Design of a Nanostores’ Delivery Service Network for Food Supplying in COVID-19 Times: A Linear Optimization Approach

Granados-Rivera, Daniela; Mejía, Gonzalo; Tinjaca, Laura; Cárdenas, Natalia

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-76310-7_2

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 21 publications

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“…Furthermore, public policies regarding the recycling and reuse of cardboard are inexistent, untwisting, and/or largely neglected, allowing for different failures in the system [47]. Due to this lack of information, only a few studies on diverse topics have been conducted around nanostores in other emerging market economies: Indonesia [48], China [49], Mexico [33,35], Peru [36,50], Colombia [51], and Morocco [52], among others.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Out of the Box: Exploring Cardboard Returnability in Nanostore Supply Chains

Hidalgo-Carvajal,

Gutierrez-Franco,

Mejia-Argueta

et al. 2023

Sustainability

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Packaging plays an important role in the movement and distribution of products along the supply chain by safely ensuring proper product delivery, achieving economies of scale through standardization, and serving as a selling tool. Packaging presents associated high economic and environmental costs for transportation, picking, handling, storing, and returning products. Considering the high demand for paper and cardboard worldwide and the projected increase during the next decade, there is a latent need to prevent and reduce the possible waste from packaging. The return of cardboard boxes used for packaging to the product suppliers could be a feasible solution to tackle this issue; however, it seems to be a disposable cost that companies assume when delivering products to highly fragmented markets. This research intends to understand the role that nanostores play in affecting whether or not cardboard packages are returned after receiving the products from suppliers and how likely shopkeepers are to support closing the loops in the current supply chain system. A survey with 27 questions related to recycling, reusing, reselling, returning, and waste was designed and applied to three hundred thirty-seven shopkeepers in two stages. The data was analyzed through plot analysis and descriptive statistical methods. The results show that some dynamic drivers and intervention schemes may increase the current returnability rate of packaging (11%) to the level of reuse rates (75% in these small, family-owned retailers). We found that thicker cardboard packages foster reuse and recycling rates. Based on the results, we propose that startups close the gap to trigger returnability and recycling while the government develops regulations to support these initiatives.

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