Food supply chain coordination for growing items: A trade-off between market coverage and cost-efficiency

The accurate operation of a Food Supply Chain (FSC) is critical issue as it directly interfaces with health and safety matters. This study addresses coordination conflict management in three-level FSC that embraces new inventory type known growing items like poultry livestock. chain involves rearing farm the supplier, processed food producer manufacturer, multiple retailers. Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) applied by manufacturer to handle retailers' systems prevent replenishment mismatches thereby waste. To increase its market coverage, needs provide retailers enough incentives enter this setting. So, cost-sharing contract designed under which undertakes fraction retailers’ holding costs. Accordingly, faces two contradictory targets, increasing coverage convincing system on one hand managing costs efficiently other hand. An analytic solution approach game-theoretic perspective developed solve model. Extensive numerical experiments case are provided, presenting fruitful managerial insights can be utilized policymakers members different settings. results highlight efficiency our VMI collaboration scheme enhancing performance chain.