Measuring the Impact of Strategic Decisions on the Sustainability of Short Food Supply Chains – A Simulation-Based Approach
Résumé
Short Food Supply Chains have logistics costs almost four times higher than the average of the agri-food sector [8]. And yet, the environmental impact of small-size farms involved in such initiatives is believed to be much better, with less input and less soil depletion. With the agricultural sector responsible for 26% of CO2 emissions, economically viable and environmentally friendly initiatives in this sector can have huge impacts in terms of climate change mitigation. This paper proposes a simulation-based approach, applied on an existing short food supply chain The performance of the system is measured and analyzed in three dimensions: economic, environmental, and social, with qualitative discussions on their correlations. The framework of indicators proposed is based on a literature review of usual KPIs for Food Supply Chains We adapted the set of indicators in order to evaluate the performance of the actual organization, and simulate the impact of three optimization possibilities, chosen based on local opportunities. Our results enable us to facilitate decision-making for the organization, by visualizing the impact of each strategic decision on sustainability. The outcomes of this research provide input for further studies investigating the logistical organization in SFSCs, helping these initiatives become a viable and sustainable alternative to conventional food systems. For this paper, we limited the study to past available data regarding demand and supply, and we also limited the scope of the supply chain to the producers, customers, and association. Copyright (C) 2024 The Authors. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)