讲者： Xin Geng, Associate Professor of Management, University of Miami

时间：2026年7月30日（周四） 10:00

地点: 同济大厦A座510教室

讲座摘要| ABSTRACT

Food waste is a pressing global challenge. Agri-food supply chains in particular often generate losses at the production stage due to yield uncertainty, demand mismatches, and strategic interactions between channel partners. We develop an analytical model with an upstream farmer and a downstream retailer to study how a farmer’s use of a direct selling channel and the timing of the commitment (to direct selling) affect equilibrium production, profits, and food waste. Four scenarios are examined: no direct channel, ex ante commitment (before yield is realized), ex post commitment (after yield is realized), and contingent commitment (at the time of order placement). We also incorporate farmer and retailer environmental awareness to assess its influence on operational and environmental outcomes. The impact of direct selling on waste hinges on the balance between a sales expansion effect (diverting unsold produce to consumers directly) and an overproduction effect (incentivizing higher supply). Under ex ante commitment, overproduction dominates, raising waste, while under ex post and contingent commitment, the net effect depends on production and direct selling costs. In addition, commitment timing matters. Shifting from ex ante to ex post generally lowers waste, but delaying commitment further increases it due to retailers’ strategic underordering. When incorporating environmental awareness into the model, we find that farmer awareness consistently reduces waste, whereas retailer awareness may increase it. These findings caution that direct selling and flexibility are not inherently waste-reducing, and that governance of commitment timing, cost structure, and awareness incentives is critical to reducing food waste.

嘉宾简介| GUEST BIO

Xin Geng is an associate professor of Management at Miami Herbert Business School, University of Miami. His research interests include supply chain strategies, issues from OM/Marketing interface, and optimization models for pricing and revenue management. His work has been published in Management Science, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, and Production and Operations Management. Xin received his PhD in Management Science from the University of British Columbia in 2015 and has worked at the University of Miami since then.