Showing papers by "Kannan Govindan published in 2016"

Identification and analysis of reverse logistics barriers using fuzzy Delphi method and AHP

Abstract: The environmental consciousness of customers and the emergence of stricter environmental regulations has pushed industries to think about environmental management by means of reverse logistics (RL) implementation. In order to implement RL systems, a careful analysis of barriers that hinder the reverse flow must be taken. However, most existing research on the barriers for RL implementation is focused on developed countries. Among the most important emerging economies, Brazil, the largest Latin America economy, faces challenges such as a deficient logistics infrastructure and the recently enacted National Policy on solid waste. To bridge this gap, this paper identifies and evaluates the barriers for RL in the Brazilian context. An eleven-step research methodology is proposed. First, literature was thoroughly reviewed. fuzzy Delphi method (FDM) was used to obtain the critical list of barriers by experts and industrial managers’ opinions. Then, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) questionnaires were answered by electrical–electronic equipment (EEE) industry sector experts in order to obtain the priority ranking of barriers. This paper contributes with a compilation of the RL barriers from a systematic literature review process, a list of most common RL barriers accepted by Brazilian organizations, and a priority ranking of RL barriers for the electrical-electronic industry sector in Brazil. The “Economic related issues” category of barriers seems to be the first priority. The financial burden of tax and the uncertainty related to economic issues appear to be major obstacles for RL implementation.

VIKOR Technique: A Systematic Review of the State of the Art Literature on Methodologies and Applications

Abstract: The main objective of this paper is to present a systematic review of the VlseKriterijuska Optimizacija I Komoromisno Resenje (VIKOR) method in several application areas such as sustainability and renewable energy. This study reviewed a total of 176 papers, published in 2004 to 2015, from 83 high-ranking journals; most of which were related to Operational Research, Management Sciences, decision making, sustainability and renewable energy and were extracted from the “Web of Science and Scopus” databases. Papers were classified into 15 main application areas. Furthermore, papers were categorized based on the nationalities of authors, dates of publications, techniques and methods, type of studies, the names of the journals and studies purposes. The results of this study indicated that more papers on VIKOR technique were published in 2013 than in any other year. In addition, 13 papers were published about sustainability and renewable energy fields. Furthermore, VIKOR and fuzzy VIKOR methods, had the first rank in use. Additionally, the Journal of Expert Systems with Applications was the most significant journal in this study, with 27 publications on the topic. Finally, Taiwan had the first rank from 22 nationalities which used VIKOR technique.

Hybrid multiple criteria decision-making methods: a review of applications for sustainability issues

Abstract: Formal decision-making methods can be used to help improve the overall sustainability of industries and organisations. Recently, there has been a great proliferation of works aggregating sustainability criteria by using diverse multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques. A number of review papers summarising these techniques have been published. During the past few years, new approaches for hybrid MCDM (HMCDM) methods have been developed, but they have not yet been completely reviewed. This article aims to fill this gap and to summarise publications related to the application of HMCDM. The current study is limited solely to papers available in the Thomson Reuters Web of Science Core Collection database. The main findings report that HMCDM methods have been increasingly applied for supporting decisions in different domains of sustainability. The most frequently used methods emphasise the advantages of hybrid approaches over individual methods, and we conclude that they can assist decision-...

Barriers in green lean six sigma product development process: an ISM approach

Abstract: In today’s competitive globalised business environment, production cost cutting is a primary issue before operation managers. As a research area, green lean six sigma (GLS) is proposed to have strategic importance in product development towards cutting costs, contributing to optimisation, and achieving sustainability. This research requirement has been realised to draw benefits out of three recent and involved approaches (green, lean and six sigma). In this research, an attempt has been made to address barriers in GLS product development (GLSPD) from an extensive literature review and from experts’ opinions towards developing a hierarchical model structuring these barriers. Twenty-one barriers have been identified and sorted from the review of literature and were then validated through discussions with experts. Relationships (contextual in nature) among these barriers have been realised during a brainstorming session. An interpretive structural modelling (ISM) technique has been utilised for devel...

Sustainable material selection for construction industry – A hybrid multi criteria decision making approach

Abstract: Urbanization and globalization has led to a rapid development in the construction industry. Many strategies have been proposed to improve cost effectiveness in this sector. Over the last decade, cost concerns have been balanced with a growing debate on the necessity for sustainable construction practices. Because of depleting resources and environmental concerns, researchers and practitioners have begun to explore sustainable construction strategies. Among these strategies is the selection of sustainable materials which play a vital role in a building׳s environmental footprint. In the UAE in particular, there is an ongoing demand to select the best sustainable construction materials because the industry is growing so rapidly in this nation. Thus, the main intent of this paper is to propose a model to evaluate the best sustainable construction material based on sustainable indicators through a hybrid multi criteria decision making (MCDM) methodology with a specific examination of the UAE. The indicators collected from existing literatures were used in evaluation of sustainable construction materials with the assistance of construction sector-based respondents. The proposed framework was validated with a case study company, and the results were compared to the existing literatures and to feedback from the respondents. Finally, the study concludes with an assessment of its own limitations along with the identification of some useful managerial implications; it sheds some light on future possible enhancements in the theme of sustainable construction in the context of UAE.

Interrelationships of risks faced by third party logistics service providers: A DEMATEL based approach

Abstract: This paper analyses the interrelationships between risks faced by third party logistics service providers (3PLs) in relation to one of its customers using DEMATEL. Novel analysis of both within and between risk categories and generation of threshold value to prioritize risks generate useful insights. Results show that arms-length relationship between the customer and the 3PLs has strong influence on other risks and there is a need for collaborative relationships between 3PLs and its customers. Moreover, analysis indicates that the 3PLs need to improve internal processes related to quality management, flexibility of its operations and also geographical coverage of their services.

Green supplier selection and order allocation in a low-carbon paper industry: integrated multi-criteria heterogeneous decision-making and multi-objective linear programming approaches

Abstract: The low-carbon supply chain is one of the predominant topics towards a green economy and it establishes the opportunity to reduce carbon emissions across the product value chain. This paper focuses on recycling and optimized sourcing in the paper industry as a case company. The main objective is to engage the case company with their supplier networks to diminish the greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and cost in their production process. It proposes a model to support the selection of the best green supplier and an allocation of order among the potential suppliers. The proposed model contains a two-phase hybrid approach. The first phase presents the rating and selection of potential suppliers by considering economics (cost), operational factors (quality and delivery), and environmental criteria (recycle capability and GHG emission control) using Fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (Fuzzy TOPSIS) methodology. The second phase presents the order allocation process using multi-objective linear programming in order to minimize cost, material rejection, late delivery, recycle waste and $$\mathrm{CO}_{2}$$ emissions in the production process. A case study from a paper manufacturing industry is presented to elucidate the effectiveness of the proposed model. The results demonstrate a 26.2 % reduction of carbon emission by using recycle products in the production process. The firm benefits by forming a systematic methodology for green supplier evaluation and order allocation. Finally, a conclusion and a suggested direction of future research are introduced.

A grey DEMATEL approach to develop third-party logistics provider selection criteria

Abstract: – Third-party logistics (3PL) plays a main role in supply chain management and, as a result, has experienced remarkable growth. The demand for 3PL providers has become a main approach for companies to offer better customer service, reduce costs, and gain competitive advantage. This paper identifies important criteria for 3PL provider selection and evaluation, and the purpose of this paper is to select 3PL providers from the viewpoint of firms which were already outsourcing their logistics services. , – This study utilized the grey decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method to develop 3PL provider selection criteria. Because human judgments are vague and complicated to depict by accurate numerical values, the grey system theory is used to handle this problem. , – The findings revealed the structure and interrelationships between criteria and identified the main criteria for 3PL provider selection. The most important criteria for 3PL provider selection are on time delivery performance, technological capability, financial stability, human resource policies, service quality, and customer service, respectively. , – The paper’s results help managers of automotive industries, particularly in developing countries, to outsource logistics activities to 3PL providers effectively and to create a significant competitive advantage. , – The main contributions of this paper are twofold. First, this paper proposes an integrated grey DEMATEL method to consider interdependent relationships among the 3PL provider selection criteria. Second, this study is one of the first studies to consider 3PL provider selection in a developing country like Iran.

Investigation of the influential strength of factors on adoption of green supply chain management practices: An Indian mining scenario

Abstract: Rapid industrial development that leads to economic growth and massive employment generation needs intense support from mining industries which act as a downstream supply chain partner for an industry. The counter side of intensive and unregulated mining activities is the massive waste generation and environmental degradation. Waste produced by mining industries is acquired by their upstream supply chain partners. So, there is a growing pressure on mining companies to enhance their ecological performance. In this regard, green supply chain management (GSCM), emerged as an environmental strategy that not only improves the environmental performance of individual organizations, but also that of the entire supply chain which has also been accepted by industries. However, an exception is observed in the case of the mining industries in India. This can be attributed to the poor understanding of the involved factors. Hence, an attempt is made here to identify the drivers of GSCM and extract the causal relationship among them through the use of decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL). Further, the strength of influence of these drivers on each other as also on the entire system is investigated to prioritize the drivers according to their influential strength. The results of the study, explore ‘top management commitment’ and ‘competitiveness’ as the two most important drivers whereas ‘employee pressure’ is the least important driver.

Product recovery optimization in closed-loop supply chain to improve sustainability in manufacturing

Abstract: When business practices shift from a traditional open supply chain to a closed loop instead, the environmental and societal issues are efficiently integrated in business development. However, even an efficiently integrated shift introduces a number of trade-offs due to the contradictory goals that emerge from that business’s economical, environmental and social dimensions. In this paper, we propose a multi-objective mixed integer mathematical problem for a generic closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) network to rationalise how a system’s product recovery helps to improve manufacturing sustainability. The CLSC network proposed in this study consists of a hybrid manufacturing facility, warehouse, distribution centres, collection centres and a hybrid recovery facility (HRF). The proposed model determines the best location for the HRF and optimal flow of products, recovered parts and material in the network while it simultaneously maximises profit, saves activity costs, helps to decrease the harmful effects of the...

Evaluating the enablers in solar power developments in the current scenario using fuzzy DEMATEL: An Indian perspective

Abstract: Determining solar power initiatives and developments for a country as large as India is difficult due to the involvement of different enablers. The decisions of these enablers will influence the formulation of strategies to encourage solar power development in India. The present research work critically analyzes Indian solar power developments to recognize and to evaluate key enablers that will encourage greater usage in India׳s current scenario. A literature review that explores the Indian solar power sector is included, with a focus on need potential, and an examination of the key enablers. This work identifies sixteen solar power enablers based on relevant literature and experts׳ inputs. To evaluate and to categorize the recognized solar power development key enablers, a fuzzy Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) based methodology is utilized. The fuzzy DEMATEL approach is useful in dealing with the inherent ambiguity involved in studying interrelationships among the evaluated enablers. Research findings suggest that Initiatives taken at the state level (E7) and Power sector reforms (E12) have significant influence in adopting and encouraging India׳s solar power development. In this research, the enablers׳ causal relationships and their interactions are examined, and the findings are useful to encourage solar power development initiatives and decisions. This work will help policymakers formulate decisions to initiate and encourage solar power developments in India.

Barriers to the adoption of green operational practices at Brazilian companies: effects on green and operational performance

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to verify to what degree the internal and external barriers (I/EBs) to environmental management affect the adoption of green operational practices (GOPs) and to determine whether they influence the firms’ operational and green performance in a sample of Brazilian companies. A conceptual framework with 8 hypotheses is proposed and tested at 75 companies using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with WarpPLS 4.0. The main results show that (a) the proposed framework obtained an adequate statistical adjustment, (b) the internal barriers (IBs) are more significant than the EBs when adopting GOPs, (c) GOPs relate directly to the firms’ green and operational performance (OP), (d) the IBs also indirectly influence the firms’ green and OP and (e) the firm size does not significantly influence its green and OP. This work contributes to the literature by showing that companies which are looking for green competitive advantages should try to reduce their IBs. A...

Disruption management for truck appointment system at a container terminal: A Green initiative

Abstract: Disruption often occurs in both land-side and sea-side operations at a container terminal, causing substantial interference of scheduled operations and poor green performance. The land-side disruption is rarely researched, and this paper addresses the ordinary level of such disruption where typically some truck arrivals deviate from their schedule in the appointment system. The aim is to find a response strategy that can maintain high resilience ability of the system in neutralizing the impact of disruptions. First, we consider different levels of late or early arrivals, as well as non-appointed arrivals at a container terminal that is running an appointment system. Second, we propose some response strategies to cope with different levels of disruptions, and evaluate their resilience ability with two Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): total waiting time of on-time trucks and total idling emissions of all trucks, in order to balance the service quality to punctual arrivals and green performance of the whole system. Third, we conduct a sensitivity analysis using a discrete event simulation to understand the performance of the proposed strategies. Considering both KPIs, the best strategy in most scenarios is a combined one based on priority and yard-crane moving distance; its performance depends primarily on the concentration level of container locations and secondly on the system utilization. In the other scenarios that have low arrival punctuality, the best strategy could focus purely on yard-crane moving distance, especially when the first KPI is given lower weight than the second one.

Pricing and ordering decisions of two competing supply chains with different composite policies: a Stackelberg game-theoretic approach

Abstract: In today’s global highly competitive markets, competition happens among supply chains instead of companies, as the members of supply chains. So, the partners of the chains seek to apply efficient coordinating strategies like discount, return, refund, buyback, or the other coordinating policies to abate the operation costs of the chains and subsequently increase market shares. Hence, because of the importance and application of these strategies in the current non-exclusive markets, in this study, we introduce different composite coordinating strategies to enhance the coordination of the supply chains. Here, we consider two competing supply chains where both chains launch the same product under different brands to the market by applying different composite coordinating strategies. Each supply chain comprises one manufacturer and a group of non-competing retailers where the manufacturer receives raw materials from an outside supplier and transforms them into a finished product; then, the products are sold to...

Supplier risk assessment based on trapezoidal intuitionistic fuzzy numbers and ELECTRE TRI-C: a case illustration involving service suppliers

Abstract: Many companies today have embraced the concept of risk management, usually in the form of enterprise risk management or supply chain risk management. Both are based on a holistic view of risks. Hence, risks related to specific functions within a company must be considered more broadly than previously. Risks, however, involve uncertainty, and the less specific the context in which risks are viewed, the more uncertainty will be involved. One particular way to express uncertainty is through trapezoidal intuitionistic fuzzy numbers (TrIFNs). In this paper, risks that are relevant for supplier risk assessments are first collected from the literature. Then it is illustrated how the multi-criteria decision analysis method ELECTRE TRI-C can be used for sorting suppliers into risk categories, when the risks as well as some of the method’s parameters are expressed with TrIFNs. In order to do this, we make use of a small modification of an existing method for converting TrIFNs into crisp values. The approach is illustrated in a case problem based on a company that is looking for service providers (suppliers) of electrical maintenance. The problem involves 20 suppliers that are sorted into three risk categories based on evaluations from 27 criteria. Results from the case study point to two low risk suppliers. A further ad-hoc analysis suggests one of these to be less risky than the other.

A tactical supply chain planning model with multiple flexibility options: an empirical evaluation

Abstract: Supply chain flexibility is widely recognized as an approach to manage uncertainty. Uncertainty in the supply chain may arise from a number of sources such as demand and supply interruptions and lead time variability. A tactical supply chain planning model with multiple flexibility options incorporated in sourcing, manufacturing and logistics functions can be used for the analysis of flexibility adjustment in an existing supply chain. This paper develops such a tactical supply chain planning model incorporating a realistic range of flexibility options. A novel solution method is designed to solve the developed mixed integer nonlinear programming model. The utility of the proposed model and solution method is evaluated using data from an empirical case study. Analysis of the numerical results in different flexibility adjustment scenarios provides various managerial insights and practical implications.

Optimal Bi-Objective Redundancy Allocation for Systems Reliability and Risk Management

Abstract: In the big data era, systems reliability is critical to effective systems risk management. In this paper, a novel multiobjective approach, with hybridization of a known algorithm called NSGA-II and an adaptive population-based simulated annealing (APBSA) method is developed to solve the systems reliability optimization problems. In the first step, to create a good algorithm, we use a coevolutionary strategy. Since the proposed algorithm is very sensitive to parameter values, the response surface method is employed to estimate the appropriate parameters of the algorithm. Moreover, to examine the performance of our proposed approach, several test problems are generated, and the proposed hybrid algorithm and other commonly known approaches (i.e., MOGA, NRGA, and NSGA-II) are compared with respect to four performance measures: 1) mean ideal distance; 2) diversification metric; 3) percentage of domination; and 4) data envelopment analysis. The computational studies have shown that the proposed algorithm is an effective approach for systems reliability and risk management.

Cloud-based multi-agent architecture for effective planning and scheduling of distributed manufacturing

Abstract: In modern world, manufacturing processes have become very complex because of consistently fluctuating demand of customers. Numerous production facilities located at various geographical locations are being utilised to address the demands of their multiple clients. Often, the components manufactured at distinct locations are being assembled in a plant to develop the final product. In this complex scenario, manufacturing firms have to be responsive enough to cope with the fluctuating demand of customers. To accomplish it, there is a need to develop an integrated, dynamic and autonomous system. In this article, a self-reactive cloud-based multi-agent architecture for distributed manufacturing system is developed. The proposed architecture will assist manufacturing industry to establish real-time information exchange between the autonomous agents, clients, suppliers and manufacturing unit. The mechanism described in this study demonstrates how the autonomous agents interact with each other to rectify the inte...

A novel mathematical model for a multi-period, multi-product optimal ordering problem considering expiry dates in a FEFO system

Abstract: One of the main challenges of retail units is to determine the order quantities of different types of products, each with a specific expiry date, so that the system cost including shortage cost is minimized. We study a new multi-product multi-period replenishment problem for a First Expired-First Out (FEFO) based warehouse management system. The proposed nonlinear model is first converted to a linear one and then solved by applying two evolutionary algorithms: the Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), in which design parameters are set using Taguchi method. Computational results demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model for perishable items and comparing the results shows the efficiency of the proposed metaheuristics as well.

A weighted possibilistic programming approach for sustainable vendor selection and order allocation in fuzzy environment

Abstract: This paper focused on the analysis of imprecise information in terms of many critical parameters for a multi-objective multi-item vendor selection-order allocation problem with price-breaks. We used both quantitative and qualitative criteria taking into account the economic, technological, social, environmental factors, and the price-breaks that were offered on order quantity following ‘all-unit discount schedule.’ We developed an optimization model that integrated fuzzy multi-objective integer linear programming and analytic hierarchy process techniques. A weighted possibilistic programming approach was presented to solve the optimization model, which simultaneously minimized (maximized) the best scenario, the likeliest scenario, and the worst scenario for the imprecise objective functions thereby avoiding situations that may force the solution process to divert. The integrated model and the solution approach were tested on the data set of an industrial case study. A detailed performance analysis and comparisons were done to show superiority of the proposed methodology over the existing related fuzzy programming approaches.

An optimization model for sustainable solutions towards implementation of reverse logistics under collaborative framework

Abstract: Enforced Legislations, social image, corporate citizenship and market competence are forcing manufacturing enterprises (MEs) to incorporate reverse logistics (RL) into their supply chains. RL can be used as a strategic tool to gain customer loyalty and reduce operational costs by maximizing recovery from used products. MEs face many issues which hinder successful implementation of RL such as lack of government support, financial limitations, capabilities and facilities, and market constraints. The situation is worse in case of MEs in developing countries and hence the collaboration of all its stakeholders is essential for handling the issue. Some earlier studies focused on investigating these issues and their solutions from company’s perspective without considering the role of the channel partners . To overcome this gap, this study proposes a collaborative framework for MEs which includes identifying the sustainable solutions for implementation of RL, prioritizing the solutions as per their importance and designing and optimizing a RL network based on the most important solutions identified. Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) approach is employed to understand the mutual relationships among the solutions and extract the most imperative solutions. The paper presents a linear programming problem for the RL network developed under a collaborative framework which aims to maximize the total sustainable impact in the planning horizon. The focus of the study is to optimally utilize the profit accrued from the returned products to generate funds for the NGO and company employees. A numerical illustration of the Indian electronic and electrical industry is presented to validate the proposed study.

Fuzzy bi-criteria decision making approach for supplier selection and distribution network planning in supply chain management

Abstract: Supply chain management (SCM) is to coordinate and integrate material and information within and across organizations. Supplier selection is evaluated as a critical factor for the firms desiring improved and successful supply chain in the process of product realization that starts from the purchasing of raw or sub-assembly material till the end of delivering the final product. With the scope of this paper, a fuzzy bi-objective optimization model is discussed; who coordinates and minimizes the procurement & distribution cost of Convenience stores company and selects the best supplier. Supplier selection process is carried out on the bases of multi factors therefore it is considered as a multi criteria decision problem. The model presented in the paper is using the analytic network process (ANP), a multi criteria decision making technique for supplier selection. To obtain the best coordination, the model is converted into crisp using triangular fuzzy numbers and fuzzy membership functions and solved...

Evaluating the essential barrier to off-shore wind energy – an Indian perspective

Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the essential barrier and reveal the priority among common barriers to offshore wind energy in an Indian context with the assistance of the proposed framework. Design/methodology/approach Based on the proposed framework, a five-phase methodology was adapted to explore the essential barrier step by step. The common barriers, which were collected from the existing literatures through a systematic review, were further validated by field experts. The collected common barriers were evaluated with the assistance of the case industry’s field professionals through an analytical hierarchy process, a multi-criteria decision-making tool, to evaluate the barriers to Indian offshore wind energy. Findings Among the 12 common barriers to offshore wind energy, it is clear that “high capital cost” is the most essential barrier involved in the implementation of offshore wind energy farms in the Indian context. Practical implications This study reveals the importance of offshore wind power as a long-term profitable strategy to the case company within the Indian context. By addressing the essential barriers to the implementation of offshore wind farms, the Indian offshore wind system managers can train their employees to counteract the hindrances through the benchmarking of pioneering global offshore wind power developers such as Denmark and the UK. Further, this study provides useful suggestions to the Indian Government regarding policies for offshore wind energy; it also clearly projects the current status of the Indian offshore wind farm implementation. Originality/value This study assists Indian key stakeholders of offshore wind energy by indicating the essential barrier in an Indian context; they can remove the particular barrier instead of focusing on others that previous studies have identified. Further, this study brings out the importance of offshore wind power in an Indian context, which can urge stakeholders to invest more in offshore wind farms.