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Due to the importance of quality to customers, this study considers criteria of quality and profit and optimizes both in a multi-echelon cold chain of perishable agricultural products whose quality immediately begins to deteriorate after harvest. The two objectives of the proposed cold chain are to maximize profit and quality. Since postharvest quality loss in the supply chain depends on various decisions and factors, in addition to strategic decisions, the authors consider the temperature setting in refrigerated facilities and transportation vehicles due to the unfixed shelf life of the products which is related to the temperature found by Arrhenius formula.

The authors use bi-objective mixed-integer nonlinear programming to design a four-echelon supply chain. The authors integrate the supply chain echelons to detect the sources and factors of quality loss. The four echelons include supply, processing, storage and customer. The decisions, including facility location, assigning nodes of each echelon to corresponding nodes from the adjacent echelon, allocation of vehicles to transport the products from farms to wholesalers, processing selection, and temperature setting in refrigerated facilities, are made in an integrated way. Model verification and validation in the case study are done based on three perishable herbal plants.

The model obtains a 29% profit against a total cost of 71 and 93% of original quality of the crops is maintained, indicating a 7% quality loss. The final quality of 93% is the result of making a US$6m investment in the supply chain, including the procurement of high-quality raw materials; facility establishment; high-speed, high-capacity vehicles; location assignment; processing selection and refrigeration equipment in the storage and transportation systems, helping to maximize both the final quality of the products and the total profit.

The proposed supply chain model should help managers with modeling decisions, especially when it comes to cold chains for agricultural products. The model yields these results – optimal location-allocation decisions for the facilities to minimize distances between the network nodes, which save time and maintain the majority of the products’ original quality; choosing the most appropriate processing method, which reduces the perishability rate; providing high-capacity, high-speed vehicles in the logistics system, which minimizes transportation costs and maximizes the quality; and setting the right temperature in the refrigerated facilities, which mitigates the postharvest decay reaction rate of the products.

Comparison of the results of the present research with those of the traditional chain (obtained through experts) shows that since the designed chain increases the profit as well as the final quality, it has benefits for the main chain stakeholders, which are customers of agricultural products. This study model is expected to have a positive impact on the environment by placing strong emphasis on quality and preventing excessive waste generation and air pollution by imposing a financial penalty on extra demand production.

Since profit and quality of the final product are two important factors in all cultures and communities, the proposed supply chain model can be used in any food industry around the world. Applying the proposed model induces growth in local industries and promotes the culture of prioritizing quality in societies.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research on a bi-objective four-echelon (supply, processing, storage and customer) postharvest supply chain for agricultural products including that integrates transportation logistics and considers the deterioration rate of products as a time-dependent variable at different levels of decision-making.

The paper aims to analyse the reasons behind the leadership shown by a case study retailer through the introduction of factory gate pricing (FGP) within the grocery sector. Further, there is an evaluation of the transport management techniques used to support FGP and the operational benefits gained.

The research is based around a single case study of a UK grocery retailer, which has adopted FGP. A range of data sources has been collected during a project with the retailer. Techniques used include process mapping, interviews, workshops and company presentations.

Strategically, the introduction of FGP has provided economies for the retailer strengthening its position in the market. Four main transport management techniques have been deployed to achieve this, generating reductions in transport and inventory costs while improving customer service levels. There are also some issues that need addressing, in relation to the need for a single point of control, who manages this point and the technological capabilities of transport providers.

Only a single case study is presented, and the research was carried out during the early phase of implementation.

FGP requires a certain degree of scale to be effective, and should complement current processes within a business. There is a need to manage relationship issues with suppliers and transport providers.

The paper presents a detailed case study of FGP within the grocery sector, which is more complex than previous application of the concept. The strategic rationale for pioneering FGP is considered, along with its tactical deployment and operational benefits. Concerns are also highlighted, to provide a balanced evaluation.

This case study intends to add knowledge and understanding of supply chain management particularly with respect to international logistics.

The case study can be used in both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Students pursuing Master of Science in Logistics, Supply Chain Management and those doing bachelor degrees in the same areas can have a better insight and special interest of the case. Professional boards may also use the case to empirically make students understand this area.

The railway sub-sector in East Africa – Tanzania in particular – is an important transport mode but has a declining performance. The market share is estimated at only 4 percent of the freight market. Still knowledge about traffic, particularly for freight, is scant. The main dilemma is whether traffic of the central corridor is more intra- or inter-Tanzania. The case studies techniques appropriate for meaningful traffic forecasting and through a simple regression model it resolves the freight conflicts between Kenya rail and the Central Corridor. It provides students with applied traffic forecasting tools.

The case focuses on techniques of traffic forecasting, development of traffic scenarios and on issues related to intermodal transport especially between road, rail and ocean. At the end of using this Case students should be able to: explain the methods, techniques and models used in traffic forecasting; understand intermodal linkages in international Logistics; use different approaches to make logistics market assessment; and forecast traffic in all modes using different scenarios.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or e-mail support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

This paper aims to identify the parameters that influence the cost competitiveness of helicopter services for scheduled passenger transport on a regional area.

The approach used is based on an analysis of demand and on a bi-level model (modal split model – service supply optimization model) optimization. Performance optimization in the supply of helicopter transport services is obtained by a sensitivity analysis on the recognized cost factors.

The identification of the variation margins in the cost factors that might make an helicopter competitive for scheduled passenger services.

The inability to consider the totality of the helicopters today on the market due to lack of available data on their cost structure.

It is represented by the opportunity of the spread of the helicopter through the strengthening of the competitive position in relation to other transport modes for passenger transport services.

It is represented by the ability to provide air transport services less expensive on the routes that connect the mainland with small islands, especially during the months when the sea conditions do not allow the naval connection causing the insulation phenomenon.

Today, there is a lack of papers dealing with the issue of the performance of the helicopters from the point of view of the transport planner, considering what should be the characteristics of the aircraft to ensure performance to consistent designed services.

The rapid growth in cruise shipping coupled with increasing public awareness of climate change has led to increasing concerns about the impact cruise shipping poses on the environment, especially regarding air emissions. This study analyses the cruise shipping network of ports in and around the emission control areas (ECAs) to understand the structural properties of the network and ports.

A complex network approach was used to analyse the network data of 239 voyages serviced by 14 international cruise lines, visiting 127 ports across 44 countries in the Caribbean Sea.

It is found that the network has a small-world property with a short average path length and a high clustering coefficient. The regulations affect connections among ports, in which most ports in ECAs have lower connections than ports outside ECAs. A few ports in ECAs play important key roles, but many ports outside ECAs play a more important role in the network because the regulations are barriers for cruise ships entering the ports.

The findings of this study have drawn useful guidelines for cruise lines and port authorities to improve their operations. Constrictive recommendations are suggested to policymakers for designing reasonable regulations to attract more cruise shipping to travel in ECAs.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implications for supply chain risk management (SCRM) by applying internet of things (IoT). Therefore, the impact and effects on the SCRM process, as well as the internal and external pathway and the outcome of SCRM are examined.

This study adopts a multiple case study methodology with twelve companies from the manufacturing industry. This study is guided by the information processing theory (IPT) and a theory-grounded research framework to provide insights into information requirements and information processing capabilities for IoT-supported SCRM.

The studied cases demonstrate an increase in data availability in the companies that contribute to improved process transparency and process management. Furthermore, the process steps, risk transparency, risk knowledge and risk strategies have been enhanced, which enabled improved SCRM performance by fitting information requirements and information processing capabilities, thus allowing for competitive advantage.

This study offers in-depth insights for SCRM managers into the structure of IoT systems, primary use cases and changes for the process itself. Furthermore, implications for employees, incentives and barriers are identified, which could be used to redesign SCRM.

This study addresses the requirement for additional empirical research on technology-enhanced SCRM, supported by IPT as a theoretical foundation. The radical change of SCRM by IoT is demonstrated while discussing the human role, implications for SCRM strategies and identifying relevant topics for future development.

Key components of the logistics mix are described in an effort to create an understanding of the total logistics concept. Chapters include an introduction to logistics; the strategic role of logistics, customer service levels, channel relationships, facilities location, transport, inventory management, materials handling, interface with production, purchasing and materials management, estimating demand, order processing, systems performance, leadership and team building, business resource management.

This paper systematically evaluates the existing literature of innovations in freight transport, including all modes, to uncover the key research themes and methodologies employed by researchers to study innovations and their implications in this industry. It analyses the role of transport and the impact of innovations during crises, such as COVID-19.

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the innovations in freight transport unravels the pre-requisites of such endeavours in achieving a resilient and sustainable transport network that effectively and efficiently operates during a crisis. The authors performed keyword co-occurrence network (KCON) analysis and research focus parallelship network (RFPN) analysis using BibExcel and Gephi to determine the major resulting research streams in freight transport.

The RFPN identified five emerging themes: transport operations, technological innovation, transport economics, transport policy and resilience and disaster management. Optimisation and simulation techniques, and more recently, artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) approaches, have been used to model and solve freight transport problems. Automation innovations have also penetrated freight and supply chains. Information and communication technology (ICT)-based innovations have also been found to be effective in building resilient supply chains.

Given the growth of e-commerce during COVID-19 and the resulting logistics demand, along with the need for transporting food and medical emergency products, the role of automation, optimisation, monitoring systems and risk management in the transport industry has become more salient. Transport companies need to improve their operational efficiency using innovative technologies and data science for informed decision-making.

This paper advises researchers and practitioners involved in freight transport and innovation about main directions and gaps in the field through an integrated approach for evaluating research undertaken in the area. This paper also highlights the role of crisis, e.g. COVID-19, and its impacts on freight transport. Major contributions of this paper are as follows: (1) a qualitative and quantitative, systematic and effective assessment of the literature on freight transport through a network analysis of keywords supplemented by a review of the text of 148 papers; (2) unravelling major research areas; (3) identifying innovations in freight transport and their classification as technological and non-technological and (4) investigating the impact of crises and disruptions in freight transport.