Adoption of Multi-Modal Transportation for Configuring Sustainable Agri-Food Supply Chains in Constrained Environments

Chethana Chandrasiri, Senevi Kiridena (), Subodha Dharmapriya () and Asela K. Kulatunga
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Chethana Chandrasiri: Department of Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya 20400, Sri Lanka
Senevi Kiridena: School of Mechanical, Materials, Mechatronic and Biomedical Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
Subodha Dharmapriya: Department of Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya 20400, Sri Lanka
Asela K. Kulatunga: Department of Engineering, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QF, UK

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 17, 1-13

Abstract: Agri-food supply chains have the potential to make a significant contribution to achieving sustainable development goals through ongoing improvements in their configurations. A range of strategic, tactical, and operational level decisions pertaining to the design and operation of sustainable supply chains have been studied in the extant literature. However, investigations into the adoption of multi-modal transportation as a strategic decision in the context of agri-food supply chains operating in constrained environments are limited. As such, in this study, the adoption of bi-modal transportation for the domestic vegetable supply chain in a developing country context under certain constraints was examined. A mixed-integer linear programming model was developed to determine the volume and direction of the product flow to achieve the minimum total food-miles and smallest emissions footprint. As a case study, a Sri Lankan mainstream vegetable supply chain was used to investigate the applicability of a combination of truck and railway modes to transport vegetables from farms to retailer locations via economic (consolidation) centers. The adoption of a bi-modal transportation structure demonstrated the potential to reduce food miles by 32%, transportation costs by 36%, contributions to global warming potential by 35%, and empty truck hauls by 38%, compared to a structure with truck-based, uni-modal transportation.

Keywords: agri-food supply chain; multi-modal transportation; sustainability goals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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