A Performance-Oriented Optimization Framework Combining Meta-Heuristics and Entropy-Weighted TOPSIS for Multi-Objective Sustainable Supply Chain Network Design

Abstract

The decision-making of sustainable supply chain network (SSCN) design is a strategy capacity for configuring network facility and product flow. When optimizing conflicting economic, environmental, and social performance objectives, it is difficult to select the optimal scheme from obtained feasible decision schemes. In this article, according to the triple bottom line of sustainability, a multi-objective sustainable supply chain network optimization model is developed, and a novel performance-oriented optimization framework is proposed. This framework, referred to as performance-oriented optimization framework, integrates multi-objective meta-heuristic algorithms and entropy-weighted technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (EW-TOPSIS). The optimization framework can comprehensively evaluate the performance of overall SSCN by EW-TOPSIS and guide the evolution process of algorithms. In this framework, decision-makers can obtain the feasible schemes calculated by meta-heuristics and determine the optimal one according to the performance value evaluated by EW-TOPSIS. This article combines three performance evaluation strategies with four meta-heuristic algorithms, namely, non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-2), multi-objective differential evolutionary (MODE), multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO), and multi-objective gray wolr optimization (MOGWO), for verifying the effectiveness of the performance-oriented optimization framework. The results validate that the proposed framework has much better sustainability performance than the traditional optimization algorithms and evaluation methods. Furthermore, the proposed performance-oriented optimization framework can provide managers with a special optimal scheme with the best sustainability performance. Finally, some research prospects are presented such as more multi-criteria decision making methods.