An optimization model for a sustainable and socially beneficial four-stage supply chain

Abstract

Embedding a culture of working with social benefits within an organization is at an all-time high these days. This paper assists in better understanding and articulating the economic, environmental, and social aspects of the sustainable four-stage supply chain. The proposed research incorporates input from all four phases of the supply chain (supplying raw materials, manufacturing, warehousing, and retailing of finished goods, and selling them to customers). Three conflicting objective functions have been developed: cost minimization, emission minimization, and social benefit maximization. A multi-objective optimization model has been formulated subject to the usual supply and demand constraints, balancing constraints, capacity constraints, and many more. The weighted sum approach has been used to solve the multi-objective optimization model. Finally, two real-life case studies to validate the proposed model have been presented: the lead-acid battery supply chain and the disposable syringe supply chain.