The Junta Nacional de Auxilio Escolar y Becas (JUNAEB), an agency of the Chilean government, promotes integration and retention of socially vulnerable children in the country’s school system. JUNAEB’s school meal program provides meals for approximately 10,000 schools. Decisions on meal providers are made through an annual tender using a combinatorial auction, where food industry firms bid on supply contracts, based on a series of disjoint, compact geographical areas called territorial units (TUs). These territorial units consist of districts spanning the country. hen the Chilean economy suffered a downturn, many competing meal service providers ceased their operations. Thus, the number of suppliers participating in the combinatorial auction was reduced.

Questions for Discussion
1. What were the main challenges faced by JUNAEB?
2. What operation research methodologies were employed in achieving homogeneity across territorial units?
3. What other approaches could you use in this case study?