# Synchromodal Supply Chains for Fast-Moving Consumer Goods
## 1 Introduction
According to [PERSON] et al., the primary purpose of synchromodality is to reduce costs, emissions, and delivery times while maintaining the quality of supply chain service through efficient utilization of available resources and synchronization of transport flows [11]. At this point it is essential to highlight that the adopted definition is not arbitrary and further justified in the literature review section. Intuitively, synchromodality benefits companies, especially in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. The potential of synchromodality for FMCG companies is related to the nature of business. FMCG are the products that customers buy on a regular basis, including blades and razors, fabric and home care, hair care, health care, oral care, baby care, personal care, and skin care. The FMCG market is characterized by a wide variety of consumers, potentially volatile demand, and low consumer loyalty [12]. FMCG have relatively low costs and high turnover. So, while the margin of an individual product is usually relatively small, the total net profits can be significant because of quantities and scale [13]. In this context, objectively evaluating the tradeoffs between costs and benefits and the design of a synchronized supply chain might be challenging. In this regard, we postulate the following research questions: (1) What should be considered in incorporating synchromodality in the ocean export supply chain for fast-moving consumer goods? (2) How should companies approach tradeoffs among factors affecting supply chains? In order to answer the postulated research questions, we propose an adaptable framework for synchronized supply chain design. The framework was initially developed as part of the capstone research conducted at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics in collaboration with a multinational FMCG company [14, 15]. The framework incorporates the center of gravity model, mixed integer linear programming (MILP), and sensitivity analysis. The center of gravity analysis is applied to provide a recommendation for the mixing center location and confirm if the current location is suitable for the business. The MILP model is used to allocate freight volume. The MILP model incorporates synchromodality by providing the mode switch mechanism and is implemented such that the optimality of the transportation mode depends not only on the transportation cost but also considers the inventory holding cost with regard to lead time and the expected service level. In light of the scarcity of company resources, a sensitivity analysis is performed to help decision-makers prioritize their investments for the most notable supply chain network improvement. The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. Section 2 presents the literature review that justifies the definition of synchromodality, classifies related work, and highlights the research gap. Section 3 presents the problem that the multinational FMCG company encountered. Section 4 introduces the methodology at a high level and provides the rationale behind the choice of the individual components. Section 5 presents the solution to the problem under consideration using the proposed methodology. Section 6 highlights the advantages of the proposed framework and explains how it can be generalized and applied to similar problems within the domain. This section also shares the insights and managerial implications and discusses the impacts of the solution on sustainability. Lastly, Section 7 summarizes the paper and suggests promising directions for future research.