Food Collection Optimization Model and Innovation Toolkit

MEXICO CITY’S FOOD BANKFOOD FOR ALL

About our client:• Alimento Para Todos (Food For All) is Mexico´s City Food Bank and the largest food

bank in Mexico. • It is a not-for-profit organization that collects, manages and redistributes 1,000

tons of food every month and serves more than 45,500 beneficiaries on a weekly basis.

OPERATION

Food Collection Packages Delivery

Collection and GatheringOf Food

Food Selection and Nutritional Packages

Food Delivery and Pick Up by

Beneficiaries

Alimentary Aid in Cases of

Emergencies

About their clients:Beneficiaries: 111 institutions & 70 communities Donors: markets and grocery stores

- 49.3% Children and Youth

- 5.8% Elderly Adults

- 23.0% Adult Females

- 18.2% Adult Males

- 1.8% Sick

- 1.9% Disabled

- 103 Wal Mart Stores: 202 tons

- 18 Comercial Mexicana Stores: 12 tons

- Mexico City’s Central Market: 159 tons

- Mexico City’s Flower Market: 25 tons

About the project

• The objective of the project is to strengthen Food For All´s business model and internal processes by creating a food collection optimization model and a toolkit of innovative management tools which will boost efficiency in the food collection routes.

• Our toolkit will: – Aid the food bank in achieving its mission to reduce nutritional

problems in vulnerable population groups,– Strengthen its business model by systemizing its internal processes

and,– Foster institutional growth and the exportation of the institutional

model to other smaller and younger food banks in the region.

Risk Solver Optimization Route and Simulation Model• What is the problem?

The current collection routes are assigned by hand and imply large gas and time costs to the food bank. Other problem that pertains to the food collection routes is that food integrity is not guaranteed.

• How would you solve it?By building a mathematical model that will reflect the needs and constraints of the collection routes, exploring alternatives to minimize costs and simulating different scenarios for traffic.

Access Database• What is the problem?

Our systems project will generate lots of new information in different formats (.doc, .xls, etc.) which will need to be organized for effective managerial decision making.

• How would you solve it?

You would build a database that will integrate data about drivers, trucks (capacity), routes’ sequence, stores, average donation per store, etc and if possible integrate it to the current Food Bank´s information system.

Program Evaluation Plan

• What is the problem?Assuring the success of the recommendations and providing the food bank with a systematic way of collecting and storing information for better decision making. • How would you solve it?– Logic Model– Surveys – Results Database– Implementation guide

Site Selection Tool

• What is the problem?The volume-distance relation of any given store is disproportional and the cost of fuel and time exceed the benefits gained by such donations.

• How would you solve it?– With a tool that will rank and evaluate the

donation sites. – The model will assign a weight based on the

importance of the client´s indicators.

GIS Network Analysis• What is the problem?

Due to traffic and each store´s time windows not all the donation sites are reached on time and donations are lost.

How would you solve it?

• Using GIS network analyst, you would do a vehicle routing project to provide the optimal combination of routes for each vehicle.

About our amazing advisor: Stephen Roehrig• Teaching

- Management Science I for MISMS- Intermediate Management Science- Object Oriented Analysis & Design- Object Oriented Programming in Java- Decision Making Under Uncertainty

• Research Interests:– Relational database and data warehousing theory and practice, – Privacy and confidentiality in large databases, – Computational models of defeasible reasoning,– Uncertainty management in artificial intelligence, – Use of numerical methods for logical inference

• Publications:The list was so large we could not dream of fitting it!

If you haven´t had the chance to work with Professor Roehrig, this is it!!!!!!

For more information:

www.alimentoparatodos.org.mx