HYBRID MODEL TO DESIGN AN AGRO-FOOD DISTRIBUTION NETWORK CONSIDERING FOOD QUALITY

In the agro-food supply chain, the client's satisfaction is mainly reflected on food freshness in such a way that quality has a direct relationship with the selling price. This research work suggests a hybrid model to design a food distribution network that maximizes the farmers' profits depending on the delivered quality by using a mixed integer linear programming model and a discrete-event simulation model under specific stochastic parameters. The main contribution of this paper is a model that evaluates food quality with a discrete and stochastic approach along the whole supply chain. The problem involves only one product (prickly pear), 93 farmers, 53 distribution centers, and 27 markets. The results determined that the amount of prickly pear from the 93 farmers must be sent to 29 distribution centers to satisfy the market demand. The delivered quality of the fruit at the market was in an interval from 84% and 94%.