Resilience Role of Distribution Centers amid COVID-19 Crisis in Tier-A Cities of India: A Green Field Analysis Experiment

Abstract

Supply chain is the most critical lifeline of all business/non-business operations and processes in today’s world. The outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic has a serious impact on organizations and society at large. Due to this pandemic spread, food supply chains are facing two unique unraveling emerging supply chain challenges: (a) supply shocks and (b) demand shocks. Stocking of consumer staples under such uncertain situations gives rise to uncertain peak demands of staple food, and hence striking bullwhip effect. The present study focuses on the staple food distribution among tier-A cities of India, namely Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad. Using the software anyLogistix PLE edition, greenfield analysis was conducted to find the number of distribution centers required by these cities for food distribution and to reduce the transportation cost between the cities. Two key insights emerge from the analysis: (a) we need six potential areas to locate distribution centers (DCs)/ regional sites instead of a single DC; (b) transportation cost is reduced from US$21,327 to US$2,375. The major observation from the Green Field Analysis (GFA) reveals there is a need to reinforce and repair the operational efficiencies of DCs so as to reach the needy end consumers.

Changes in Logistics Activities in Poland as a Result of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…We found only a few articles, making our study all the more valuable. Kaur et al [62] point to the inadequate number of warehouses in India serving major cities and supplying food. The greater need is due to demand and supply shocks created by the pandemic.…”

A Resilience Analysis of a Medical Mask Supply Chain during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Simulation Modeling Approach

“…Simulation and optimization software integrates multiple functions such as simulation, design, and optimization. They have also been proven to be an effective tool for designing a resilient supply chain network [40,41]. Our paper enriches and extends the research on supply chain resilience by simulating the mask supply chain during the pandemic.…”

“…Li, Pedrielli, Lee and Chew [18] and Lohmer, Bugert and Lasch [28] showed that information sharing and BCT-based collaboration were beneficial to improving supply chain resilience by establishing simulation models. Kaur et al [40] developed a supply chain resilience framework and addressed the problem of the location and quantity of food distribution centers in Tier-A Cities of India by conducting Green Field Analysis experiments.…”

“…Ivanov and Dolgui [32] proposed the concept of a digital supply chain, which provides a theoretical framework for global enterprises to manage supply chain risk and resilience. Kaur, Pasricha and Kathuria [40] used AnyLogistix simulation software to find out the number of optimal distribution centers in the food supply chain of first-tier cities in India so as to improve the stability of the food supply chain during the epidemic. Taking the drug supply chain disruption in Mexico as an example, Lozano-Diez, Marmolejo-Saucedo and Aguilar [41] and Marmolejo-Saucedo et al [54] developed the supply chain design model for a resilient supply network using AnyLogistix simulation software to reduce drug shortages in epidemic outbreaks.…”

“…Green Field Analysis (GFA) experiment in AnyLogistix is validated for its effectiveness and extensibility [16,40]. This experiment is based on the principle of the center of gravity method to find the optimal position of the backup facilities.…”