Preservation investments in deteriorating inventory and supply chain models: a comprehensive review

With growing attention on reducing product spoilage, investment in preservation technologies (PTI) has become an important strategy in inventory and supply chain management. Although several models address deterioration, a comprehensive synthesis of how PTI has evolved across different inventory systems has been lacking. This study reviews 260 research articles published between 2010 and 2024, offering a comprehensive and structured analysis of PTI in inventory and supply chain models. The literature is categorized by model types, including inventory, production-inventory, supply chain, and fuzzy systems, as well as by parameters such as trade credit, promotional efforts, and green investments. Key findings reveal a growing integration of PTI with sustainability efforts, uncertainty modeling, and coordination contracts in supply chains. The review identifies emerging trends, underexplored areas (e.g., PTI-environment interactions), and methodological gaps in current modeling approaches. This study contributes to the literature by mapping the evolution of PTI research, highlighting research gaps, and suggesting future directions for more holistic and applicable models.