Author

literature review

Key themes addressed
- Reporting methodology of the literature review
is and descriptively analyzing the papers.
- Proposing future research opportunities.

3.

Operational

research models
applied to the fresh
fruit supply chain

Soto-Silva et
al. (2016)

- Presenting the first review on OR methods in
fresh fruit supply chain.
- Presenting a review complemented with papers
of other similar supply chains.
- Using different criteria to classify the revised
papers.
- Presenting a future perspective of OR
developments in this field of application.

4.

Handling
uncertainty in
Agricultural supply
chain management:
A state of the art

Borodin et al.
(2016)

- Providing a state-of-the-art of OR use in
agriculture under uncertainty.
- Offering an overview of the commonly used OR

approaches for handling uncertainty.
- Presenting main review findings.
- Suggesting future research directions.

5.

Planning Models to
Optimize the Agrifresh Food Supply
Chain for Loss
Minimization: A
Review

Paam et al.
(2016)

- Presenting a comprehensive and structured
review on recent studies in the field of Agribusiness planning models.
- Aiming to optimize agri-fresh food supply chain,
with a focus on loss minimization in the fruits
and vegetables supply chains.
- Suggesting directions and opportunities to
identify the existing state-of- the-art, gaps in
current research and future studies on the topic.

6.

Crop-related
harvesting and
processing
planning: a review

Kusumastuti
et al. (2016)

- Reviewing harvesting and processing in
agricultural supply chains.
-The findings on 76 papers found through a
systematic search.
- The results find that the literature lacks
integrated models that capture the entire chain.
- The authors also find that specific
characteristics are only limitedly taken into
account.

7.

Modeling the

Balaji and

- Identifying 16 causes of food wastage in the


Ho Thanh Phong et. al. | 161

No

Title

Author

Key themes addressed

causes of food
wastage in Indian
perishable food
supply chain

Arshinder
(2016)

Indian fruits and vegetables supply chain.
- Modeling the interactions among the causes
using Total Interpretive Structural Modeling
(TISM) and Fuzzy MICMAC approach.
- Indicating a large number of intermediaries and
lack of scientific harvesting methods are
significant causes of food wastage and as the root
causes.
- Poor logistics infrastructure is at the bottom of
the hierarchy of the causes of food wastage.
- TISM model shows the interpretations among
the direct links and significant transitive links, in
which 89 links among the 16 causes are tagged by
45 different interpretations.

8.

Sustainable supply
chain network

design: An
optimizationoriented review

Eskandarpour
et al. (2015)

- Reviewing 87 papers in the field of sustainable
supply chain network design.
- Reviewing the papers which address at least two
dimensions of sustainable development.
- A special focus on Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA)
based models.
- Reviewing modeling, solution techniques and
fields of application.

9.

Agri-food supply
chain management:
A comprehensive
hierarchical
decision-making
framework and a
critical taxonomy

Tsolakis et al
(2014)

- Agri-food Supply Chain (AFSC) management is
a rapidly evolving research field.

- Giving an integrated hierarchical decisionmaking framework for AFSCs.
- Offering a critical taxonomy of existing research
for designing and managing AFSCs.
- Defining and discussing the critical issues for
the design and planning of AFSCs.
- Identifying gaps and overlaps in the AFSC
literature.

10.

Competitive supply
chain network
design: An
overview of

Farahani et al
(2014)

- Presenting more than 200 references and a
categorized review on literature.
- Covering the field of supply chain network
design (SCND), particularly in competitive