Assessing the sustainability of using drone technology for last-mile delivery in a blood supply chain

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ehsan Rashidzadeh ◽  
Seyyed Mohammad Hadji Molana ◽  
Roya Soltani ◽  
Ashkan Hafezalkotob
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Blood Supply ◽  
Programming Approach ◽  
Distribution Centers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Solution Approach ◽  
Blood Supply Chain ◽  
Last Mile ◽  
Last Mile Delivery ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Delivery management of perishable products such as blood in a supply chain is a considerable issue such that the last-mile delivery, which refers to deliver goods to the end user as fast as possible takes into account as one of the most important, expensive and, polluting segments in the entire supply chain. Regardless of economic challenges, the last-mile delivery faces social and environmental barriers to continuing operations while complying with environmental and social standards, therefore incorporating sustainability into last-mile logistic strategy is no longer an option but rather a necessity. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to consider a last-mile delivery in a blood supply chain in terms of using appropriate technologies such as drones to assess sustainability. Design/methodology/approach The authors discuss the impact of drone technology on last-mile delivery and its importance in achieving sustainability. They focus on the effect of using drones on CO2 emission, costs and social benefits by proposing a multi-objective mathematical model to assess sustainability in the last-mile delivery. A preemptive fuzzy goal programming approach to solve the model and measure the achievement degree of sustainability is conducted by using a numerical example to show the capability and usefulness of the suggested model, solution approach and, impact of drone technology in achieving all three aspects of sustainability. Findings The findings illustrate the achievement degree of sustainability in the delivery of blood based on locating distribution centers and allocating drones. Moreover, a comparison between drones and conventional vehicles is carried out to show the preference of using drones in reaching sustainability. A sensitivity analysis on aspects of sustainability and specifications of drone technology is conducted for validating the obtained results and distinguishing the most dominant aspect and parameters in enhancing the achievement degree of sustainability. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no research has considered the assessment of sustainability in the last-mile delivery of blood supply chain with a focus on drone technology.

scholarly journals Mathematical modeling for optimizing the blood supply chain network

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Rahimzadeh Dehaghani ◽  
Muhammad Nawaz ◽  
Rohullah Sultanie ◽  
Tawiah Kwatekwei Quartey-Papafio
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Blood Supply ◽  
Supply Chain Network ◽  
Distribution Centers ◽  
Nsga Ii ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Supply Chain Networks ◽  
Multi Objective ◽  
Blood Supply Chain ◽  
The Cost

PurposeThis research studies a location-allocation problem considering the m/m/m/k queue model in the blood supply chain network. This supply chain includes three levels of suppliers or donors, main blood centers (laboratories for separation, storage and distribution centers) and demand centers (hospitals and private clinics). Moreover, the proposed model is a multi-objective model including minimizing the total cost of the blood supply chain (the cost of unmet demand and inventory spoilage, the cost of transport between collection centers and the main centers of blood), minimizing the waiting time of donors in blood donating mobile centers, and minimizing the establishment of mobile centers in potential places.Design/methodology/approachSince the problem is multi-objective and NP-Hard, the heuristic algorithm NSGA-II is proposed for Pareto solutions and then the estimation of the parameters of the algorithm is described using the design of experiments. According to the review of the previous research, there are a few pieces of research in the blood supply chain in the field of design queue models and there were few works that tried to use these concepts for designing the blood supply chain networks. Also, in former research, the uncertainty in the number of donors, and also the importance of blood donors has not been considered.FindingsA novel mathematical model guided by the theory of linear programming has been proposed that can help health-care administrators in optimizing the blood supply chain networks.Originality/valueBy building upon solid literature and theory, the current study proposes a novel model for improving the supply chain of blood.

scholarly journals Proactive transshipment in the blood supply chain: A stochastic programming approach

Omega ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 98 ◽  
pp. 102112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Dehghani ◽  
Babak Abbasi ◽  
Fabricio Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Stochastic Programming ◽  
Blood Supply ◽  
Programming Approach ◽  
Blood Supply Chain

The effect of information technology on the agility of the supply chain in the Iranian power plant industry

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 427-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghazal Bargshady ◽  
Seyed Mojib Zahraee ◽  
Mohammad Ahmadi ◽  
Ali Parto
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Power Plant ◽  
Information Integration ◽  
Information Infrastructure ◽  
Plant Industry ◽  
Distribution Centers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose – An agile supply chain (ASC) includes companies that are operationally linked to each other, such as supply, design, manufacturing and distribution centers that respond and react quickly and effectively to change markets. Information systems and technology have a main role in achieving this objective. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between information integration, information infrastructure flexibility and the ASC in the Iranian power plant industry (IPPI). Design/methodology/approach – The quantitative method was employed in this study. Survey questionnaires were sent to 87 managers in the IPPI to examine the relationship between information integration, information infrastructure flexibility, and the ASC. Findings – The final results indicated that information sharing and responsibility were strongly related with the ASC; accessibility and connectivity had important relations with the ASC; while the relationships between compatibility and adaptableness as IT flexibility variables and ASC were positive but not significant. Research limitations/implications – This study focussed on the impact of IT on the IPPI specifically companies that manufacture boilers, electronic control tools, turbines, turbine blades, generators and other power plant-related components. Practical implications – A new research model was developed to assess the impact of the interrelationships among IT capabilities and the ASC and results should assist managers as well as academicians. Originality/value – An investigation was carried out through this study based on the current situation in IPPI to empirically examine and evaluate the effect of IT integration and flexibility on ASC. Besides, a very limited number of studies have been done on the implementation of information technology in the IPPI.

scholarly journals Artificial intelligence for supply chain resilience: learning from Covid-19

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sachin Modgil ◽  
Rohit Kumar Singh ◽  
Claire Hannibal
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Supply Chain Resilience ◽  
Rich Data ◽  
Theory Practice Gap ◽  
Last Mile Delivery ◽  
The Impact

PurposeMany supply chains have faced disruption during Covid-19. Artificial intelligence (AI) is one mechanism that can be used to improve supply chain resilience by developing business continuity capabilities. This study examines how firms employ AI and consider the opportunities for AI to enhance supply chain resilience by developing visibility, risk, sourcing and distribution capabilities.Design/methodology/approachThe authors have gathered rich data by conducting semistructured interviews with 35 experts from the e-commerce supply chain. The authors have adopted a systematic approach of coding using open, axial and selective methods to map and identify the themes that represent the critical elements of AI-enabled supply chain resilience.FindingsThe results of the study highlight the emergence of five critical areas where AI can contribute to enhanced supply chain resilience; (1) transparency, (2) ensuring last-mile delivery, (3) offering personalized solutions to both upstream and downstream supply chain stakeholders, (4) minimizing the impact of disruption and (5) facilitating an agile procurement strategy.Research limitations/implicationsThe study offers interesting implications for bridging the theory–practice gap by drawing on contemporary empirical data to demonstrate how enhancing dynamic capabilities via AI technologies further strengthens supply chain resilience. The study also offers suggestions for utilizing the findings and proposes a framework to strengthen supply chain resilience through AI.Originality/valueThe study presents the dynamic capabilities for supply chain resilience through the employment of AI. AI can contribute to readying supply chains to reduce their risk of disruption through enhanced resilience.

Understanding the implications of pandemic outbreaks on supply chains: an exploratory study of the effects caused by the COVID-19 across four South Asian countries and steps taken by firms to address the disruptions

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Atif Saleem Butt
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Manufacturing Firms ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Distribution Centers ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Senior Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the disruptions caused to supply chains by COIVD-19 as well as steps/countermeasures taken by firms to address such disruptions.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs 46 semi-structured interviews with senior managers of the three buying firms, four distribution centers and four supplying firms based in four countries (Pakistan, Sri Lanka, China and India).FindingsResults unveil that manufacturing firms are facing limited production and delays in procuring goods and services, while distribution centres are facing inventory shortages. Furthermore, supplying firms are facing increased lead times amid the COVID-19 outbreak. In addition, each affected entity has employed specific strategies to address these disruptions. For instance, manufacturing firms are refining their production schedules based on the inventory, getting better visibility to their suppliers’ performance and developing new inbound routes to meet the production challenges. They are also assessing the tier-1 supplier’s risk and activating the relationship with secondary suppliers to address the procurement issues. Second, distributors are modifying inventory policies to meet the inventory shortage. Finally, supplying firms are developing alternative outbound logistics to meet the growing demand.Research limitations/implicationsThere are some limitations to this study. First, the results of this study cannot be generalized to a wider population. Second, this study explores the interpretations of senior managers based in four Asian countries only.Originality/valueOur study contributes to the supply chain literature by exploring the disruptions caused by COVID-19 to the supply chain operations. It also contributes to theory and practice by articulating the strategies adopted by firms to address such disruptions. Firms can use the steps highlighted in this study to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the supply chain disruptions.

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