Sustainable distribution system in food retail sector-a simulation modelling approach

Nowadays, sustainability has become one of the most important topics in supply chain management which is received more global attention. Within food retail supply chain, downstream distribution system has a significant effect on environmental performance. The aim of this research is to model sustainable distribution system in food retail supply chain through two variables; Greenfield service constraints and fleet types which enables practitioners to make decision about the optimal number and location of distribution facilities and optimal types of fleet to minimise the CO2 emission and transportation cost, maximise responsiveness and determine the optimal number of required transportation asset to meet customers demand. Through understanding the mathematical equations governing the problem of CO2 emission, transportation cost and transportation time; multiple scenarios through a hypothetical two-stage food supply chain are created and validated using Supply Chain GURU Software. Experimental factorial design and statistical techniques are used to generate and analyse the results.