Introducing new products to international markets using green entrepreneurial supply chain optimisation

Abstract

Since the dawn of humanity, supplying food has been one of the most significant, crucial needs of human beings. Meat and poultry, as an essential part of any healthy diet, have an undeniable role and a significant share in the food supply. Due to the vast and variety of different activities in the food supply, supply chain networks have paramount and salient effects on the environment since the notion of the green food supply chain has been placed the focal point of attention. However, in today’s competitive world, companies need to pay attention to entrepreneurial approaches and new international markets as much as environmental issues to be agile, profitable and alive. Consequently, the design and optimisation of the green food supply chain especially in perishable food to minimise environmental impact, minimise total cost and maximise the chance of entry to new international markets are essential requirements for all food companies. To satisfy the needs of consumers (e.g. in Iran and neighbouring countries), particularly in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, innovation is a key factor in new products. In this chapter, a multi-objective mixed-integer linear programming model formulated to optimise three objective functions simultaneously including minimising the total fixed and transportation costs, minimising the total CO2 emission released from the transportation network, and maximising the total utilisation of capacities in suppliers, manufacturers and retailers. The solution approach which was employed in this study was augmented ε–constraint, and this mathematical model, as well as the approach, was applied to a real-world company in Tehran (Koorosh Protein Company) as a case study. The results and their consistency with the actual data depicted the capability and potency of the model. The finding of this chapter can enrich the insight and understanding of the decision-makers and managers as to green entrepreneurial optimal food supply chains and allow them to choose optimal approach in a trade-off between three conflicting objective functions.