Design of a supply chain network for pea-based novel protein foods

A supply chain for NPFs can be divided into three major links: primary production (growing and harvesting), ingredient preparation (milling and concentration of pea protein) and product processing (manufacture of the NPF). The pea-based product is designed for the Dutch market. The peas are sourced from several locations around the world such as Canada, Ukraine, France and the Netherlands and are transported by sea, rail, road or barge. This paper presents a study on the optimisation of the supply network for NPFs in the Netherlands using linear programming. It focuses on finding the lowest cost at which NPFs can be manufactured for a specific market demand; while deciding the location of primary production, ingredient processing and product production areas and modes of transportation by minimising the sum of production and transportation costs.