Inventory and shelf-space optimization for fresh produce with expiration date under freshness-and-stock-dependent demand rate

It is well documented that the demand for fresh produce, to a great extent, depends on how fresh it is and an increase in shelf space for displayed stocks may induce more purchase of the produce. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the effect of expiration date despite the fact that produce deteriorates over time and expiration dates are often an important factor in consumers’ purchase decision. In this paper, we propose an economic order quantity model in which we explicitly specify the demand for fresh produce to be a function of its freshness‐expiration date and displayed volume. With the demand being freshness‐and‐stock dependent, it may be profitable to maintain high stock level at the end of the replenishment cycle. Hence, we relax the traditional assumption of zero ending inventory to non‐zero ending inventory. Consequently, the objective here is to determine the optimal level of shelf space size, replenishment cycle time, and/or ending inventory level in an effort of maximizing the total annual profit. We found that the total annual profit is strictly pseudo‐concave with regard to the three decision variables, which simplifies the search for the global solution to a local optimal. Numerical examples are then presented to highlight the theoretical implications and managerial insights.