A novel multi-objective optimization approach for sustainable supply chain: A case study in packaging industry

Abstract

This study presents a novel two-stage hybrid solution method designed for sustainable supply chain systems and applied in packaging industry. The proposed solution algorithm includes two main stages; Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method that is applied to select the most efficient suppliers by considering different performance indicators of company and a mixed-integer linear multi-objective mathematical model that is proposed to optimize the design of the sustainable supply chain in terms of total cost, time and social factors. Mathematical modelling approach and data analysis are presented to help decision makers. Minimization of cost, time; and maximization of sustainability by using augmented epsilon-constraint method are outlined by using proposed model. Pareto solution sets of the multi-objective mathematical programming problem are obtained by using GAMS language and environment. Sensitivity analyses are made to highlight the details of illustrative cases based on real-life data from packaging industry. (C) 2019 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.