Case: Modification of the Supply Chain Network of a Food Grain During Covid-19 Pandemic (IIMR-C31-09/2025)

Abstract

The supply chain is the network of actors (i.e., different companies) that convert raw material into a final product and supply these products to the customers through retail shops. The supply chain section that appears after the manufacturing system is sometimes referred to as the distribution network. Here, the main aim of the managers is to integrate all these elements of the supply chain efficiently to produce and distribute the products in the correct quantity, at the proper locations, and at the appropriate time. The objective is to minimize the total cost and satisfy the customer service requirements. Similarly, the supply chain network of a food grain refers to an outline of a systematic movement of the food grain from the farm to the customers. There are two main sections of a food grain supply chain network, namely the surplus section and the deficit section of the food grain supply chain network. The flow of food grain in the food grain supply chain begins after the activation of the procurement and distribution functions of the food grain supply chain network. These two functions are part of the surplus and deficit sections of a food grain supply chain network. The surplus section of the supply chain network of a food grain deals with purchasing the food grain from the farmer and then storing the purchased food grain in the central warehouse of the surplus state, using transportation facilities. In another section of the food grain supply chain, the flow of foodgrain is ensured from the central warehouse of the surplus state to the fair price shops through the deficit state's central warehouse and district warehouses. In the end, the grain food reaches fair-priced shops.