Environmental sustainability of logistics service provider: an ANP-QFD approach

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 313-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasmine Siu Lee Lam ◽  
Jing Dai

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology with systematic metrics for logistics service providers (LSPs) to develop their environmental sustainability performance in the context of green supply chain management. Design/methodology/approach – An integrated analytical approach which combines analytical network process (ANP) with quality function deployment (QFD) is proposed to develop LSPs’ environmental sustainability performance. In the approach, QFD is used to translate customer requirements (CRs) for “green” concerns into multiple criteria for LSP’s design requirements (DRs). ANP is used to analyze the inter-relationships among the various CRs and DRs. Findings – The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated by applying it to a global LSP. A case study shows how the proposed “ANP-QFD” technique can be deployed to understand customers’ expectation for environment management and develop tactics and measures with the aim to achieve the desirable outcome for LSPs’ environmental sustainability performance. Practical implications – Firms that emphasize sustainability as a competitive priority will benefit by communicating sustainability efforts to customers. Therefore, “ANP-QFD” is an integrative method which helps develop LSPs’ environmental sustainability performance by enabling logistics managers incorporate the “voice” of customers for environmental concerns into their decision-making process. The study demonstrates how to develop LSPs to be greener in order to realize the requirements of green supply chains. The proposed integrated approach can also be applied in other decision-making scenarios for effective green supply chain management. Originality/value – Various approaches that can deal with multiple and conflicting criteria have been adopted for LSP assessment in the literature. However, they fail to include the impact of business objectives and the requirements of company stakeholders (customer in this study) in the identification of performance criteria for LSP. They also did not incorporate the environmental sustainability perspective. This paper contributes to the emerging research topic of environmental sustainability in logistics and supply chains by tackling these inadequacies in the literature. The study facilitates LSPs and the supply chains they serve in achieving better economic and environmental performance, thus leading to truly sustainable outcomes.

Author(s):  
Amol Singh ◽  
Ashish Trivedi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to give an up-to-date and structured insight into the literature published during the past decade on sustainable green supply chain management. It also suggests trends for future research based on the research issues identified through systematic and comprehensive analysis of previous studies in the area of green and sustainable supply chain management. Design/methodology/approach A state-of-the-art literature review is carried out by systematically collecting the existing literature over a period of 10 years (2005-2014) and categorizing it on the basis of attributes such as stages in supply chain, methodology and the industries/sectors under consideration. The classification of literature is also done according to the geographic region and year of publication. Findings There has been an increased interest among researchers and practitioners in the area of sustainable green supply chain management in the past decade. A need for achieving sustainability through adoption of greener practices has been universally felt, owing to an increasing environmental and ecological complexity. The review reveals that there exists a need to address behavioural issues like human resource management and supply chain partner relationship management. Moreover, reverse logistics, closed-loop supply chain management and waste management are areas that need special focus to achieve environmental sustainability. Research limitations/implications The current review focuses on research trends in the past 10 years only. Moreover, papers from only good quality, peer-reviewed journals are considered in the study. Originality/value Most of the previous reviews have either focused on specific issues related to sustainable supply chains only or green supply chains. The present study collectively takes into consideration papers both from green supply chain management as well as from sustainable supply chain literature that have a prime focus on environmental sustainability.


2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amulya Gurtu ◽  
Cory Searcy ◽  
M.Y. Jaber

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the keywords used in peer-reviewed literature on green supply chain management. Design/methodology/approach To determine the keywords that were used in this area, an analysis of 629 papers was conducted. The papers were identified through searches of 13 keywords on green supply chains. Trends in keyword usage were analyzed in detail focusing on examining variables such as the most frequently used journals/keywords, their frequencies, citation frequency and research contribution from different disciplines/countries. Findings A number of different terms have been used for research focused on the environmental impacts of supply chains, including green supply chains, sustainable supply chains, reverse logistics and closed-loop supply chains, among others. The analysis revealed that the intensity of research in this area has more than tripled in the past six years and that the most used keyword was “reverse logistics”. The use of the terms “green supply chains” and “sustainable supply chains” is increasing, and the use of “reverse logistics” is decreasing. Research limitations/implications The analysis is limited to 629 papers from the Scopus database during the period of 2007 and 2012. Originality/value The paper presents the first systematic analysis of keywords used in the literature on green supply chains. Given the broad array of terms used to refer to research in this area, this is a needed contribution. This work will help researchers in choosing keywords with high frequency and targeting journals for publishing their future work. The paper may also provide a basis for further work on developing consolidated definitions of terms focused on green supply chain management.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yousaf Ali ◽  
Talal Bin Saad ◽  
Muhammad Sabir ◽  
Noor Muhammad ◽  
Aneel Salman ◽  
...  

Purpose China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects are widely spread throughout Pakistan with the potential to have a massive impact on Pakistan’s economic future. CPEC projects have, therefore, made it imperative that green practices are adapted to provide sustainability to the CPEC projects. The adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) framework will significantly increase the value attained from CPEC projects through the increased benefits to the socio-cultural and economic conditions of Pakistan without causing harm to the environment. The purpose of this paper is to identify and rank the GSCM practices for implementation in the construction industry of Pakistan according to expert opinion. Design/methodology/approach This study targets the experts who are employed as supply chain managers in the different construction industries of Pakistan. The opinions of these experts have been extracted through an online questionnaire that was based on six alternatives along with four criteria. The tool of multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) that is a Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) has been used to analyze the results. Findings Six alternatives that have been used for this study are green design, green procurement, green production, green warehousing, green transportation and green recycling. The top-ranked alternative as a practice for GSCM is green warehousing followed by green production. The lowest ranked alternative in this study is green recycling. The alternatives have been ranked on the basis of “cc” values derived through TOPSIS. Practical implications As the advancement in the construction industry will definitely going to impact the environmental sustainability of the country, the results derived through this research will assist the managers of the construction industry of Pakistan to adopt best practices among green supply chain in order to lower their impact. Originality/value Framework using TOPSIS in order to find the best GSCM practice in Pakistan has not been reported before this study.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth W. Green ◽  
R. Anthony Inman ◽  
Victor E. Sower ◽  
Pamela J. Zelbst

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to empirically assess the complementary impact of JIT, TQM and green supply chain practices on environmental performance.Design/methodology/approachData from a sample of 225 US manufacturing managers are analyzed using a PLS-SEM methodology.FindingsJIT and TQM are directly and positively associated with green supply chain management practices. JIT, TQM and green supply chain practices are complementary in that combined they provide a greater impact on environmental performance than if implemented individually.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample is limited to US manufacturing managers, with a low response rate.Practical implicationsSuccessful implementations of JIT and TQM improvement programs support the implementation of green supply chain management practices leading to improved environmental performance.Social implicationsThe combination of JIT, TQM and green manufacturing practices improves the environment by eliminating all forms of waste and providing customers with eco-friendly products and services.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to empirically assess the complementary impact of JIT, TQM and green supply chain practices within the context of environmental sustainability.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sibel Yildiz Çankaya ◽  
Bulent Sezen

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of eight dimensions of green supply chain management (GSCM) on economic, environmental and social performance, which are the three dimensions of corporate sustainability. The eight dimensions covered in this study are: green purchasing, green manufacturing, green distribution, green packaging, green marketing, environmental education, internal environmental management and investment recovery.Design/methodology/approachThe relationships between dimensions of GSCM and sustainability performance are tested by using a plant-level survey. A proposed research model and hypotheses are tested by using cross-sectional face-to-face and e-mail survey data collected from manufacturing firms in Turkey. Structural equation modeling is used to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsExcept for green purchasing, all GSCM dimensions are found to be related with at least one of the performance dimensions.Practical implicationsThe results are important in highlighting the importance of GSCM in improving sustainability performance.Originality/valueThis paper enhances the understanding of the relationship between different dimensions of GSCM and the three sustainability performance factors. While there are very few studies examining the relationship between GSCM and corporate sustainability, this study is important in terms of exploring the effects of dimensions of GSCM applications on economic, environmental and social performance one by one, by examining these applications in the form of eight dimensions.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingjing Li ◽  
Joseph Sarkis

Purpose This paper comprehensively and systematically reviews and critiques the product eco-design practice in green supply chain management studies. It seeks to explore drivers, barriers and initiatives of eco-design practice with a specific emphasis on China in comparison to non-China countries. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts a systematic literature review approach. It also uses a conceptual thematic landscape of the global eco-design practice along supply chains to critically evaluate published studies. The Web of Science™ Core Collection database is used as the source. Findings Results show that although common factors exist, China exhibits a higher number of barriers, leading to an overall lag in eco-design adoption. China’s advantage lies in pressing market demand, actively engaged human resources and a cooperative culture. Alternatively, non-China countries demonstrate their relative superiority in eco-design tools, knowledge and innovation. Findings also indicate stakeholders simultaneously act as the three roles of eco-design practice in all countries, so do environmental regulations in China. Originality/value A thematic framework is introduced that can be used to further investigate and identify research opportunities. This study aids practitioners take stock of current eco-design management issues. It also includes pertinent recommendations on international eco-design performance improvement. It especially provides significant insights into successful eco-design implementation to green supply chains in China.


2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 683-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wantao Yu ◽  
Roberto Chavez ◽  
Mengying Feng ◽  
Frank Wiengarten

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend previous green supply chain management (GSCM) research by developing and empirically testing a conceptual framework that investigates the relationships between three dimensions of integrated green supply chain management (iGSCM) and multiple dimensions of operational performance. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on survey data collected from 126 automotive manufacturers in China. The relationships between theoretical constructs are analysed using structural equation modelling. Findings – This study generates important findings of the significant and positive relationships between iGSCM (internal GSCM, GSCM with customers and GSCM with suppliers) and operational performance in terms of flexibility, delivery, quality and cost. Practical implications – It is important for managers to simultaneously consider internal GSCM and GSCM with customers and suppliers when implementing environmental sustainability in the supply chains. Overlooking either internal GSCM or external GSCM may hinder their efforts to improve operational performance. Originality/value – This study contributes to the literature by defining iGSCM that combines three main dimensions, namely, internal GSCM, GSCM with customers and GSCM with suppliers, and empirically testing its impact on multiple operational performance dimensions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 2248-2271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atul Kumar Sahu ◽  
Harendra Kumar Narang ◽  
Mridul Singh Rajput ◽  
Nitin Kumar Sahu ◽  
Anoop Kumar Sahu

Purpose Based on the existing literature in the field of green supply chain management (GSCM), the purpose of this paper is to find essential to conceptualize and develop an efficient appraisement platform for the purpose of benchmarking green alternative in supply chain network. Design/methodology/approach The authors explored multiple approaches, i.e. Višekriterijumsko kompromisno rangiranje (VIKOR), simple additive weighting (SAW) and grey relational analysis (GRA) by amalgamating fuzzy sets theory to select the most appropriate alternative for GSCM. The work is supported by triangular fuzzy number sets to choose the green alternative industry among available industries, while dealing with the uncertainty and vagueness in GSCM. A case study is exposed to identify strong and weak indices and to exhibit the feasibility of the proposed work. Findings It is requisite by the managers of many firms to identify the strong and weak indices relating their firms. Thus, the authors presented an approach for measuring and appraising the performance of the selected green alternative by determining the strong and weak indices. The presented work illustrates the performance measurement model that identifies comprehensive GSCM practices of the firms. The presented work incorporates green supply chain activities to support environmental sustainability throughout the supply chain. Research limitations/implications GSCM is necessary to the firms, as it considers impact onto the environment due to their supply chain activities. The authors build decision support system to facilitate the managers of various firms for modeling green practices in their decision making. The authors attempt to devise a conceptual framework linked with knowledge-based theory. Originality/value The authors conceptualized VIKOR, SAW and GRA methodology to rank and benchmark the green performance of distinguish alternative industries among available industries. Additionally, the performance measurement model for the selected significant green alternative is presented for determining the strong and weak indices.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 642-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahesh Chand ◽  
Neha Bhatia ◽  
Rajesh Kumar Singh

Purpose Industries start focusing on the green concept in supply chain management (SCM) to reduce waste and emission, preserve the quality of natural resources and decrease the consumption of hazardous/harmful materials for better product life cycle, which not only improve environmental performance but also economic performance. But, for industries, it is still very difficult to understand and analyze the effect of individual activities and their corresponding contribution. The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze selected issues in green supply chain management for the implementation of the green concept in industries. Design/methodology/approach To fulfill the objectives of this paper, analytical network process-multi-objective optimization using rational analysis (ANP-MOORA) techniques are used. In the proposed methodologies, different issues, sub-issues, and alternatives are identified for the selection of the best supply chain using ANP which is being followed by the MOORA method. Findings Findings of this paper are highly valuable for the Indian manufacturing industries for the management of green supply chain (GSC) issues. Research limitations/implications In this research, only selected issues are identified and analyzed for the management of GSCs. Further, it is believed that an ANP-based framework helps to take up the explicit account of multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approaches in decision making and for improving and selecting the best supply chain. Other issues in GSC can be analyzed and further extended by other MCDM approaches. Originality/value This paper identified different type of supply chains and their issues. The systematic way of analyzing the green concept in supply chain helps the researchers and managers to implement green management practices for improving economic and environmental performance.


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