A Multi-Objective Modelling and Optimization Framework for Operations Management of a Fresh Fruit Supply Chain: A Case Study on a Mexican Lime Company

The the agriculture sector in developing countries has a large production share in the global fresh fruit market. Yet, in many cases, the land production yield indices at the orchard level are lower than the values related to more technologically developed countries. This situation leads to economic losses due to poor performance in productivity, efficiency and quality, which in turn is related to a technological and managerial gap. In this chapter, an operations management framework is proposed that tries to balance the market requirements (i.e. quality and quantity) with the capacity of the production system. This is performed through a multi-objective optimization approach that helps orchard managers synchronize the production yields with market demand and quality requirements. The model also allows the production managers to have a forecasting tool based on historical data. The model integrates the full supply chain through a set of sub-models for each stage of the production life cycle. The objective of the model is to minimize cost while maximizing sales. The optimization strategy involves a variant of the so-called NSGA II algorithm. The case study of an exporting lime packaging company is developed to illustrate the proposed framework and its possible impact on performance.