Multi-agent architecture for waste minimisation in beef supply chain

Nguyen, Ai Ha Thi; Singh, Akshit; Kumari, Sushma; Choudhary, Sonal

Abstract

Food waste is an alarming issue pertaining to the rising global hunger, huge environmental footprint, and high monetary value. In developing and developed nations, it occurs primarily due to inefficiencies upstream and downstream of the supply chain respectively. A common factor in both developed and developing nations is product flow within the supply chain from farms to retailers. This study aims to identify the root causes of waste generated across the product flow of the beef supply chain from farm to retailer. A workshop involving twenty practitioners of the beef industry was conducted and the collected information was transcribed and coded to generate a current reality tree, which assisted in identifying root causes of waste in the entire beef supply chain. A multi-agent architecture framework spanning the entire beef supply chain from farm to retailer is proposed, which is composed of autonomous agents capable of bringing all segments of the beef industry on a single platform and collaboratively assist them in mitigating root causes of waste. The proposed framework will aid the practitioners in the beef industry to reduce waste, improve their operational efficiency thereby raising food security, economic development whilst curbing their carbon footprint.

Citation

Nguyen, A. H. T., Singh, A., Kumari, S., & Choudhary, S. (in press). Multi-agent architecture for waste minimisation in beef supply chain. Production planning & control, https://doi.org/10.1080/09537287.2021.1979679

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 29, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Sep 24, 2021
• Deposit Date: Mar 14, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 16, 2022
• Journal: Production Planning and Control
• Print ISSN: 0953-7287
• Electronic ISSN: 1366-5871
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09537287.2021.1979679
• Keywords: Beef supply chain; Waste minimisation; Multi-agent system (MAS)
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3845559