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Flexible return policies are offered by the manufacturers to encourage the retailers announcing a lenient returns scheme to their customers.

This study considers the distribution of durable products in a supply chain where the demand is sensitive to sales effort and retail price. Using a game theoretic framework, the paper presents an assessment of the strategic effect of flexible returns policy announced by the manufacturer under retail competition and highlights its implications on profitability.

Comparative analysis of monopolistic and duopolistic competition provides a better understanding about the repercussions and related facts on offering a flexible returns policy in these environments. It is profitable for the manufacturer to offer a flexible returns policy when there is retail competition than under monopolistic condition.

Practitioners view returns policy offered as an insurance given to the buyers and they infer it to be a better mechanism for doing business. Lenient returns policy promotes the sales by increasing the trust on the retailer and boosts up the perception of quality about the product by lowering the perceived risk for customers.

Effective product return strategies such as being lenient in terms of time, money, effort, scope and exchange can result in increased revenues, lower cost and improved profitability to the manufacturer and retailer, at the same time offering an enhanced level of customer service.

The paper provides a comprehensive overview of the biases in inventory decisions, under the umbrella of behavioural operations, considering research findings that used experimental methods. Research in this field has gained traction but, to the best of our knowledge, review articles that summarize these research findings are scarce. Hence, there is a need to synthesize the anomalies and biases reported in inventory decision-making literature to gain a more integrated understanding.

This study reviews themes relevant to inventory and behavioural operations management from the articles published in recognized top-tier journals during the period between 2000 and 2020 with an aim to build a classification framework. Further, using a systematic review procedure, the relevant research studies are divided into sub-sections and appropriate search strategies are adopted to pleat more information on inventory ordering biases.

This study presents a classification framework by highlighting the factors influencing the biases in inventory decisions and describes the effects of utility preferences on the decision-making behaviour. It highlights the inventory ordering pattern under unconventional settings and also for different supply chain settings. This systematic review helps in identifying the research gap and in giving directions for future researchers.

The study presents a systematic review and detailed analysis of the research in inventory decision making through a behavioural lens. The study shows a clear direction of progress over the years, and implies new directions for looking beyond placing orders and for moving towards a more integrated approach while making supply chain decisions. It will be useful for researchers and practitioners working on newsvendor decisions, supply chain contracts, behavioural economics, behavioural operations management, bounded rationality theory and experimental economics.

This research paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the ergonomic risks faced by employees in the IT industry who work from home (WFH). With the increasing prevalence of remote work, understanding and addressing ergonomic challenges are crucial to ensure the well-being, productivity and long-term health of IT professionals.

The data are gathered through a survey questionnaire which includes demographic factors, job-related factors, quick video display terminal (VDT) workspace evaluation factors, quick chair design usability evaluation factors and the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) in order to measure the ergonomic risks among them. The risk factors associated with each body part are determined using ordinal logistic regression.

Highest occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders was observed in the neck, hip and lower back among WFH employees. By identifying and prioritizing these risks, organizations and individuals can implement effective strategies to promote a healthy and ergonomic work environment for remote IT employees.

This research contributes new insights that will be helpful for researchers and practitioners working in the areas of ergonomic risks, improving performance of work from home employees and provides suggestions for future research to explore and enrich the existing knowledge base.

Ports handle a significant portion of international cargo, so the performance of ports plays a major role in the economic development of a country. This paper aims to study how port performance depends on various interdependent factors and how it requires a holistic approach, which accounts for all the necessary criteria that contribute to the overall efficiency and performance.

An integrated fuzzy DEMATEL-TOPSIS approach with an objective to evaluate the operational capability and financial performance of the ports is proposed. A case study is presented with an analysis of the major South Indian ports to assess port operational performance and evaluate various financial ratios to assess financial performance.

Through a review of the literature and based on the inputs from experts, six criteria affecting the operational performance and six financial criteria were identified. The debt coverage ratios turned out to be the most important, while the liquidity ratios were the least important. The six operational criteria have almost similar importance. The final results indicate a consistent overall performance by the Ennore Port, except during one financial year.

The proposed solution approach helps to identify and concentrate on the criteria that affect port performance. It will also help to evaluate and understand the dynamics involved in the performance of ports.

This work highlights the key measurable operational and financial criteria that affect the efficiency of ports. The integrated fuzzy DEMATEL-TOPSIS approach provides a better way to evaluate and benchmark port performance.

The study identifies barriers all stakeholders face in the returns management process. The pressing issue of online product returns significantly erodes the net profit margins, demanding urgent action. Existing returns management systems are often complex, time-consuming and costly, failing to address this issue effectively. In this regard, persuasive technologies like gamification can effectively influence behaviour and enhance motivation towards reducing return by striking a balance between psychological and behavioural factors. Therefore, the study proposes a framework that combines the theory of planned behaviour and Octalysis to identify intentions to reduce product return rates in the e-commerce business.

A qualitative exploratory research design using a multiple case study-based approach with in-depth interviews conducted with 96 varied stakeholders was used to provide insights into the behavioural aspects for reducing return rates in e-commerce.

The results reveal three facets of effective returns management in e-commerce. Customers and delivery partners prioritize return processes, policies and rewards, emphasizing efficiency. Meanwhile, mid- and strategic-level employees are optimistic about return process enhancements. Interdepartmental integration and cross-functional communication are found to be vital, suggesting the need for a gamified framework in returns management.

This research enriches the returns management literature on gamification solutions and responds to the need for theoretical anchoring by applying the theory of planned behaviour at the organizational level to improve efficiency and customer centricity in the return process.

This paper proposes an approach to solve the vehicle routing problem with simultaneous pickup and delivery (VRPSPD) in the context of the Physical Internet (PI) supply chain. The main objective is to minimize the total distribution costs (transportation cost and holding cost) to supply retailers from PI hubs.

Mixed integer programming (MIP) is proposed to solve the problem in smaller instances. A random local search (RLS) algorithm and a simulated annealing (SA) metaheuristic are proposed to solve larger instances of the problem.

The results show that SA provides the best solution in terms of total distribution cost and provides a good result regarding holding cost and transportation cost compared to other heuristic methods. Moreover, in terms of total carbon emissions, the PI concept proposed a better solution than the classical supply chain.

The sustainability of the route construction applied to the PI is validated through carbon emissions.

This approach also relates to the main objectives of transportation in the PI context: reduce empty trips and share transportation resources between PI-hubs and retailers. The proposed approaches are then validated through a case study of agricultural products in Thailand.

This approach is also relevant with the reduction of driving hours on the road because of share transportation results and shorter distance than the classical route planning.

This paper addresses the VRPSPD problem in the PI context, which is based on sharing transportation and storage resources while considering sustainability.

In past years, the global supply chain has witnessed devastating effects of coronavirus (COVID-19) disease. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has renewed the interest of the Sustainable Supply Chain (SSC) stakeholders on sustainability. The stakeholders are now rethinking their business processes and strategy to make them sustainable. In this context, the relevant literature is required to support emerging markets to formulate sustainability-focussed strategies. The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of potential antecedents that leads towards sustainable development of freight transportation in emerging markets.

Initially, the antecedents of the Sustainable Freight Transport (SFT) system are derived from the literature survey followed by verification from the experts. Then, the potential antecedents are categorized under four (social, organizational, operational and environmental) broad categories. Afterwards, a Neutrosophic Analytic Network Process (N-ANP) method is employed to obtain the priority weights of the identified potential antecedents.

The paper identified and ranked 17 antecedents of the SFT system. According to the study’s findings, the top three antecedents of SFT are “the presence of a multimodal transportation system,” “circularity in SFT” and “traffic congestion management”. The results from the study advocate the promotion of existing multi-modal transport facilities which is promising to achieve sustainability. The results suggested the adoption of the digital twin to manage the transport operations.

This study sheds light on how to achieve sustainability in the freight transportation system post-COVID era highlighting the potential antecedents. The study’s findings will assist practitioners in developing SFT strategies in the face of such pandemics in future.

Increased demand for new batteries and strict government protocols have stressed the battery industries to collect and recycle used batteries for economic and environmental benefits. This scenario has forced the battery industries to collect used batteries and establish the formal battery recycling plant (BRP) for effective recycling. The starting of BRP includes several strategic decisions, one of the most critical decisions encountered is to find the best sustainable location for BRP. Hence, this paper aims to address the complexity of the issues faced during the BRP location selection through a hybrid framework.

In this study, the criteria are identified under socio-cultural, technical, environmental, economic and policy and legal (STEEP) dimensions through literature review and experts' opinions. Then, the hybrid methodology integrating fuzzy decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL), best worst method (BWM) and technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) has been proposed to find the inter-relationship between criteria, the weights of criteria and the best alternative.

The identified five main criteria and 26 sub-criteria have been analyzed through fuzzy DEMATEL, and found that the policy and legal criteria have more inter-relationship with other criteria. Then from BWM results, it is found that the support from government bodies has attained the maximum weightage. Finally, the second alternative has been identified as a more suitable location for establishing BRP using TOPSIS. Further, it is found from the results that the support from government bodies, the impact of emissions, availability of basic facilities and community health are the essential criteria under STEEP dimensions for establishing BRP.

In addition to the various existing sustainable criteria, this study has also considered a set of policy and legal criteria for the evaluation of locations for BRP. Further, the hybrid MCDM method has been proposed in this study for selecting the best alternative. Thus, this study has yielded more insights to the decision-makers in choosing a sustainable location for BRP.

Significant interest in Integrated Management Systems (IMS), as a key area within ISO-related Management System Standards (MSS) literature, has been evident from both academia and industry over the past three decades. This study aims to map the evolution and current state of IMS research and propose possible directions for future studies.

A comprehensive content and bibliometric analysis of 846 documents from the Scopus database across the period 1995 to 2023 was conducted. This included performance analysis to track publication trends and identify key contributors, and content analysis to specify dominant research methodologies and the MSS most commonly integrated. Furthermore, science mapping techniques—such as co-authorship networks, keyword co-occurrence analysis, and bibliographic coupling—were utilized to outline the collaborative networks and the conceptual and intellectual structure of the field.

The study identifies three principal IMS research themes: the practical implementation of IMS, their role in promoting sustainability and social responsibility, and their impact on continuous performance improvement. It also highlights the field’s evolution and key research constituents—including influential works, prolific authors, leading academic institutions and countries, and top publishing journals. It further reveals that IMS research exhibits strong collaboration across authors and countries, and a rich methodological plurality, notably with a marked increase in empirical surveys in recent years. Additionally, it identifies the most frequently referenced MSS for integration, prominently featuring ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001/OHSAS 18001.

This study is original in its application of a dual analytical approach—bibliometric and content analysis—to provide a holistic overview of IMS research. It offers new insights into the integration of diverse MSS and proposes several promising paths for future research. Among the most prominent are standardizing IMS fundamental specifications, conducting more empirical research with advanced methods to evaluate the effects of MSS integration, providing practical support for organizations in IMS implementation through tailored methodologies and tools, and exploring the potential of Industry 4.0 and 5.0 technologies to advance IMS practices.