Abstract:

In the supply chain of fresh agricultural products， the two-stage preservation， which includes pre-cooling preservation and terminal preservation， jointly determines the freshness of the products. Among these， pre-cooling preservation， as the initial and critical stage， plays a more decisive role. This paper constructs supply chain game models under two scenarios： one where the retailer conducts pre-cooling preservation independently， and the other where the retailer outsources this task， aiming to explore the selection of pre-cooling preservation models within the supply chain.The research findings are as follows：（1） In terms of the efforts in the two-stage preservation： Under both operation models， supply chain members tend to emphasize the pre-cooling preservation stage， known as the “first kilometer”. Specifically， when the third-party pre-cooling preservation service provider exhibits a significant cost advantage， greater efforts are exerted in both stages of preservation under the outsourcing model. Conversely， when the cost advantage is minimal， more efforts are seen in both stages under the self-operation model. When the cost advantage is moderate， the investment in pre-cooling preservation is greater under the outsourcing model， while the investment in terminal preservation is larger under the self-operation model.（2） Regarding the total profit of the supply chain， if the third-party pre-cooling preservation service provider holds a substantial cost advantage， the overall profit of the supply chain is higher under the outsourcing model； otherwise， the self-operation model yields a greater total profit. Under specific circumstances， cooperatives and retailers both show a preference for the outsourcing model， leading to a “win-win” situation. However， this places high demands on the cost advantage of the third party. To address this， a coordinated contract of “retailer outsourcing+cost sharing” is devised， which effectively mitigates the pressure on the third-party pre-cooling preservation service provider and brings about Pareto improvement in the earnings of the supply chain entities. This research offers valuable perspectives for the selection of the pre-cooling preservation operation mode within the supply chain of fresh agricultural products.

Key words: pre-cooling and preservation, retailer-owned, retailer outsourcing, coordination contracts