Multiobjective and social cost-benefit optimisation for a sustainable hydrogen supply chain

This article presents a comprehensive approach to design hydrogen supply chains (HSCs) targeting industrial and mobility markets. Even if the inclusion of sustainability criteria is paramount, only a few studies simultaneously consider economic, environmental, and social aspects - the most difficult to measure. In this paper, the safety risk and the social cost-benefit (SCB) have been identified as quantifiable social criteria that would affect society and the end-users. The objectives of this research are (1) to design a sustainable HSC by using four objective functions, i.e., levelized cost of hydrogen, global warming potential, safety risk and social cost-benefit through a mixed-integer linear programming model; (2) to compare results from SCB and multiobjective optimisation. The integration of the SCB criterion at the optimisation stage is not a trivial task and is one of the main contributions of this work. It implies the minimisation of the total cost of ownership (TCO) for buses and trucks. The evolution of the HSC from 2030 to 2050 is studied through a multiobjective and multiperiod optimisation framework using the ε-constraint method. The methodology has been applied to a case study for Hungary with several scenarios to test the sensitivity of demand type and volume as well as the production technology. The results analysis highlights that (1) it is beneficial to have mixed demand (industry and mobility) and a gradual introduction/migration to electrolysis technology and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) for a smooth transition. Liquid hydrogen produced via water electrolysis powered by nuclear and wind energy can result in an average levelized cost of $4.78 and 3.14 kg CO2-eq per kg H2; (2) the frameworks for multiobjective optimisation and SCB maximisation are complementary because they prioritise different aspects to design the HSC. Taxes and surcharges for H2 fuel will impact its final price at the refuelling station resulting in a higher TCO for FCVs compared to diesel buses and trucks in 2030 but the TCO becomes almost competitive for hydrogen trucks from 2035 when SCB is maximised. The SCB function can be refined and easily adapted to include additional externalities

A game theoretic competitive supply chain network model with green investments and labour

In light of the recent severe Supply Chain (SC) disruptions that have occurred across multiple industries around the globe, three essential and linked themes have emerged in SC management: the well-being of employees, SC sustainability, and competition between SCs for limited resources. In this paper, we create a game-theoretic SC network model that incorporates together non-cooperative SC competition, employee productivity and engagement, and green investing. Each competing firm within the network seeks to maximise its profit by determining an optimal flow of products and allocation of green investments across the SC according to a predetermined budget. A carbon tax on emissions and consumer sustainability preferences are also included in the model. The model is solved using a Variational Inequality reformulation. The illustrative numerical examples presented in this paper have been inspired by the Maltese dairy industry and demonstrate the applicability of the model to real-world problems. The results highlight the significance of the employee engagement factor in enabling firms to adopt and realise more sustainable SC practices.peer-reviewe

Chance-constrained approach for decentralized supply chain network under uncertain cost

A decentralized supply chain network under uncertain cost is studied to obtain the optimal decisions of the enterprises in a situation in which the cost is uncertain. The supply chain network members adopt a chance-constrained approach to make decisions. The second-order cone-constrained variational inequality problem is used to construct the chance-constrained supply chain network equilibrium model. Then, the existence and uniqueness properties of the proposed equilibrium model are discussed under some mild assumptions. For the discontinuous functions in the feasible region of the model, the proposed model is converted to a second-order cone complementarity problem. The numerical results show that the uncertainty and risk attitude of retailers and manufacturers have different effects on supply chain network members. When the risk attitude is high, a small change in the risk attitude will significantly change all decisions of supply chain members. If the supply chain member is affected by the uncertainty positively, its profit will increase as its risk attitude increases. Moreover, it is appropriate to adopt a chance-constrained approach when the supply chain members can estimate the distributions of the competitor's strategies

A Supply Chain Equilibrium Model with General Price-Dependent Demand

The concept of supply chain equilibrium has been widely employed to solve real-life cases. Under this concept, decisions makers move simultaneously and compete in a noncooperative manner to achieve a supply chain network equilibrium. This paper proposes a supply chain network equilibrium model consisting of multiple raw material suppliers, manufacturers and retailers. Unlike previous studies, we assume that the demand for the product at each retail outlet is modeled as general stochastic functions of price that encompass additive-multiplicative demand models used in previous studies. Under general price-dependent demand functions, we derive the optimality conditions of suppliers, manufacturers and retailers, and establish that the governing equilibrium conditions can be formulated as a finite-dimensional variational inequality problem. The existence and uniqueness of the solution to the variational inequality are examined. A sensitivity analysis and a series of numerical tests are conducted to illustrate the analytical effects of demand distribution, model parameters, demand level and variability on quantity shipments, prices, and expected profits. Managerial insights are reported to show the impact of different types of demand functions and model parameters on the equilibrium solutions

Smart Steaming: A New Flexible Paradigm for Synchromodal Logistics

Slow steaming, i.e., the possibility to ship vessels at a significantly slower speed than their nominal one, has been widely studied and implemented to improve the sustainability of long-haul supply chains. However, to create an efficient symbiosis with the paradigm of synchromodality, an evolution of slow steaming called smart steaming is introduced. Smart steaming is about defining a medium speed execution of shipping movements and the real-time adjustment (acceleration and deceleration) of traveling speeds to pursue the entire logistic system’s overall efficiency and sustainability. For instance, congestion in handling facilities (intermodal hubs, ports, and rail stations) is often caused by the common wish to arrive as soon as possible. Therefore, smart steaming would help avoid bottlenecks, allowing better synchronization and decreasing waiting time at ports or handling facilities. This work aims to discuss the strict relationships between smart steaming and synchromodality and show the potential impact of moving from slow steaming to smart steaming in terms of sustainability and efficiency. Moreover, we will propose an analysis considering the pros, cons, opportunities, and risks of managing operations under this new policy

Three essays on urban freight transport: models and tools for effective city logistics projects

The main purpose of these three years of research, summarized in this thesis, was to investigate the obstacles to the development of the city logistics initiatives by seeking solutions to overcome them through model and framework coming from management and transportation engineering. In particular, following a first analysis of a collection of European projects and a systematic analysis of scientific literature, three main gaps in city logistics have been identified: the lack of the stakeholders’ involvement, the need for data sharing platforms to overcome the current lack of data and the need to define city logistics solutions within the urban ecosystem, making consistent design choices coherently with what is already existing in terms of infrastructures, rules and stakeholders in the context. From these three gaps, three main research questions have arisen: (RQ1) Is it possible to support stakeholders in analysing CL solutions fitting their necessities applying some already existing and consolidate decision-making methods? (RQ2) Is it possible to define a database platform in which it is possible to collect, consult and update as many existing data as possible regarding urban freight transport? (RQ3) How is it possible to optimize city logistics infrastructures in a harmonious and coherent way with respect to the entire city logistics ecosystem? To answers to the research questions, a collection of articles is illustrated in this thesis work. From time to time different methodologies are used and illustrated, derived from the field of management and transport engineering, these different methodologies, such as the Systematic Literature Review, the House of Quality, a framework for building a data sharing platform, the city logistics Ecosystem and a decision-making support model (based on both a covering model and a Monte Carlo simulation) are described in detail in the various chapters of the thesis. In this dissertation work for the first time, the main obstacles to the development of city logistics initiatives, that are the lack of involvement of stakeholders, the lack of data, and the lack of an ecosystem vision of urban transport, have been identified and addressed at the same time. Even if literature sometimes offers some possible solutions to these gaps, few are simple to understand for those who work in the urban freight transport industry, easy to apply and replicable. Both in identifying the gap and in seeking solutions, the solutions showed in this thesis sought to address to those who work in the industry, mainly carriers, retailers, shop owners and public administration representatives, trying to combine scientific research with the search for solutions that can be implemented in practice as requested by such a practical research topic. For this reason, each proposed solution and methodology in this thesis has been implemented and experimented using as a case study the city of Bergamo (and testing its replicability in other European cities such as Saint-Etienne, Luxemburg and Amsterdam). In particular, the initial experience in the “Bergamo Logistica” project, part of the Bergamo 2.035 smart city research program, gave me the opportunity to understand the main critical issues found by the main actors who work in this field (i.e., carriers, couriers, retailers and institutions), to confirm some evidences that I found in the theory (i.e., main research gaps which originates the research questions) and to search for solutions that could both solve research gaps and optimize the daily logistics activities of the operators.The main purpose of these three years of research, summarized in this thesis, was to investigate the obstacles to the development of the city logistics initiatives by seeking solutions to overcome them through model and framework coming from management and transportation engineering. In particular, following a first analysis of a collection of European projects and a systematic analysis of scientific literature, three main gaps in city logistics have been identified: the lack of the stakeholders’ involvement, the need for data sharing platforms to overcome the current lack of data and the need to define city logistics solutions within the urban ecosystem, making consistent design choices coherently with what is already existing in terms of infrastructures, rules and stakeholders in the context. From these three gaps, three main research questions have arisen: (RQ1) Is it possible to support stakeholders in analysing CL solutions fitting their necessities applying some already existing and consolidate decision-making methods? (RQ2) Is it possible to define a database platform in which it is possible to collect, consult and update as many existing data as possible regarding urban freight transport? (RQ3) How is it possible to optimize city logistics infrastructures in a harmonious and coherent way with respect to the entire city logistics ecosystem? To answers to the research questions, a collection of articles is illustrated in this thesis work. From time to time different methodologies are used and illustrated, derived from the field of management and transport engineering, these different methodologies, such as the Systematic Literature Review, the House of Quality, a framework for building a data sharing platform, the city logistics Ecosystem and a decision-making support model (based on both a covering model and a Monte Carlo simulation) are described in detail in the various chapters of the thesis. In this dissertation work for the first time, the main obstacles to the development of city logistics initiatives, that are the lack of involvement of stakeholders, the lack of data, and the lack of an ecosystem vision of urban transport, have been identified and addressed at the same time. Even if literature sometimes offers some possible solutions to these gaps, few are simple to understand for those who work in the urban freight transport industry, easy to apply and replicable. Both in identifying the gap and in seeking solutions, the solutions showed in this thesis sought to address to those who work in the industry, mainly carriers, retailers, shop owners and public administration representatives, trying to combine scientific research with the search for solutions that can be implemented in practice as requested by such a practical research topic. For this reason, each proposed solution and methodology in this thesis has been implemented and experimented using as a case study the city of Bergamo (and testing its replicability in other European cities such as Saint-Etienne, Luxemburg and Amsterdam). In particular, the initial experience in the “Bergamo Logistica” project, part of the Bergamo 2.035 smart city research program, gave me the opportunity to understand the main critical issues found by the main actors who work in this field (i.e., carriers, couriers, retailers and institutions), to confirm some evidences that I found in the theory (i.e., main research gaps which originates the research questions) and to search for solutions that could both solve research gaps and optimize the daily logistics activities of the operators

The Practices of Green Supply Chain Management towards Corporate Performances in Construction Industry

Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) practices has different impact on the corporate performances while practitioners are not willing to implement practices that is irrelevant to their organization. Hence, to ensure the most appropriate investment on GSCM is implemented, this study is conducted to identify the relationship between GSCM practices and corporate performances in Malaysia construction industry. To conduct a literature review to figure the relationship between GSCM practices and corporate performances. Systematic literature review method is adopted in data collection stage. The findings of the study show that the green practices are correlated to the corporate performances and a comprehensive conceptual framework is formed from this study to describe the relationships between GSCM practices and corporate performances in Malaysia construction industry. Research on GSCM in Malaysia is still less in construction industry. However, the findings provide crucial insights for potential practitioners due to it consistency with prior studies which are related to GSCM in other industries and countries. Implementation of GSCM improves corporate performances in various dimensions. The construction industry should understand the functions and relationship of each element in GSCM to achieve best performance outcome in the form they desired. A comprehensive conceptual framework which shows the relationships of GSCM and its impact construction industry which allow the potential practitioners to understand the potential improvement in corporate performances is constructed through the systematic literature review

Public-private collaborations in emergency logistics: A framework based on logistical and game-theoretical concepts

Collaboration in emergency logistics can be beneficial for governmental actors when supply chains need to be set up immediately. In comparison to research on humanitarian-business partnerships, the body of literature on so-called Public–Private Emergency Collaborations (PPEC) remains scarce. Private companies are only rarely considered within research on emergency collaborations, although they serve as an important chain in the efficient supply of goods given their resources and existing communication networks. Based on this research gap, we contribute to the research field by quantitatively evaluating public–private collaboration in emergency logistics. A framework for public–private emergency collaborations is developed based on logistical and game-theoretical concepts. In addition, we characterize both public and private actors’ possible roles in emergency logistics based on literature research and real cases. Furthermore, we provide a structured overview on existing PPECs and the challenges they are confronted with. The game-theoretic PPEC model created in this paper provides more detailed information into the motivation and incentives of the partners involved in emergency collaborations. Inspired by game-theoretic accounts of conventional public–private partnerships, this model sheds light on the partners’ participation constraints (which define the scope of collaboration), the effects on the outcome if the partners’ contributions are strategic substitutes, and on reputational effects. Finally, we illustrate how a mechanism design approach can be used by the state to transform the firm’s incentives into lower levels of undersupply or deprivation

Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production in Colombia: Opportunities and Challenges

The sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) working group in Colombia was convened under the SAF Global Supply Chain Development project (Project A93) led by the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Center of Excellence for Alternative Jet Fuels and Environment, also termed the Aviation Sustainability Center of Excellence (ASCENT) and executed by Washington State University. The working group includes stakeholders across aviation, biofuel production, agriculture, government agencies, academic research, and technical consultancies. A complete list of stakeholders is included after the cover page. This group recognizes that developing SAF requires gathering knowledge and insights across multiple sectors, such as academia, private enterprise, local and federal governments, as well as multilateral, environmental, and energy advocates. This report serves as a high-level information identification to be use as starting point for designing and analyzing the supply chain to produce SAF in Colombia

Global and International Logistics

This book contains 10 reviewed papers published as a Special Issue “Global and International Logistics” in the journal Sustainability, edited by Prof. Dr. Ryuichi Shibasaki, Prof. Dr. Daisuke Watanabe, and Dr. Tomoya Kawasaki. The topics of the papers contain the impact of logistics development under the China’s Belt and Road initiative (BRI) by using the improved gravity model, strategies against barriers to the BRI from a logistics and supply chain management perspective, the dynamic interaction between international logistics, and cross-border e-commerce trade, the effect of China’s restrictive programs on the international trade of waste products, the empty container repositioning problem of shipping companies with foldable containers, port capacity and connectivity improvement in the hub and feeder network in Indonesia, GHG emission scenarios for the maritime shipping sector using system dynamics, incorporating a shipping and shipbuilding market model, the emission inventory and bunker consumption from a LNG fleet from an automatic identification system database, the factors that can help select between land transport and maritime shipping in long-distance inter-regional cross-border transport, and container transport simulations in Myanmar with the global logistics intermodal network assignment model including both maritime shipping and land transport in the land-based Southeast Asia region. Some papers are related to the 8th International Conference on Transportation and Logistics (T-LOG 2020) which was held online on 6–7 September 2020 hosted by Universitas Internasional Semen Indonesia