Designing a sustainable integrated forward/reverse logistics network

Abstract

Purpose In recent years, governmental regulations and the pressure of non-governmental organizations have convinced corporations to consider sustainable issues in their decisions. A simultaneous design of forward and reverse logistics can keep us away from sub-optimality caused by tackling these two phases (forward and reverse logistics) separately. Design/methodology/approach Hence, this paper presents a new multi-objective mathematical model for integrated forward and reverse logistics regarding economic, environmental and social issues. A new hybrid multi-objective metaheuristic algorithm is developed to obtain a set of efficient solutions (Pareto solutions). The proposed algorithm hybridizes a well-known, non-dominated genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) with a simulated annealing algorithm. Findings To validate the algorithm, its results are compared to the obtained solutions from simple NSGA-II with respect to some comparison metrics. The numerical results show the efficiency of the proposed algorithm. Finally, concluding remarks and future research directions are provided. Originality/value By applying a model presented in this paper, one can reach to sustainable and integrated logistics network which considers forward and reverse flow of commodities simultaneously.