Work

Reduced food waste through inventory control despite throwing out food before expiration: Online vs. offline retail

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Online retailers throw out food that has not yet expired. This gives rise to the question whether online retailers generate more food waste than offline retailers, who typically throw out food only after it has expired. We focus on the food waste at the retailer which inherently ensues from the logistical set-up. We provide a theoretical discussion of the potential increase in food waste as a result of the inventory control policy and throwing out food that has not yet expired, as is the case for online retailers. Note that the online retailer has some advantages over offline retailers as well. Online retailers benefit from full control of order picking, which is instead often done by the consumer in offline retail. Moreover, the online retailer often benefits from the pooling effect, as offline retailers might use multiple stores to satisfy the same demand volume as an online retailer from a single warehouse. Our numerical experiments with a base-stock policy suggests that online retail actually yields less food waste for many products, despite throwing out food before expiration.

Source: Omega

DOI: 10.1016/j.omega.2024.103131

Authors: Jorrit Barto, Ayse Sena Eruguz, Remy Spliet, Sanne Wøhlk

Institutions: Erasmus University Rotterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Aarhus University

Language: English

Topic: Supply Chain and Inventory Management

Subfield: Management Information Systems

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Responsible consumption and production

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,910