Sustainable supply chain management trends in world regions: A data-driven analysis

This study proposes a data-driven analysis that describes the overall situation and reveals the factors hindering improvement in the sustainable supply chain management field. The literature has presented a summary of the evolution of sustainable supply chain management across attributes. Prior studies have evaluated different parts of the supply chain as independent entities. An integrated systematic assessment is absent in the extant literature and makes it necessary to identify potential opportunities for research direction. A hybrid of data-driven analysis, the fuzzy Delphi method, the entropy weight method and fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory is adopted to address uncertainty and complexity. This study contributes to locating the boundary of fundamental knowledge to advance future research and support practical execution. Valuable direction is provided by reviewing the existing literature to identify the critical indicators that need further examination. The results show that big data, closed-loop supply chains, industry 4.0, policy, remanufacturing, and supply chain network design are the most important indicators of future trends and disputes. The challenges and gaps among different geographical regions is offered that provides both a local viewpoint and a state-of-the-art advanced sustainable supply chain management assessment

Measuring and eliminating the bullwhip in closed loop supply chains using control theory and Internet of Things

Closed-loop supply chains are complex systems as they involve the seamless backward and forward flow of products and information. With the advent of e-commerce and online shopping, there has been a growing interest in product returns and the associated impact on inventory variance and the bullwhip effect. In this paper, a novel four-echelon closed-loop supply chain model is presented, where base-stock replenishment policies are modelled by means of a proportional controller. A stochastic state-space model is implemented, initially to capture the supply chain dynamics while the model is analysed under stationarity conditions with the aid of a covariance matrix. This allows the bullwhip effect to be expressed as a function of replenishment policies and product return rates. Next, an optimisation method is introduced to study the impact of the Internet of Things on inventory variance and the bullwhip effect. The results show that the Internet of Things can reduce costs associated with inventory fluctuations and eliminate the bullwhip effect in closed-loop supply chains

Circular supply chain management: A definition and structured literature review

Circular economy is increasingly recognized as a better alternative to the dominant linear (take, make, and dispose) economic model. Circular Supply Chain Management (CSCM), which integrates the philosophy of the circular economy into supply chain management, offers a new and compelling perspective to the supply chain sustainability domain. Consequently, there is increasing research interest. However, a review of the extant literature shows that a comprehensive integrated view of CSCM is still absent in the extant literature. This prohibits a clear distinction compared to other supply chain sustainability concepts and hinders further progress of the field. In response, this research first classifies various terminologies related to supply chain sustainability and conceptualizes a unifying definition of CSCM. Using this definition as a base, it then conducts a structured literature review of 261 research articles on the current state of CSCM research. Based on the review results, the researchers call for further studies in the following directions that are important but received little or no attention: design for circularity, procurement and CSCM, biodegradable packaging, circular supply chain collaboration and coordination, drivers and barriers of CSCM, circular consumption, product liabilities and producer's responsibility, and technologies and CSCM

STRATEGIC PLANNING OF CIRCULAR SUPPLY CHAINS WITH MULTIPLE DOWNGRADED MARKET LEVELS: A METHODOLOGICAL PROPOSAL

Recent legislation has recognized the importance of adopting Circular Economy (CE) principles in supply chain (SC) restructuring. The primary objective is to create circular supply chains (CSCs) that effectively reintegrate end-of-life (EOL) products into production networks through processes such as reusing, remanufacturing, and recycling. This paradigm shift toward circularity aims to enhance resource efficiency, extend product lifecycle, and minimise waste, thereby aligning firms with sustainable practices while providing them with a competitive advantage. In line with the goals of the CE, this study focuses on the design and optimisation of strategic decisions within a circular supply chain (CSC). To achieve this aim, a bi-objective mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model is developed. This model represents a significant contribution as it offers a compact and generalized formulation for dealing with CSC design problems. The proposed MILP model encompasses several key decision variables and considerations. It determines the optimal number of downgraded market levels to be activated, the location of forward and treatment facilities as well as the optimal product flow within the CSC. Furthermore, the model takes into account the cannibalisation effects associated with the demand for both new and recovered products, ensuring a comprehensive analysis of the system dynamics. To solve the complex mathematical model, the augmented epsilon-constraint (AUGMECON2) method is employed. The utilisation of this method enables decision-makers to obtain practical solutions within reasonable time frames. The computational results obtained from applying the MILP model illustrate its encouraging potential and effectiveness in dealing with strategic decision-making problems within CSCs

Additive Manufacturing in the Supply Chain

Additive manufacturing (AM) is replacing traditional manufacturing approaches – such as subtractive and molding – in some industries. The product and supply chain impacts of AM continue to extend its industrial reach, improve engineer-to-order manufacturing, and pave the way to mass customization. This study explores the supply chain changes that may arise from a full or partial transition to AM-based production. Supply chain factors and dimensions that are greatly impacted are initially identified. Management and operational issues pertinent to each factor are discussed next. The interrelationships between these factors are then investigated considering the disruptive impact of AM on supply chain management. Next, the supply chain change matrix is presented for identifying the areas in that supply chains are expected to be impacted. Finally, the current literature and the future of AM-based supply chains are discussed. This chapter is concluded by providing a summary of the findings and insights into AM-based supply chain transition

Sustainable supply chain management towards disruption and organizational ambidexterity:A data driven analysis

Balancing sustainability and disruption of supply chains requires organizational ambidexterity. Sustainable supply chains prioritize efficiency and economies of scale and may not have sufficient redundancy to withstand disruptive events. There is a developing body of literature that attempts to reconcile these two aspects. This study gives a data-driven literature review of sustainable supply chain management trends toward ambidexterity and disruption. The critical review reveals temporal trends and geographic distribution of literature. A hybrid of data-driven analysis approach based on content and bibliometric analyses, fuzzy Delphi method, entropy weight method, and fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory is used on 273 keywords and 22 indicators obtained based on the experts’ evaluation. The most important indicators are identified as supply chain agility, supply chain coordination, supply chain finance, supply chain flexibility, supply chain resilience, and sustainability. The regions show different tendencies compared with others. Asia and Oceania, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa are the regions needs improvement, while Europe and North America show distinct apprehensions on supply chain network design. The main contribution of this review is the identification of the knowledge frontier, which then leads to a discussion of prospects for future studies and practical industry implementation

Closed Loop Supply Chain: Evaluating Ecological Footprint

Purpose:  The purpose of this research is to evaluate the success of the closed-loop E-waste supply chain operations, primarily focused on achieving sustainability objectives related to the manufacturing, distribution, reusing, and discarding of electrical components. Methodology: The supply chain operations reference model offers suggestions and benchmarking tools to monitor the performance of supply chains and enhance the processes. This study illustrates a conceptual framework to show how these standards could be used in the E-waste supply chain to link business processes, metrics, industry standards, and technology to enhance the relationship and coordination between the supply chain members and to increase sustainability throughout the supply chain. Findings: According to an assessment of the literature, insufficient attention has been paid to the SCOR model's sustainability criteria. Consequently, in the wake of portraying the structure of the Supply Chain Operation Reference model, we make sense of which credits should be included in the Supply Chain Operation Reference to reflect manageability and which cycles and practices are related to every standard or should be remembered for Supply Chain Operation Reference to lay out the connection between execution, cycles, and practices. Conclusions: When a company's supply chain has achieved a desirable degree of eco-friendliness in all regards, its performance will be improved and satisfactory from a sustainability perspectiv

Linking circular economy and digitalisation technologies : A systematic literature review of past achievements and future promises

The circular economy (CE) has the potential to capitalise upon emerging digital technologies, such as big data, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and the Internet of things (IoT), amongst others. These digital technologies combined with business model innovation are deemed to provide solutions to myriad problems in the world, including those related to circular economy transformation. Given the societal and practical importance of CE and digitalisation, last decade has witnessed a significant increase in academic publication on these topics. Therefore, this study aims to capture the essence of the scholarly work at the intersection of the CE and digital technologies. A detailed analysis of the literature based on emerging themes was conducted with a focus on illuminating the path of CE implementation. The results reveal that IoT and AI play a key role in the transition towards the CE. A multitude of studies focus on barriers to digitalisation-led CE transition and highlight policy-related issues, the lack of predictability, psychological issues and information vulnerability as some important barriers. In addition, product-service system (PSS) has been acknowledged as an important business model innovation for achieving the digitalisation enabled CE. Through a detailed assessment of the existing literature, a viable systems-based framework for digitalisation enabled CE has been developed which show the literature linkages amongst the emerging research streams and provide novel insights regarding the realisation of CE benefits.© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

WoodCircus, Underpinning the vital role of the forest-based sector in the Circular Bioeconomy. D2.2 Resource Efficiency, Side Streams and Value Chain Analysis – WP2 Final Report

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