Janya Chanchaichujit

The use of an optimisation model to design a green supply chain: A case study of the Thai rubber industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to take the first step in solving environmental supply chain management issues. It proposes a green supply chain management (GSCM) model which would provide environmental benefits to the Thai rubber industry. To this end, a GSCM optimisation model was formulated, whereby the manufacturing processes of rubber products, along with their distribution and transportation, could be improved. The expected result is that total greenhouse gas emissions would be minimised and environmental performance maximised. Design/methodology/approach – Linear programming was chosen as the mathematical programming for investigation into the problem of finding the association of quantity of rubber product flow between the supply chain entities (farmer, trader group, and factory) and the transportation mode and route, with a view to minimise total greenhouse gas emissions. Findings – The results indicate that by using the proposed model, GHG emissions could be minimised to 1.08 tons of GHGs...

Analysing the impact of restructuring transportation, production and distribution on costs and environment – a case from the Thai Rubber industry

ABSTRACT Transportation and distribution are key elements to successful supply chains, however there is some disagreement regarding the impact of distribution and transportation restructuring on costs and the environment. This paper explores the use of an optimisation model of Thailand’s rubber industry supply chain, to assess the impact of distribution and transportation on costs and greenhouse gas emissions. It has previously been observed that there is a positive correlation between transportation cost reduction and environmental impact, nevertheless the correlation is not clearly established when the distribution system is restructured. This paper is divided into two parts: the first part examines the impact of transportation service capacity on distribution decisions; the second part of the paper aims to examine the impact of restructuring the distribution network considering multi-modal options on cost and greenhouse gas emissions. For both parts a scenario analysis is utilised in conjunction with an optimisation model to derive the best possible answer in terms of costs and GHG emissions. In this paper, the results obtained indicate that the impact on cost minimisation from the increase in rail freight service capacity is marginal, while the impact on GHG emission minimisation is more significant. In terms of short-sea shipping prices and service capacity, the scenario analysis shows a slight positive impact on cost minimisation but no positive or negative impact on GHG emission minimisation. Results also confirm that in terms of economic advantages, distribution network restructuring provides greater benefit to the industry than does capacity development for the transportation service.

The Elements of the Natural Rubber Industry Supply Chain

This chapter the elements of the natural rubber industry supply chain are presented. This chapter aims to introduce the reader to the physical transformation of rubber and categories of natural rubber products. The common definitions for each rubber supply chain entity and their relevant process are presented along with logistics and marketing activities and decision making. Moreover, supply and demand mechanisms are discussed in order to understand how price is formulated in the natural rubber industry.

A Hands-On Development of a Discrete Event Simulation Model for the Thai Rubber Industry

This chapter presents a discrete event simulation (DES) model which is built step by step, using Ptolemy II. The elements of the model are explained. After the design decisions have been made, the elements are implemented and integrated into the model being built. In each step of the process, checks and control measures are put in place in order to guarantee the validity of the model in a way that resembles unit testing in programming.

Discrete Event Simulation Concepts

This chapter is concerned with the discrete event simulation (DES) paradigm. The main objective of this chapter is to provide the reader some basic philosophical foundations of the technique and it also serves as a brief introduction to Ptolemy II as it illustrates some of the concepts presented by using the software in the context of a simple example.

Model Implementation and Validation

In this chapter the building blocks developed in Chap. 4 are used to model the Southern Thailand Rubber supply chain. After the model is built, it is validated to check the consistency of the observed movement and the material movement at the regional level. The chapter concludes by analysing the capability of the model by using two case studies.

An optimization based decision support model for Thai rubber industry supply chain: Preliminary results

As todays global rubber markets continue to be more complex in term of cost, the objective to design effective rubber supply chain needs to address this challenge. Therefore, this paper aims to develop an optimization based decision support model for the Thai rubber industry formulated by incorporating the distribution, production and transportation of rubber products in a manner to minimize the total costs. The purpose of the model is to support the analysis of rubber supply network flows, the factory locations, the outbound distribution of transportation mode and route choices. Preliminary results based on cost minimization objective are presented and discussed.