Reconfiguring Main Stream Vegetable Supply Chain in Sri Lanka to Reduce Distribution Related Post Harvest Losses & Emissions

A reduction in food miles with the right balance between supply and demand in terms of the right quantity to the right place immensely helps in mitigating post-harvest losses. This was achieved in this study by optimizing the product flow, first in the existing mainstream vegetable supply chain in Sri Lanka, then by re-locating intermediaries (i.e., economic centers). Economic centers act as transshipment points and their strategic locations are key determinants of food miles. Here, k-means clustering has been used to find the optimal number of economic centers required and the optimal locations to position the economic centers. The optimal product flows of the existing and the suggested vegetable supply chains were found by solving transshipment models and assessed according to performance measures including total travel distance, fuel cost and CO2eq emission. The suggested supply chain structure resulted in a 23.8% reduction in total travel distance, a 25.2% reduction in fuel costs and a 5.4% reduction in Co2eq emissions. As such, the new supply chain structure with relocated economic centers offers economic, social, and environmental advantages ensuring supply chain sustainability.