Packaging strategies of temperature-sensitive food supply chains considering the influences of distribution channels and consumers' quality concern

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With the boom of food delivery worldwide and the emergency of different distribution channels, temperature-sensitive food supply chains need to think about which sort of packages to choose. Compared with disposable packages, reusable packages bring down the deterioration rate of the temperature-sensitive food being delivered and are more environment-friendly; however, they incur more costs. Thus, we model a single-supplier-single-retailer temperature-sensitive food supply chain and investigate its packaging strategies considering the influences of distribution channels and consumers’ quality concern. First, we reveal the separate roles of price transmission in the circumstances with quality and non-quality problems, the two-fold effects of reusing reusable packages for more times as well as the recommended environmental policy. Second, it is shown that consumers’ quality concern is a critical factor influencing the supply chain’s optimal packaging choice, which is explained by reusable packages’ preservation advantages over disposable packages and the declining preservation performances of reusable packages over time. Finally, the interaction between the supply chain’s packaging strategies and distribution channels is revealed that the geographic concentrations of food producing or processing industries and a more convenient long-distance logistics system will bring about the wide use of reusable packages and the establishment of online channels.