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Optimal Decisions and Risk Assessment in Sustainable Supply Chains

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 July 2021) | Viewed by 50168

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Laboratory of Informatics Engineering, Production and Maintenance (LGIPM), Lorraine University, Nancy, France
Interests: manufacturing/remanufacturing; maintenance/production; simulation; discrete event system theory; risk assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Laboratory of Informatics Engineering, Production and Maintenance (LGIPM), Logistic and Maintenance departemnt, University of lorraine, 57070 Metz, France
Interests: sustainable supply chain systems; transport and delivery; optimization methods and operations research; production and maintenance planning; risk assessment; assembly/disassembly systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Computer Engineering, Production and Maintenance Laboratory, Université de Lorraine, Metz, France
Interests: operations research; mathematical modelling; optimization; industrial engineering; electrical engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
LGIPM laboratory, University of Lorraine, 57073 Metz, France
Interests: reliability; maintenance management; supply chain management; risk assessment; optimization methods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Due to the potential economic benefits, legislation pressure, and environmental regulations, production companies are obliged to commit to the development of sustainable supply chains. Consequently, today, many production leaders are working hard to find optimal processes in sustainable supply chains, such as production decisions for new and remanufactured products, acquisition quantities of used products (reverse logistics), new maintenance strategies, optimal designs, scheduling, reconfiguration, etc. However, these decisions may cause economic or ecologic risks, e.g., profit losses or excessive carbon emissions, which have prompted many researchers to develop different models that estimate and analyze risk in supply chains. Therefore, more attention is needed to make optimal decisions in sustainable supply chains, and to analyze risks when undesirable events may occur.

From this point of view, authors are invited to submit high-quality research papers pertaining to decision making in sustainable supply chains, risk analyzing, and evaluation and optimization of sustainable supply chains. Research related to the keywords below is welcomed.

Prof. Nidhal Rezg
Dr. Turki Sadok
Dr. Sauvey Christophe
Dr. Dellagi Sofiene
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Optimal decisions in sustainable supply chains
  • Risk assessment for sustainable supply chains
  • Sustainable logistics systems design
  • Scheduling in sustainable manufacturing
  • Manufacturing/remanufacturing decisions
  • Reverse logistics and closed loop supply chain
  • Production planning in sustainable supply chain
  • New maintenance strategies in sustainable supply chains
  • Green maintenance
  • Sustainable transport and delivering
  • Carbon footprint and carbon trading

Published Papers (14 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 156 KiB  
Editorial
Optimal Decisions and Risk Assessment in Sustainable Supply Chains
by Sadok Turki, Christophe Sauvey, Sofiene Dellagi and Nidhal Rezg
Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 12198; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132112198 - 05 Nov 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1144
Abstract
Due to environmental preoccupations and potential economic benefits [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Decisions and Risk Assessment in Sustainable Supply Chains)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

16 pages, 387 KiB  
Article
Optimal Procurement Strategy for Supply Chain with Trade Credit and Backorder under CVaR Criterion
by Gaoke Wu, Bo Feng and Libin Guo
Sustainability 2021, 13(18), 10201; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su131810201 - 13 Sep 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1831
Abstract
Some capital-constrained and risk-averse retailers may unable to obtain financing from banks due to insufficient collateral and high loan costs, so some retailers tend to use trade credit financing to ease their financial pressure. For the two echelon supply chain composed of a [...] Read more.
Some capital-constrained and risk-averse retailers may unable to obtain financing from banks due to insufficient collateral and high loan costs, so some retailers tend to use trade credit financing to ease their financial pressure. For the two echelon supply chain composed of a well-funded supplier and a capital-constrained retailer with risk-averse preference, a trade credit strategy model with the supplier-led is established in this paper. By analyzing both parties’ benefits, we derive the model solution and provide optimal decisions to all petitioners. The results obtained in this paper show that the optimum order quantity under the Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR) criterion declines w.r.t. the confidence level, and the wholesale price of the supplier increases w.r.t. the confidence level. The reason is that when the retailer makes fewer orders, the supplier will correspondingly increase the wholesale price to maximize their profit. On the other hand, the ordering policy with allowing backorder will make the retailer place fewer orders. Finally, the proposed model is indicated by the given numerical experiments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Decisions and Risk Assessment in Sustainable Supply Chains)
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17 pages, 1681 KiB  
Article
Selection of Recycling Channels and Product Eco-Design with Take-Back Regulation
by Shiqi Xu, Hui Liu and Guangye Xu
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 8961; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13168961 - 10 Aug 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1908
Abstract
The influence of government policies on the selection of recycling channels has been widely discussed, but there are few studies from the perspective of product Eco-design. This paper examines the recycling channel options for a manufacturer applying Eco-design under government environmental regulation. We [...] Read more.
The influence of government policies on the selection of recycling channels has been widely discussed, but there are few studies from the perspective of product Eco-design. This paper examines the recycling channel options for a manufacturer applying Eco-design under government environmental regulation. We consider a system that includes a retailer, a manufacturer, and a government, and develop a three-stage Stackelberg game model. The government firstly decides whether to impose environmental regulations. Next, the manufacturer decides whether to recycle by himself or delegate the recycling task to the retailer, deciding both the wholesale price of the product and the collected price (recycled by the manufacturer) or the recycling compensation to the retailer (recycled by the retailer), and the retailer decides the retail price of new products and the collection price (recycled by the retailer). Our study finds that for the regulator, the optimal policy is not to implement environmental regulation because the manufacturer has implemented the product Eco-design. For the manufacturer, the choice of recycling channel depends on the recycling cost of the manufacturer and the retailer. When the manufacturer’s recycling cost is below a certain threshold, he will prefer to recycle the waste products by himself, and when the cost increases beyond this threshold, the manufacturer will transfer the recycling task to the retailer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Decisions and Risk Assessment in Sustainable Supply Chains)
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19 pages, 2407 KiB  
Article
Optimization of Flight Rescheduling Problem under Carbon Tax
by Mohamed Ali Kammoun, Sadok Turki and Nidhal Rezg
Sustainability 2020, 12(14), 5576; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12145576 - 10 Jul 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2227
Abstract
The flight rescheduling problem is one of the major challenges of air traffic issue. Unforeseen bad weather conditions stimulate air traffic congestion and make the initial scheduling infeasible, resulting in significant economic losses for passengers and airlines. Furthermore, due to rigorous environmental legislations, [...] Read more.
The flight rescheduling problem is one of the major challenges of air traffic issue. Unforeseen bad weather conditions stimulate air traffic congestion and make the initial scheduling infeasible, resulting in significant economic losses for passengers and airlines. Furthermore, due to rigorous environmental legislations, flight rescheduling becomes a more complicated problem, as it has to deal with flight delays on the one hand, and carbon emissions on the other hand. In this paper, we address the flight rescheduling problem with an environmental requirement subject to the air capacity limitation due to bad weather conditions. A new strategy is proposed to minimize the disruption effects on planned flights, which adopted ground delay, longer route change, flight cancellation, as well speed adjustment to arrive at a scheduled time. Firstly, the objective of this study is to determine the economical flights plan in line with the new available air capacity. Secondly, by considering the environmental impact of the kerosene consumption, we illustrate the contribution of an economical decision to aircraft emissions. Experiment results are provided to show the efficiency of the proposed strategies and genetic algorithm as the used optimization method. Furthermore, the impacts of carbon tax and cost of arrival delay on the flights carbon emissions are studied. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Decisions and Risk Assessment in Sustainable Supply Chains)
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13 pages, 817 KiB  
Article
An Optimal Preventive Maintenance Policy for a Solar Photovoltaic System
by Amir Baklouti, Lahcen Mifdal, Sofiene Dellagi and Anis Chelbi
Sustainability 2020, 12(10), 4266; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12104266 - 22 May 2020
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 3376
Abstract
In this paper, we develop a preventive maintenance (PM) strategy for a solar photovoltaic system composed of solar panels functioning as a series system. The photovoltaic system is considered in a failed state whenever its efficiency drops below a predefined threshold or any [...] Read more.
In this paper, we develop a preventive maintenance (PM) strategy for a solar photovoltaic system composed of solar panels functioning as a series system. The photovoltaic system is considered in a failed state whenever its efficiency drops below a predefined threshold or any electrical wiring element is damaged. In such a situation of failure, a minimal repair is performed. The proposed PM strategy suggests systematically replacing n panels with their respective wiring system every time units T over a finite operating time span H. The panels to be preventively replaced are selected by the maintenance agent after an on-site overall assessment of all panels, making sure every time not to replace panels previously replaced during a given replacement cycle of all panels of the system. An analytical model is proposed in order to simultaneously determine the optimal PM period, T, and the optimal number of solar panels, n, to be replaced at each PM. This is done by modeling and minimizing the expected total maintenance cost over the finite operating time horizon H. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the use of the proposed modelling approach and to discuss the obtained results. The latter provide the optimal solutions (T*, n*) for different combinations of input parameters. They also show the economic relevance of the proposed PM strategy through estimation of the economic gain when comparing the situations with and without preventive maintenance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Decisions and Risk Assessment in Sustainable Supply Chains)
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12 pages, 246 KiB  
Article
Green Supply Chain Decisions Considering Consumers’ Low-Carbon Awareness under Different Government Subsidies
by Chang Su, Xiaojing Liu and Wenyi Du
Sustainability 2020, 12(6), 2281; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12062281 - 14 Mar 2020
Cited by 49 | Viewed by 4207
Abstract
This study examined how to arrange the generation and pricing of supply chain members in the case of consumer green preference with different government subsidies. The green supply chain comprises a manufacturer and a retailer; the government subsidizes manufacturers who produce green products [...] Read more.
This study examined how to arrange the generation and pricing of supply chain members in the case of consumer green preference with different government subsidies. The green supply chain comprises a manufacturer and a retailer; the government subsidizes manufacturers who produce green products and consumers who buy green products. The study built a green supply chain pricing decision model with different forms of subsidy under various power structures. By backward induction and sensitivity analysis, this study analyzed optimal strategies of green supply chain under various modes, and we discuss how the government subsidy coefficient affects the optimal decision of a green supply chain. The results show that, firstly, whether the government subsidizes the manufacturers or the consumers, the wholesale price offered by the manufacturer is directly proportional to the subsidy coefficient under the two power structures. Secondly, when the government subsidizes the manufacturer, the carbon-emission level and the retail price are inversely proportional to the subsidy coefficient under the manufacturer leader; the carbon-emission level and the retail price are all directly proportional to the subsidy coefficient under the retailer leader. Finally, when the government subsidizes the consumers, the carbon-emission level and the retail price are directly proportional to the subsidy coefficient under the two power structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Decisions and Risk Assessment in Sustainable Supply Chains)
13 pages, 2670 KiB  
Article
Tax or Subsidy? Optimal Carbon Emission Policy: A Supply Chain Perspective
by Xing Yin, Xiaolin Chen, Xiaolin Xu and Lianmin Zhang
Sustainability 2020, 12(4), 1548; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12041548 - 19 Feb 2020
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3657
Abstract
With a rigid requirement for environment protection, governments need to make appropriate policies to induce firms to adopt green technology in consideration of the rapidly increasing demand for environmentally friendly products. We investigated the government policy from the perspective of a supply chain, [...] Read more.
With a rigid requirement for environment protection, governments need to make appropriate policies to induce firms to adopt green technology in consideration of the rapidly increasing demand for environmentally friendly products. We investigated the government policy from the perspective of a supply chain, which consisted of the upstream government (she) and the downstream manufacturing firm (he). The government decided on the policy (tax or subsidy) to maximize the social welfare, while the firm decided on the greenness level of the product, which affects the consumers’ choice behavior and hence his own demand. Assuming else being equal, the government should adopt the tax policy if consumers are very sensitive to the greenness, the cost of greening is high, or the negative impact due to carbon emission is large, and subsidize the firm otherwise. We also conduct some numerical studies when price is endogenous. The main insights can be carried over. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Decisions and Risk Assessment in Sustainable Supply Chains)
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13 pages, 3095 KiB  
Article
An Optimal Purchase Decision of Reusable Packaging in the Automotive Industry
by Byungsoo Na, Min Kyu Sim and Won Ju Lee
Sustainability 2019, 11(23), 6579; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su11236579 - 21 Nov 2019
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4331
Abstract
Among the many components of material delivery operations, packaging is one of the foundations of secure and cost-efficient on-time delivery. Current environmental concerns have increased the popularity of returnable packaging over disposable packaging. This study considers a supply chain in the automotive industry [...] Read more.
Among the many components of material delivery operations, packaging is one of the foundations of secure and cost-efficient on-time delivery. Current environmental concerns have increased the popularity of returnable packaging over disposable packaging. This study considers a supply chain in the automotive industry where a single supplier adopts returnable packages for delivery operations to a single recipient. If a returnable package is not available, then an expendable package will be used as a more expensive alternative. Thus, an investment decision on the number of returnable packages must be made prior to launching a returnable packaging system. Using the actual data from an automotive supply chain, this study conducts simulated experiments, under the uncertainty of future demand and required lead time of reverse logistics, to identify the optimal quantity of returnable packages. Sensitivity analysis is then performed by varying the assumptions on operation duration, demand variability, and lead time variability. In general, the results indicate that a greater initial purchase of returnable packages is desirable for longer operation duration, higher demand variability, and higher lead time variability. However, if operation duration is short and the uncertainty is high, then there may be little benefit in using reusable packages. These results generalize the findings from previous studies. This approach and solution can enhance reliable and efficient supply chain operations in the automotive industry and may be applied to other industries where packaging is important and expensive. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Decisions and Risk Assessment in Sustainable Supply Chains)
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14 pages, 263 KiB  
Article
A Green Closed-Loop Supply Chain Coordination Mechanism Based on Third-Party Recycling
by Jiafu Su, Chi Li, Qingjun Zeng, Jiaquan Yang and Jie Zhang
Sustainability 2019, 11(19), 5335; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su11195335 - 27 Sep 2019
Cited by 80 | Viewed by 4658
Abstract
Taking an environment-friendly green closed-loop supply chain as the research object, this work established a two-stage closed-loop supply chain game model. Considering the influence of the environmental protection input on the whole supply chain, there are different decisions among the participants in the [...] Read more.
Taking an environment-friendly green closed-loop supply chain as the research object, this work established a two-stage closed-loop supply chain game model. Considering the influence of the environmental protection input on the whole supply chain, there are different decisions among the participants in the supply chain, and the different choices will have impacts on the benefits of the whole supply chain when manufacturers select a closed-loop supply chain model of third-party recycling. Hence, this work compared and analyzed the impact of centralized decision-making and decentralized decision-making on the returns and pricing strategies of each participant. Finally, an optimized cooperative mechanism decision model considering a cost profit sharing contract was further designed. The model is conducive to obtaining the maximum profit value in centralized decision-making and avoids the negative impact of a “double marginal effect” on supply chain income in decentralized decision-making, and finally, improves the overall coordination and profit of a green closed-loop supply chain. The numerical examples are conducted to verify the effectiveness and practicality of the proposed models. This work provides a helpful decision support and guidance for enterprises and the government on the used products recycling decisions to better manage the green closed-loop supply chain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Decisions and Risk Assessment in Sustainable Supply Chains)
19 pages, 1573 KiB  
Article
The Assessment of Non-Financial Risk Sources of SMES in the V4 Countries and Serbia
by Judit Oláh, Zuzana Virglerova, József Popp, Jana Kliestikova and Sándor Kovács
Sustainability 2019, 11(17), 4806; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su11174806 - 03 Sep 2019
Cited by 45 | Viewed by 4348
Abstract
Risks are a very important part of the business environment. If risks are managed well, they can provide a higher level of competitiveness and sustainability advantages for a company. The first step towards successful risk management is an identification of risks. The aim [...] Read more.
Risks are a very important part of the business environment. If risks are managed well, they can provide a higher level of competitiveness and sustainability advantages for a company. The first step towards successful risk management is an identification of risks. The aim of this article is to create a risk profile for (small and medium-sized enterprises) SMEs in V4 countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary), compare them to each other and then compare the results with those for Serbia. The data were collected during an extensive research project organized by Tomas Bata University in Zlín in 2017 and 2018. In total 2110 answers of SMEs were analyzed. For the verification of hypotheses, a 5-point Likert scale, Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) and Multiple Factors Analysis (MFA) and ANOVA were used. The level of legal, security, personnel and operational risks is statistically higher in Serbia than in V4 countries, and the lowest level is in Slovakia. Some significant differences among the exposure to risk according to economic sectors were identified. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Decisions and Risk Assessment in Sustainable Supply Chains)
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26 pages, 1656 KiB  
Article
Warranty Period Decision and Coordination in Closed-Loop Supply Chains Considering Remanufacturing and Consumer Behavior
by Xiaodong Zhu, Lingfei Yu and Wei Li
Sustainability 2019, 11(15), 4237; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su11154237 - 05 Aug 2019
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4171
Abstract
The closed-loop supply chain management model is an effective way to promote sustainable economic development and environmental protection. Increasing the sales volume of remanufactured products to stimulate green growth is a key issue in the development of closed-loop supply chains. By designing an [...] Read more.
The closed-loop supply chain management model is an effective way to promote sustainable economic development and environmental protection. Increasing the sales volume of remanufactured products to stimulate green growth is a key issue in the development of closed-loop supply chains. By designing an effective warranty strategy, customer’s perceived value can be enhanced and market demand can be stimulated. This study cuts through the warranty period of closed-loop supply chain products. Based on the perspective of consumer behavior, game theory is used to construct the optimal decision-making model for closed-loop supply chains. The optimal warranty decision making for new products and remanufactured products under centralized and decentralized decision-making models is discussed. Further, the impact of the closed-loop supply chain system with warranty services and the design of contract coordination is also shown. We show that consumer preference has a positive impact on the sales of remanufactured products and the profits of enterprises; with the extension of the new product and remanufacturing warranty period, the profit of the supply chain system first increases and then decreases, and the value is maximized at the extreme point in the manufacturer-led decision-making model. Furthermore, the leader gains higher profits with bargaining power, but the profit of the supply chain system under decentralized decision model is less than that of the centralized decision model, reflecting the double marginalization effect. The revenue sharing contract and the two-charge contract designed in this study coordinate the closed-loop supply chain system with warranty services, so that the member companies in the supply chain can achieve Pareto improvement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Decisions and Risk Assessment in Sustainable Supply Chains)
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24 pages, 1693 KiB  
Article
Response of Fresh Food Suppliers to Sustainable Supply Chain Management of Large European Retailers
by Juan Carlos Pérez-Mesa, Laura Piedra-Muñoz, Mª Carmen García-Barranco and Cynthia Giagnocavo
Sustainability 2019, 11(14), 3885; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su11143885 - 17 Jul 2019
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 6138
Abstract
This article analyses new supply chain management (SCM) strategies of the largest retail distribution chains in Europe within the context of differing sustainability concepts and approaches. An analysis is carried out of the strategic plans of such retailers, as well as recent developments [...] Read more.
This article analyses new supply chain management (SCM) strategies of the largest retail distribution chains in Europe within the context of differing sustainability concepts and approaches. An analysis is carried out of the strategic plans of such retailers, as well as recent developments in the sector. We begin by identifying the priority actions of retailers and then evaluating, by means of a survey, how small horticultural marketing firms (mainly cooperatives) in southeast Spain respond to the needs of these retailers. Subsequently, an analysis is carried out on these small marketing firm exporters to identify the relative weight which they assign to the variables assessed, while also considering the existing relationships between said weighted variables and business profits. Our results show that retailers tend to establish more simplified supply chains (that is, shorter and more vertical), essentially demonstrating their interpretation of a sustainable supply chain. In contrast, horticultural marketing firms have concentrated more on tactical and operational issues, thereby neglecting environmental, social and logistics management. Thus, their success rate in meeting the sustainability demands of their customers can be considered medium-low, requiring a more proactive attitude. Improved and collaborative relations, and the integration of sustainability concepts between suppliers (marketing firms) and their clients could contribute to successfully meeting sustainability demands. From the point of view of the consumer, close supplier–retail relationships have solved food safety issues, but the implementation of sustainability in other supply chain activities and processes is a pending issue. We propose strategic approximation and collaboration to bridge the gap between the varying sustainability demands in the supplier–retail relationship within perishable supply chains. Although this article specifically addresses fresh vegetable supply chains, the results may be extrapolated to other agri-food chains with a similar structure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Decisions and Risk Assessment in Sustainable Supply Chains)
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17 pages, 1081 KiB  
Article
Return Strategies and Online Product Customization in a Dual-Channel Supply Chain
by Rong Zhang, Jiatong Li, Zongsheng Huang and Bin Liu
Sustainability 2019, 11(12), 3482; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su11123482 - 25 Jun 2019
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4220
Abstract
This paper investigates in a dual-channel supply chain which return strategy is better for the manufacturer that considers the consumers’ utility. We find that a manufacturer prefers offering a Money-Back Guarantee (MBG) as long as the net salvage value of the returned product [...] Read more.
This paper investigates in a dual-channel supply chain which return strategy is better for the manufacturer that considers the consumers’ utility. We find that a manufacturer prefers offering a Money-Back Guarantee (MBG) as long as the net salvage value of the returned product is positive in a channel. However, the return strategy of the retailer is more affected by the return policy of another channel than the net salvage value. In order to reduce online returns, we propose the online product customization channel, and then, we examine the choice of return policy and the manufacturer’s channel selection. We show that the demand and profit of the manufacturer will increase to a certain extent when opening an online customization channel. However, compared to the case where both channels provide an MBG, the implementation of online customization may hurt the manufacturer’s profits with the increase in consumer satisfaction in indirect channels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Decisions and Risk Assessment in Sustainable Supply Chains)
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13 pages, 4497 KiB  
Article
Developing Fair Investment Plans to Enhance Supply Chain Visibility Using Cooperative Games
by Changhyun Kim and KwangSup Shin
Sustainability 2019, 11(11), 3209; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su11113209 - 10 Jun 2019
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2866
Abstract
As supply chains become more complex and globalized, the individual participants of the supply chains should invest in systems based on information communication technologies (ICT) such as the remote frequency identification device (RFID) with tags that secure the visibility of the entire supply [...] Read more.
As supply chains become more complex and globalized, the individual participants of the supply chains should invest in systems based on information communication technologies (ICT) such as the remote frequency identification device (RFID) with tags that secure the visibility of the entire supply chain. In addition, the level of visibility, such as the container, pallet, carton, and box, should be determined for each participant to optimize its own profit function. By using a collaborative game scheme, the present study illustrates the relationships among participants who invest to a certain level of visibility, and then how much value each participant gets. To find feasible solutions, a genetic algorithm-based mechanism is devised for modeling various fitness functions considering the total profit and benefit to cost (B/C) ratio. The proposed framework considers the relationship among participants, as well as the impact from the enhanced visibility, and it may be possible to make fair and rational decisions for all participants based on the quantitative metrics such as the B/C ratio. In this paper, we propose a novel method based on the game-theoretic approach where the enhanced visibility prevents a certain participant from taking most of the benefit. It seems possible to establish a long-term sustainable supply chain visibility by distributing profit fairly to all participants in the supply chain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Decisions and Risk Assessment in Sustainable Supply Chains)
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