Role of third-party companies in a sustainable supply chain design Online publication date: Tue, 01-May-2018
by Mohammad Najjartabar-Bisheh; Mojgan Delavari; Behnam Malmir
International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management (IJLSM), Vol. 30, No. 1, 2018
Abstract: Uncertainties and constraints, such as capacity, add to complexity of supply chain network design, while the role of third-party companies in global supply chain networks is increasing. The present work considered the role of third-party companies in supply chain design in order to increase understanding of the uncertainty of demand, capacity constraints, and backorder shortages. A nonlinear mixed-integer model was introduced to optimise a closed-loop supply chain in an international network. Although exact methods are useful for small size instances, the mixed-integer model was solved by two meta-heuristic algorithms in real-size problems. The ANOVA test was applied for small-sized and large-sized problems in order to check the efficiency of meta-heuristics. Results showed that the imperialist competitive algorithm and particle swarm optimisation gained reliable and efficient solutions. A sensitivity analysis of important inventory parameters such as holding cost and demand was also conducted.
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