Article
Decision Support Tools for Competitive USDA Food Aid Bidding
Transportation Research Part E
(2016)
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) currently uses a bidding system to determine carriers and suppliers that would partner in providing food aid annually in response to global emergencies and famine. We mimic the USDA approach via a robust optimization model featuring box and ellipsoid uncertainty frameworks to account for uncertainties in demand, supplier and carrier bid prices. Through a case study utilizing historical invoice data, we demonstrate our model applicability in improving ocean carrier and food supplier bid pricing strategy and similar supply chain network optimization problems. Through a validation algorithm we demonstrate the value of our robust models.
Disciplines
Publication Date
2016
Citation Information
Jomon Aliyas Paul and Xinfang (Jocelyn) Wang. "Decision Support Tools for Competitive USDA Food Aid Bidding" Transportation Research Part E (2016) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jomonaliyas_paul/33/