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Article
Publication date: 13 February 2017

Sajan T. John, Rajagopalan Sridharan and P.N. Ram Kumar

The purpose of this paper is to develop a mathematical model for the network design of a reverse supply chain in a multi-product, multi-period environment. The emission cost due…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a mathematical model for the network design of a reverse supply chain in a multi-product, multi-period environment. The emission cost due to transportation activities is incorporated into the model to reduce the total cost of emission and study the significance of inclusion of emission cost on the network design decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

Mixed integer linear programming formulation is used to model the network. The developed model is solved and analysed using the commercial solver LINGO.

Findings

The mathematical model provides a unified design of the network for the entire planning horizon comprising of different periods. A reduction in the total cost of emission is achieved. The analysis of the problem environment shows that the network design decisions significantly vary with the consideration of emission cost.

Research limitations/implications

A single mode of transportation is considered in this study. Also, a single type of vehicle is considered for the transportation purpose.

Practical implications

The developed model can aid the decision makers in making better decisions while reducing the total emission cost. The quantification of the emission cost due to transportation activities is presented in an Indian context and can be used for future studies.

Originality/value

An all-encompassing approach for the design of reverse logistics networks with explicit consideration of product structure and emission cost.

Details

The International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. 28 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-4093

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Article
Publication date: 18 February 2025

Prashant Premkumar, S.D. Sumod, A. Rajeev and P.N. Ram Kumar

The present study examines the impact of sustainable transitions on the energy and environmental efficiency (EEE) of nations across the developed and developing world. It studies…

6

Abstract

Purpose

The present study examines the impact of sustainable transitions on the energy and environmental efficiency (EEE) of nations across the developed and developing world. It studies the temporal shift in the share of renewable sources in energy generation. It also analyses the shift in the efficiency frontier of nations using data envelopment analysis (DEA). Further, it studies the macro-level drivers of EEE in the countries.

Design/methodology/approach

As the first step, we benchmark the EEE of the developed and developing nations using DEA. Subsequently, we look at the influence of institutional quality, human capital, R&D and knowledge systems on EEE, to develop a comprehensive understanding of the macro-level drivers of EEE.

Findings

Our analyses reveal that a country’s institutional quality, human capital and R&D are critical determinants of EEE. The results show that while human capital has a significant positive impact on EEE, R&D expenditure alone has no substantial impact. The findings also suggest that knowledge diffusion disperses best practices across nations and bridges EEE gaps.

Practical implications

Attempts to promote sustainable energy transitions and improve EEE have met with varying levels of success. The results of this study will provide a useful guideline for the governments to achieve the goal of EEE through sustainable energy transitions (SET).

Originality/value

Unlike previous studies, we adopt a multi-factor EEE assessment. We also examine additional influences like the human capital of a nation and its knowledge management system to develop a comprehensive understanding of the macro-level drivers of EEE.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

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Article
Publication date: 30 December 2019

C.R. Vishnu, R. Sridharan, P.N. Ram Kumar and V. Regi Kumar

Risk management in the healthcare sector is a highly relevant sub-domain and a crucial research area from the humanitarian perspective. The purpose of this paper is to focus on…

544

Abstract

Purpose

Risk management in the healthcare sector is a highly relevant sub-domain and a crucial research area from the humanitarian perspective. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the managerial/supply chain risk factors experienced by the government hospitals in an Indian state. The present paper analyzes the inter-relationships among the significant risk factors and ranks those risk factors based on their criticality.

Design/methodology/approach

The current research focuses on 125 public hospitals in an Indian state. Questionnaire-based survey and personal interviews were conducted in the healthcare sector among the inpatients and hospital staff to identify the significant risk factors. An integrated DEMATEL–ISM–PROMETHEE method is adopted to analyze the impact potential and dependence behavior of the risk factors.

Findings

The analysis asserts the absence of critical risk factors that have a direct impact on patient safety in the present healthcare system under investigation. However, the results illustrate the remarkable impact potential attributed to the risk factor, namely, staff shortage in inducing other risk factors such as employee attitudinal issues, employee health issues and absenteeism altogether resulting in community mistrust/misbeliefs. Maintenance mismanagement, monsoon time epidemics, physical infrastructure limitations are also found to be significant risk factors that compromise patient satisfaction levels.

Practical implications

Multiple options are illustrated to mitigate significant risk factors and operational constraints experienced by public hospitals in the state. The study warrants urgent attention from government officials to fill staff vacancies and to improve the infrastructural facilities to match with the increasing demand from the society. Furthermore, this research recommends the hospital authorities to start conducting induction and training programs for the hospital employees to instill the fundamental code of conduct while working in hectic, challenging and even in conditions with limited resources.

Originality/value

Only limited papers are visible that address the identification and mitigation of risk factors associated with hospitals. The present paper proposes a novel DEMATEL–ISM–PROMETHEE integrated approach to map the inter-relationships among the significant risk factors and to rank those risk factors based on their criticality. Furthermore, the present study discloses the unique setting of the public healthcare system in a developing nation.

Details

International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, vol. 33 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0952-6862

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Book part
Publication date: 25 July 2024

Ramesh Krishnan, Rohit G and P N Ram Kumar

Considering sustainability and resilience together is crucial in food supply chain (FSC) management, as it ensures a balanced approach that meets environmental, economic and…

Abstract

Considering sustainability and resilience together is crucial in food supply chain (FSC) management, as it ensures a balanced approach that meets environmental, economic and social needs while maintaining the system's capacity to withstand disruptions. Towards this, a multi-objective optimisation model is proposed in this study to create an integrated sustainable and resilient FSC. The proposed model employs four objective functions – each representing a dimension of sustainability and one for resilience and utilises an augmented ϵ-constraint method for solving. The findings highlight the interplay between sustainability aspects and resilience, illustrating that overemphasis on any single dimension can adversely affect others. Further, the proposed model is applied to the case of Indian mango pulp supply chain and several inferences are derived. The proposed model would assist decision-makers in making a well-balanced choice based on sustainability and resilience considerations.

Details

Sustainable and Resilient Supply Chain
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83608-033-6

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Article
Publication date: 24 September 2019

Vishnu C.R., R. Sridharan, Angappa Gunasekaran and P.N. Ram Kumar

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the distinction and relationships between the significant strategic capabilities for managing risks in supply chains. This…

1220

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the distinction and relationships between the significant strategic capabilities for managing risks in supply chains. This intersectional review exposes a substantial conceptual contradiction between the perspectives reported by various researchers. Further, the current paper classifies the literature into four categories according to the broad objectives investigated by the research papers.

Design/methodology/approach

Initially, a bibliometric analysis aligned with the concepts of a systematic literature review is conducted followed by a descriptive review focusing on models and methods. The software called BibExcel is utilized to extract and analyze the bibliographic information in a textual form from the research articles associated with strategic capabilities of the logistics sector. The results are exported to the software known as Gephi to visualize keyword co-occurrence analysis as networks. A well-structured descriptive review is also conducted to identify avenues for future research.

Findings

Despite conventional supply chain capabilities like efficiency and effectiveness, eight significant strategic capabilities of supply chains for managing risks are identified from the literature. These capabilities with positive connotations include flexibility, reliability, resilience, robustness, agility, adaptability, alignment and responsiveness. Considering the vast literature on flexibility/reliability along with its numerous dimensions and scope, the authors found that resilience, robustness, agility, adaptability, alignment and effectiveness are achievable through flexibility/reliability. Accordingly, it is appropriate to state reliability and flexibility as supply chain capabilities to achieve the other six supply chain competencies. Furthermore, the entire literature in this domain can be classified into four genres according to the addressed objectives, namely, concept development/validation, capability assessment, network design and performance evaluation.

Research limitations/implications

The information revealed from the keyword co-occurrence analysis along with the research implications provided in the penultimate section will assist budding researchers in framing novel and promising research objectives. Supply chain administrators and policymakers can utilize the literature classification and the notable references provided in this review for locating potential methods for assessing supply chain strategic capabilities, designing the supply chain and evaluating the performance of the supply chain.

Originality/value

An integrated bibliometric and descriptive literature review procedure is utilized in this paper. Furthermore, this critical review is the first work on comprehensively mapping the research relationships among various strategic capabilities required for mitigating supply chain risks.

Details

Journal of Advances in Management Research, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0972-7981

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Article
Publication date: 11 October 2018

Anilkumar Elavanakattu Narayanan, Rajagopalan Sridharan and P.N. Ram Kumar

The purpose of this paper is to identify, model, analyze and prioritize the barriers in implementing sustainable practices in rubber products manufacturing industry in Kerala, a…

1826

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify, model, analyze and prioritize the barriers in implementing sustainable practices in rubber products manufacturing industry in Kerala, a state in South India. This research provides a more reliable quantitative measure of association of the barriers in the implementation of sustainable practices in the rubber products manufacturing sector.

Design/methodology/approach

Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) is used to develop the hierarchical relationships among the barriers in the implementation of sustainable supply chain practices in the rubber products manufacturing sector. The hierarchical structure among the barriers is framed using the experts’ opinion. Cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to the classification (MICMAC) analysis is integrated with the output of ISM to classify the barriers into different categories based on the driving power and the dependence power. The driving power and the dependence power of the barriers obtained from ISM constitute two criteria for prioritizing the barriers. The change management required is considered as the third criterion. The fuzzy-analytic hierarchy process (F-AHP) methodology is adopted to prioritize the barriers based on these three criteria.

Findings

The hierarchical relationship obtained through ISM methodology shows that lack of government initiatives and lack of benchmark on sustainability measurement in Indian conditions are the major barriers in implementing sustainable practices in the rubber products manufacturing sector. These barriers lead to the lack of management commitment for the implementation of sustainable practices in the organizations under study. The prioritization obtained through the F-AHP method suggests that lack of top-level management commitment, lack of motivation, lack of government initiatives and high initial cost of implementation are some of the major barriers in implementing sustainable practices in the organizations.

Research limitations/implications

In the application of the ISM methodology, the contextual relationship between the barriers specified by the experts and their preferences may involve bias. Another limitation of this research is that the modeling and prioritization of the barriers are executed based on the opinion of experts from rubber product manufacturing companies in one state only.

Originality/value

To the best knowledge of the authors, this research is the first study on the identification and prioritization of the barriers in sustainable supply chain implementation in the rubber products manufacturing sector. Modeling the inter-relationship among the barriers using ISM technique and prioritizing the barriers using F-AHP are the novel features of the contributions of this work.

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 30 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

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Book part
Publication date: 25 July 2024

Arun A. Elias, Matthew Pepper, Anand Gurumurthy and Avanish K. Shukla

Resilient and sustainable supply chain management is emerging as a focused area of research in the field of supply chain management. This article aims to introduce this edition of…

Abstract

Resilient and sustainable supply chain management is emerging as a focused area of research in the field of supply chain management. This article aims to introduce this edition of Advances in Environmental Accounting and Management and explore opportunities for research related to resilient and sustainable supply chain management. A critical analysis of literature found the need for developing the theory underpinning resilient and sustainable supply chains and the need for rich empirical studies. The six articles included in this edition present a variety of contexts including food supply chain, environmental accounting models, energy sector, human resources, modern slavery, horticultural worker exploitation and sustainable transport in jurisdictions like Australia, European Union, Fiji and India. Overall, this edition contributes to both theoretical and empirical literature on resilient and sustainable supply chain management and presents a repository of research that explores this area using an accounting and environmental management perspective.

Details

Sustainable and Resilient Supply Chain
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83608-033-6

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Article
Publication date: 30 April 2024

Niharika Varshney, Srikant Gupta and Aquil Ahmed

This study aims to address the inherent uncertainties within closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) networks through the application of a multi-objective approach, specifically focusing…

117

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to address the inherent uncertainties within closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) networks through the application of a multi-objective approach, specifically focusing on the optimization of integrated production and transportation processes. The primary purpose is to enhance decision-making in supply chain management by formulating a robust multi-objective model.

Design/methodology/approach

In dealing with uncertainty, this study uses Pythagorean fuzzy numbers (PFNs) to effectively represent and quantify uncertainties associated with various parameters within the CLSC network. The proposed model is solved using Pythagorean hesitant fuzzy programming, presenting a comprehensive and innovative methodology designed explicitly for handling uncertainties inherent in CLSC contexts.

Findings

The research findings highlight the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed framework for addressing uncertainties within CLSC networks. Through a comparative analysis with other established approaches, the model demonstrates its robustness, showcasing its potential to make informed and resilient decisions in supply chain management.

Research limitations/implications

This study successfully addressed uncertainty in CLSC networks, providing logistics managers with a robust decision-making framework. Emphasizing the importance of PFNs and Pythagorean hesitant fuzzy programming, the research offered practical insights for optimizing transportation routes and resource allocation. Future research could explore dynamic factors in CLSCs, integrate real-time data and leverage emerging technologies for more agile and sustainable supply chain management.

Originality/value

This research contributes significantly to the field by introducing a novel and comprehensive methodology for managing uncertainty in CLSC networks. The adoption of PFNs and Pythagorean hesitant fuzzy programming offers an original and valuable approach to addressing uncertainties, providing practitioners and decision-makers with insights to make informed and resilient decisions in supply chain management.

Details

Journal of Modelling in Management, vol. 19 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5664

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Article
Publication date: 20 September 2021

Kazhal Gharibi and Sohrab Abdollahzadeh

To maximize the network total profit by calculating the difference between costs and revenue (first objective function). To maximize the positive impact on the environment by…

808

Abstract

Purpose

To maximize the network total profit by calculating the difference between costs and revenue (first objective function). To maximize the positive impact on the environment by integrating GSCM factors in RL (second objective function). To calculate the efficiency of disassembly centers by SDEA method, which are selected as suppliers and maximize the total efficiency (third objective function). To evaluate the resources and total efficiency of the proposed model to facilitate the allocation resource process, to increase resource efficiency and to improve the efficiency of disassembly centers by Inverse DEA.

Design/methodology/approach

The design of a closed-loop logistics network for after-sales service for mobile phones and digital cameras has been developed by the mixed-integer linear programming method (MILP). Development of MILP method has been performed by simultaneously considering three main objectives including: total network profit, green supply chain factors (environmental sustainability) and maximizing the efficiency of disassembly centers. The proposed model of study is a six-level, multi-objective, single-period and multi-product that focuses on electrical waste. The efficiency of product return centers is calculated by SDEA method and the most efficient centers are selected.

Findings

The results of using the model in a case mining showed that, due to the use of green factors in network design, environmental pollution and undesirable disposal of some electronic waste were reduced. Also, with the reduction of waste disposal, valuable materials entered the market cycle and the network profit increased.

Originality/value

(1) Design a closed-loop reverse logistics network for after-sales services; (2) Introduce a multi-objective multi-echelon mixed integer linear programming model; (3) Sensitivity analysis use Inverse-DEA method to increase the efficiency of inefficient units; (4) Use the GSC factors and DEA method in reverse logistics network.

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Article
Publication date: 21 July 2023

Deepak Datta Nirmal, K. Nageswara Reddy and Sujeet Kumar Singh

The main purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive review and critical insights of the application of fuzzy methods in modeling, assessing and understanding the various…

882

Abstract

Purpose

The main purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive review and critical insights of the application of fuzzy methods in modeling, assessing and understanding the various aspects of green and sustainable supply chains (SSCs).

Design/methodology/approach

The present study conducts a systematic literature review (SLR) and bibliometric analysis of 252 research articles. This study employs various tools such as VOSviewer version 1.6.10, Publish or Perish, Mendeley and Excel that aid in descriptive analysis, bibliometric analysis and network visualization. These tools have been used for performing citation analysis, top authors' analysis, co-occurrence of keywords, cluster and content analysis.

Findings

The authors have divided the literature into seven application areas and discussed detailed insights. This study has observed that research in the social sustainability area, including various issues like health and safety, labor rights, discrimination, etc. is scarce. Integration of the Industry 4.0 technologies like blockchain, big data analytics, Internet of Things (IoT) with the sustainable and green supply chain (GSC) is a promising field for future research.

Originality/value

The authors' contribution primarily lies in providing the integrated framework which shows the changing trends in the use of fuzzy methods in the sustainability area classifying and consolidating green and sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) literature in seven major areas where fuzzy methods are predominantly applied. These areas have been obtained after the analysis of clusters and content analysis of the literature presenting key insights from the past and developing the conceptual framework for future research studies.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. 31 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

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