Publisher's Synopsis
In the first paper the author wants to convey that post-harvest food waste amongst the world's two most heavily populated countries, namely China and India, remains alarmingly high, at least in part due to inefficiencies in their cold supply chains. Second paper conveys that business of managing supply chains is deficient because the unique requirements of the cold supply chain have not been adequately captured, especially the specific nature of temperature-sensitive perishable goods. Hence a reference model deploying an object-oriented modelling approach is derived and synthesised. Third paper is about the little evidence on how data can be captured effectively for decision-making in relation to extended cold supply chains, especially for fish and meat products. The paper argues that there is a need to better understand data capture and its role in decision-making, not just for distribution but across the entire cold supply chain, from post-harvest to processing to distribution and finally to retail. The fourth paper has a specific focus on the delivery of perishable products (i.e. fresh fruits and vegetables). The problem is formulated as a vehicle routing problem with time windows (VRPTW). The fifth paper conveys that that logistics service providers are keen to maintain competitiveness and at the same time deliver fresh fruits and vegetables to customers who demand timely delivery of small and diverse shipments in food cold supply chains. The sixth paper is more frequent and different temperature-sensitive e-commerce orders are growing, as is the requirement for product freshness. This has a knock-on effect on temperature monitoring and control mechanisms, as these are viewed as a major source of risk, and so need to be effectively managed. The seventh paper argues that existing studies on resilience build on normative, conceptual or silo approaches, and consequently an integrative approach to cold chain logistics risks (CCLRs) and resilience is lacking. The paper aims to bridge the current research gap by developing a model, based on broad empirical evidence, of the interplay between CCLRs, resilience and firm performance in perishable-product supply chains (PPSCs). And the final paper argument is that whilst many studies have recognised the enormity of food wastage and limited cold chain capability in developing countries, few studies have explored the underlying reasons for this.
