Inaugural Lecture: Modeling Sustainable Decisions in Food Supply Chains

Food supply chains are characterized by biological production processes, perishability, uncertainty, and strong interdependencies between actors. Decisions at one stage, such as production planning, or at distribution, often have far-reaching consequences further along the supply chain for waste, availability, economic performance, and environmental impact. Improving sustainability therefore requires more than isolated measures; it calls for a systemic perspective on decision-making.

A central message of the lecture was that sustainability does not emerge automatically from new practices. It depends on how trade-offs are structured and evaluated. Organizations balance economic viability, service levels, waste reduction, and social responsibility. Decision models make these trade-offs explicit and provide a framework to analyze consequences and align operational decisions with broader sustainability goals.

By integrating operations research, analytics, and supply chain management with food system challenges, the Chair of Management of Digital Food Businesses aims to support evidence-based decision-making in practice. Applications range from perishable inventory control and waste reduction strategies to the design of more resilient and socially responsible supply chains.

The lecture also highlighted the importance of closer interaction between life sciences and quantitative decision sciences. Addressing sustainability challenges requires combining knowledge of biological and technical processes with rigorous approaches to operational decision-making. Sustainable food systems depend not only on innovation, but also on structured and transparent decisions.