Optimizing the Distribution Network of a Bakery Facility: A Reduced Travelled Distance and Food-Waste Minimization Perspective

There are many logistics nuances specific to bakery factories, making the design of their distribution network especially complex. In particular, products typically have a shelf life under week. To ensure that delivered end-customers with freshness, speed, quality, health, and safety prioritized, network, facility location, ordering system must be optimally designed. This study presents multi-stage framework for factory comprised selection methodology an optimum effective delivery operations, practical used by related supply chain actors. The operations function optimized using multi-criteria decision-making method Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) establish optimization criteria Technique Order Preference Similarity Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) select optimal location. strategy was found technique. applied real-life problem in Western Region, Saudi Arabia. Using real-life, quantitative dataset incorporating qualitative feedback from key stakeholders chain, developed enabled reduction overall costs 14%, decreasing total travel distance 16%, estimated food waste 22%. result primarily achieved solving location favor operating two factories without dedicated storage facilities implementing direct shipment customers.