Incentive contract design for food retailers to reduce food deserts in the US

In the US, obesity affects over 37% of the adult population and over 16% of the child and adolescent population. Although not-for-profit agencies cannot directly control what a person eats, they can influence the supply side of the obesity epidemic by incentivizing food retailers to open stores in regions of the US where food deserts exist. An incentive contract design dependent upon performance and resulting health benefit is presented for food retailers to reduce food deserts in the US. A principal-agent framework is used to capture the competing interests and moral hazard from the contracting mechanism. Optimization models are developed to determine the most effective and equitable resource allocations from the initiative given a target reduction in obesity rate or a set budget, while determining the optimal subsidy these agencies should offer to food retailers to incentivize operation in certain counties. These subsidies are designed to create financially viable conditions for food retailers to offer high quality, healthy food alternatives. The impact of retailer location on obesity is based on estimates of marginal effect on obesity rate. Given an example initiative in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia and surrounding counties, the overall county-wide obesity rate would decrease by 1.17% with a fixed budget of $400M. Sensitivity analysis on the reduction in obesity is performed for varying total budget amounts. This incentive contract design strategy is a positive step toward ensuring that the underserved US population has better access to healthy foods while helping solve the obesity epidemic.     

Green public procurement: An empirical analysis of the uptake of organic food policy

This paper analyses the uptake of a voluntary green public procurement policy in Sweden. The policy, decided in 2006, stated a national goal for the public sector to increase its share of organic food purchases to 25% by 2010. The overall purpose was to increase organic farming. Municipalities, which are highly independent authorities with self-determination, were encouraged to formulate own political goals. Based on survey data on organic food purchases for the period 2003–2016, supplemented with data on municipality characteristics, we analyse the determinants of the local uptake of the national policy, accounting for potential selection bias. The main finding is that local political goals are set and that these have in turn, a significant and positive effect on the share of organic food purchases. This suggests that there is an uptake of the voluntary policy. Also, we find that the increase in expenditures per capita devoted to organic food is quite substantial following the adoption of a local policy.     

Logistics optimization through a social approach for food distribution

The management of supply chains is becoming more important in economic and social environments. Currently, the social sustainability is a factor that must be considered to design governmental strategies and policies. The objective of this research paper was to show, with a case study an approach to optimize distribution and delivery logistics of food in a social assistance program of school breakfast using mathematical models that include transportation distance, optimal locations, and vehicle routing through different clusters. By using qualitative variables like poverty levels, food insecurity and social exclusion, different clustering methods are proposed with the purpose of identifying the common characteristics in the studied population; and at the same time, reducing the distribution complexity. The results show an efficient approach to design a supply chain that includes economic and social factors. The new model developed in this paper can be used to plan social assistance governmental programs, to identify the specific needs and characteristics of the beneficiaries, minimizing the total cost of the distribution network logistics when delivering food for school meals.     

项目采购成本分析

当前市场竞争日益激烈,如何有效控制生产成本从而实现价格优势显得尤为重要。降低采购成本是企业参与市场竞争的需要,加强采购成本的控制与管理是降低采购成本的主要手段。企业应建立全方位成本观念,完善采购制度,采取公开招标、电子采购等方式增加采购透明度,建立供应商信息库,确保采购主渠道的畅通,减少采购中间环节,选择最优采购方案,降低采购成本。     

Scheduling food bank collections and deliveries to ensure food safety and improve access

Food banks are privately-owned non-profit organizations responsible for the receipt, processing, storage, and distribution of food items to charitable agencies. These charitable agencies in turn distribute food to individuals at risk of hunger. Food banks receive donated food from national and local sources, such as The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and supermarkets. Local sources with frequent high-volume donations justify the use of food bank vehicles for collection. Food bank vehicles are also used to deliver food to rural charitable agencies that are located beyond a distance safe for perishable food to travel without spoilage. Due to limited funds, food banks can only afford to sparingly use their capital on non-food items. This requires exploring more cost effective food delivery and collection strategies. The goal of this paper is to develop transportation schedules that enable the food bank to both (i) collect food donations from local sources and (ii) to deliver food to charitable agencies. We identify satellite locations, called food delivery points (FDPs), where agencies can receive food deliveries. A set covering model is developed to determine the assignment of agencies to an FDP. Both vehicle capacity and food spoilage constraints are considered during assignment. Using the optimal assignment of agencies to FDPs, we identify a weekly transportation schedule that addresses collection and distribution of donated food and incorporates constraints related to food safety, operator workday, collection frequency, and fleet capacity.     

Estimating surplus food supply for food rescue and delivery operations

Hunger remains a largely hidden social problem in many developed nations. The not-for-profit food rescue organizations, aid in alleviating hunger, by rescuing the surplus food from different food providers and re-distributing to people in need. However, surplus food donation is a random process which varies with regard to quantity, time and place. Understanding the dynamics of food recovery and forecasting food donations using historical information has significant importance in inventory management and redistribution, particularly in reducing operational costs and achieving a sustainable and equitable distribution of inventory incorporating uncertainties in supply. This paper uses different modelling techniques including multiple linear regression, structural equation modelling and neural networks to explore the patterns and dynamics of food donation and distribution process for one of the largest food rescue organization in Australia. A set of significant indicators has been identified to describe the current food donation process, to predict daily average food donated by different food providers and also to anticipate the potential donation from a new donor which may appear in the network in the future. Results suggest that structural equation modelling and neural networks provide improved demand estimation when compared to conventional multiple linear regression. We also discuss the usefulness of these models in sustainable and equitable management of food recovery and redistribution.     

Market analysis and transportation procurement for food aid in Ethiopia

Empirical research characterizing transportation markets in developing countries is scarce. By analyzing contracts between the World Food Programme and private carriers, we identify the determinants of transportation tariffs in Ethiopia and quantify their relative importance. The econometric models devised from our unique dataset provide insights for shippers to improve procurement processes, for carriers to develop competitive business models and for government authorities to define effective investments and policies. Results indicate that the number of carriers on a given lane significantly reduces transportation tariffs and that policies stimulating competition may be as important as road infrastructure investments in Ethiopia's development strategy.     

采购物流管理及成本控制

采购物流是企业的基础物流，文章系统介绍了采购物流管理的内容．重点从采购计划的制定和商品采购实施两个阶段对采购物流进行成本分析，针对企业采购物流流程，全方位、多环节入手提出了成本控制的具体方法．指出了采购监控的重点，具有较强的实用价值和可操作性。     

The clash of managerial and professional logics in public procurement: Implications for innovation in the health-care sector

This article addresses the enactment of public procurement and its influence on adoption and diffusion of innovation, using a case study of public procurement of a low-tech medical device innovation in Swedish healthcare. Based on interviews and documentation, the article illustrates the various perspectives of the different professions involved in the complex task of setting the requirement specification for the tender. The technology identities of the medical device (innovation) are constructed and negotiated by the actors: procurement administrators, health-care professionals and suppliers within the adoption space. Examining the enactment of the procurement process as part of the adoption space is a way to deepen our understanding of the social component within public procurement.     

加强危险化学品采购及储运过程管理的几点建议

随着我国经济的快速发展,国家越来越重视现有的危险化学品的采购以及储存管理工作。危险化学品在石油化工行业的生产发展中具有很重要的管理地位以及作用。论文主要对现阶段的危险化学品采购及储运过程管理进行有效分析并提出合理化建议。     

Evaluating food retailing efficiency: the role of information technology

Information and internet-based technologies have fostered new supply chain initiatives in food retailing but little research has evaluated performance and efficiency impacts. A distance function based on three key performance measures for food retailers is used to evaluate store performance and efficiency. The effects of store format, membership in a chain, unionization, and the adoption of a variety of information technologies. Supply chain technologies are groups into three general categories including data sharing technologies, decision sharing technologies, and technologies that support product assortment, pricing, and merchandising decisions.      

政府工程采购的管理系统研究

以现实中政府工程采购通用的业务操作流程为基础,结合现代信息技术并合理的实现学科交叉融合,尝试建立建设政府工程采购的管理系统,该系统又可以划分成若干不同复杂度的小系统。文章所建立的系统运用虚拟现实技术,建立虚拟工程采购程序,实现可视化的工程采购决策管理工作,指导政府相关部门合理有效的实现工程采购,并最终科学而系统的实现了工程采购风险预警及管理。     

企业食品安全管理体系标准实施中的常见问题及对策

文章从我国食品企业实施食品安全管理体系标准GBff22000—2006的现状出发,分析了影响最终产品安全的薄弱环节所在,运用GBff22000标准的原理及工作中的经验,阐述了改进这些薄弱环节的对策措施。     

Improving the green public procurement performance of Chinese local governments: From the perspective of officials’ knowledge

Green public procurement (GPP) is one of the crucial environmental policy tools for sustainability. Although GPP has been implemented in many developing countries, its performance is in urgent need of improvement. This study focuses on the perspective of procurement officials’ knowledge and develops a new conceptual model with direct and moderating effects to explore factors that may affect Chinese procurement officials’ GPP performance. Using data collected from 139 Chinese local government officials and employing hierarchical regression analysis, this study finds that procurement officials’ awareness of GPP implementation policies exerts a positive, direct impact on their GPP performance. Procurement officials’ receiving GPP training and working in local governments included in a mature China national sustainable community (CNSC) program can positively moderate the relationships between their awareness of GPP implementation policies and GPP performance. However, awareness of GPP-related regulations does not have the same effect. Meanwhile, even the mature CNSC program cannot exert a positive, direct impact on GPP performance. This study deepens the research on influence factors of GPP performance, the policy implications can be useful for policymakers in China and other developing countries.     

The role of artificial intelligence in the procurement process: State of the art and research agenda

Artificial intelligence (AI) is widely adopted in many areas, but it is still in its infancy in procurement, despite its potential. To map the state of the art of both research and practice and identify future research directions, this paper presents a mixed methodology exploratory study of the role of AI in the procurement process. The paper combines a systematic literature review, a mapping of the offerings of providers of AI-based procurement platforms and a focus group with procurement managers. Results map the functionalities of AI-based solutions throughout the procurement process, describe benefits and challenges to their adoption and identify future research directions.     

基于Witness的储位规划仿真与优化

以某公司原材料仓库为研究对象,其原材料储位规划不科学是提高操作人员工作效率的瓶颈。将其储位划分为多个独立储区,基于Witness软件对其储位规划进行建模仿真,以叉车运行距离为依据评判储位规划的优劣性并提出优化方案。结果表明,在同样条件下优化方案能够使叉车运行距离减少10．3％,也从另一角度证实达到了减少仓库总物流量、提高操作人员工作效率的目的。     

石油物资区域采购探索与实践研究

集中采购方式是大型集团化企业降低采购成本的有效手段,已经成为企业获得竞争优势的有力保障。为了与中石油集团公司合规、质量、效率以及降本增效要求相适应,探索通过区域采购这一新的采购模式,既发挥集团公司集中采购规模优势,又兼顾各分公司物资需求特点,提高市场反应效率和精益保供水平。区域采购方式可以灵活多样,多种方式组合,解决集中采购和及时保供矛盾,进一步发挥采购供应链协同效应、规模效应,提高采购供应链整体效率和服务水平,实现开源节流降本增效。     

浅析对食品添加剂管理的有效审核

本文通过对食品企业食品添加剂使用备案、标签标示、采购管理、进货查验、储存、配料、混合及成品检验等8个方面的介绍,结合国家法律法规的要求,就如何实施对食品添加剂管理的有效审核进行了浅析。     

环保工程项目管理中的供应商评选研究

层次分析法因其简洁明晰,使用方便而得到广泛应用,但在环保工程项目领域的研究应用相对较少,基于环保工程项目的特点,本文建立有针对性的符合项目实际需求的指标体系,利用层次分析法求解,从而为工程项目采购一线的管理者提供一种快速有效的科学决策方法,评选出可靠的供应商,降低潜在的风险,对环保工程项目采购管理而言是一个很重要的环节。     

Circular economy and the policy: A framework for improving the corporate environmental management in supply chains

The transition to the circular economy (CE) creates value through the closed-loop systems, reverse logistics, product life cycle management, and clean production in terms of corporate environmental management. During this transition process, the organization faces many barriers such as financial, organizational, technology-based, social, policy-related, market-based, and logistics-based barriers. The objectives of this study are to propose a framework highlighting policy-related barriers for a supply chain in the transition to CE and finally discuss potential implications on enhancing corporate environmental performance of a business. Further, this study evaluates the causal relationships between the policy-related barriers using fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method. The application was conducted in an apparel firm in Turkey. From findings, lack of legislation for efficient CE (C4), lack of mandatory requirements and responsibilities for manufacturers/suppliers for the CE (C17), and lack of government support for environmentally friendly policies (C2) are revealed as the most important barriers, respectively. It is found that lack of attitude and awareness about CE in government institutions (C19) is the most influencing factor, whereas lack of effective recycling policies to achieve quality in waste management (C8) is the most influenced factor. The recommendations were developed for enhancing the corporate environmental performance of businesses through incentives and unique rewards, improving communication among stakeholders, the government's perception of CE and current linear economy, cooperation with nongovernmental organization (NGOs) and civil actions, the vision of government towards circular principles, the circular public procurement, the local governments in circular policymaking, and awareness of bureaucracy and government officials.