Sachin Kumar Mangla

Prioritising indicators in improving supply chain performance using fuzzy AHP: insights from the case example of four Indian manufacturing companies

Abstract In this contribution, we aim to prioritise the indicators to enhance the organisational supply chain’s (SC) effectiveness from an industrial perspective. It will help industries to develop strategies for managing the SC effectively and ensuring improvement in performance continuously. To achieve this, this work proposes to use a two-phase research methodology. First, 36 SC performance improvement indicators are recognised from a literature survey and from field and industrial expert’s inputs. Secondly, a structural model is proposed using the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to prioritise the indicators strategically to improve the SC performance. The fuzzy AHP method helps determine the priority of concerns of the identified indicators under fuzzy surroundings. Inputs in this research are taken from four ancillary Indian plastic manufacturing firms. Research findings indicate that collaborations and information exchange dimension indicators obtained the highest priority in improving SC performance. The model proposed is considered very useful for the SC managers/practitioners/decision-makers to understand better and distinguish the essential SC performance improvement indicators and to take systematic decisions specifically to improve the performance of business in a SC context. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to examine the priority ranking of the indicators.

Modelling critical success factors for sustainability initiatives in supply chains in Indian context using Grey-DEMATEL

Abstract Sustainability assists organisations to enhance ecological, financial and societal performances of their entire supply chains. The present paper uncovers the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for effective adoption of sustainability initiatives in the supply chain in Indian context. Fifteen CSFs for the successful adoption of sustainability initiatives were identified and finalised firstly from the literature and followed by expert inputs. A methodology based on Grey-Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) was used to envisage the organisation of complex causal relationships between the recognised CSFs. ‘Government Legalisation’ has been found to be the most influential factor and ‘Community Welfare and Development’ is most easily influenced factor. A multiple case example of three automotive companies operating in India is conducted. To the end, some important policy measures and recommendations are proposed to help practicing managers and government bodies to adopt and effectively manage the concepts of sustainability oriented supply chains in India.

Barriers to effective circular supply chain management in a developing country context

Abstract Circular supply chain (CSC) emphasises surge in application of reuse, recycling, remanufacturing and thereby promotes transformation from linear to circular model of flow of products. Supply chains of manufacturing industries have become global over the years. Products manufactured in developing nations are being sent to developed nations for mass consumption. Developed nations have regulatory policies, technological knowhow and modern infrastructure to adopt CSC model. Their counterpart is trailing in these aspects. In literature, limited work has been performed on identifying challenges of implementing CSC in developing nations. Therefore, employing literature review and feedback received from experts, 16 important barriers were identified to CSC adoption in India. These barriers were analysed using integrated Interpretive Structural Modelling ? MICMAC approach. The findings will contribute in transforming supply chains thereby bringing economic prosperity, addressing global warming and generating employment opportunities. Finally, crucial policy measures and recommendations are proposed to assist managers and government bodies.

Benchmarking the logistics management implementation using Delphi and fuzzy DEMATEL

From last few decades, logistics management (LM) constitutes a global concern among organization’s supply chain (SC) to improve their business effectiveness. The purpose of this paper is to uncover and analyze the critical factors (CFs) related to the implementation of effective LM concept and benchmark the SC performance.,The most common (16) CFs were identified and selected through literature and use of the Delphi method. Subsequently, the selected most common CFs were analyzed to distinguish their causal relations using the fuzzy Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) technique under unclear surroundings. A case example of Indian Logistics Company is also discussed to reveal the practical applicability of the research.,Provision of the effective information communication and technological developments in the system and Management dedication, support and involvement CFs are found to have the top most influences in the effective implementation of LM. This paper also groups the CFs into cause and effect relationship which provides valuable insights for analyzing the factors in successful implementation of LM.,This work attempts to understand the different CFs, their relative position and the importance rating in the system, due to which, managers can differentiate the factor which greatly affects the concepts of implementing LM, and thus, improvements can be made accordingly.,First, this work offers 16 CFs to LM implementation from a SC scenario. Second, in the context of contributing to the theory, the combined Delphi and fuzzy DEMATEL-based model is provided that helps in managing the logistic related issues effectively.

Evaluating the Drivers to Information and Communication Technology for Effective Sustainability Initiatives in Supply Chains

Supply chain (SC) sustainability has become a global issue. To develop sustainability focused SC networks, the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is of great significance. An effective information system and management can help not only in improving better customer service and in cost control, but also can assist planning to achieve the three pillars of sustainability (ecological, economic, and societal development), thereby enhancing business efficiency. This paper aims to identify and evaluate the drivers relevant to ICT for sustainability initiatives in SCs. The drivers are finalized through a literature survey and use of the Delphi technique. The finalized drivers are analyzed by a procedure using the fuzzy DEMATEL approach. The research findings suggest that “Government support systems and subsidies”, “Knowledge and awareness of ICT tools and techniques,” and “Information systems network design” drivers have the most significant influences in the implementation of ICT for incorporating sustainability in SCs. This work may help practitioners and researchers in strategic decision-making and in formulating effective plans for the implementation of ICT and for incorporating sustainable concepts in SCs.

Sustainable Food Supply Chain Management Implementation Using DEMATEL Approach

The importance of sustainable food supply chain management is to overcome the wastage in food manufacturing industries. It benefits the industries to minimize the stress demand of food. The aim of current work is to assess success factors related to the successful implementation of sustainable food supply chain management. On the basis of the literature survey, ten success factors were identified and analyzed with the help of decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) approach. DEMATEL technique is useful for the interrelation of success factors among them and then divides it into cause and effect for the further investigation. According to the present research, food quality and safety was attributed the highest importance among other success factors for the successful adoption of sustainable food supply chain management initiatives. Present work helps managers and higher authorities in the industries for devising long-term decision policies in effective managing sustainable food supply chain management implementation.

Analyzing Challenges to Transportation for Successful Sustainable Food Supply Chain Management Implementation in Indian Dairy Industry

Food Corporation of India (FCI) and Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) clearly mentioned in their reports that transportation is a critical issue nowadays in Indian dairy industries. Increased population in India forced the companies to add sustainability in their food processing and manufacturing to meet the increasing demands. Thus, sustainable food supply chain management (SFSCM) helps to reduce the wastage of food throughout the food supply chain. For successful implementation of SFSCM, the present work is mainly focused on challenges in transportation. The challenges were analyzed by new method, i.e., best worst method (BWM). This method is generally used for solving (MCDM) multi-criteria decision-making problems. In MCDM problem, the best alternative is selected by comparing number of alternatives with respect to selected criteria. In BWM, the policy maker identifies the best (very important) and the worst (less important) criteria. Eight challenges were identified from the literature review and experts’ opinion. The important factors of the BWM method include less comparison data and more reliable comparisons.

Implementation of Sustainable Consumption and Production Using DEMATEL

The successful implementation of SCP is not possible without the involvement of certain critical factors. Therefore, identification of success factors (SFs) and their subsequent analysis is very important to understand. The goal of current work is to estimate the SFs associated with the adoption of SCP patterns. A total of 11 SFs were identified from the literature review. The listed factors were then analyzed using Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) at strategic level. DEMATEL strategy catches the interactive connections among the SFs and investigates them further on the ground of causal effect mapping. According to the research findings, the ‘government support and policies’ was attributed the highest significance among other factors in adopting SCP initiatives in the supply chain. This work can help industrial managers/practitioners to devise long-term decision strategies in efficiently managing SCP implementation.

Internet of Things (IoT) in Agriculture Supply Chain Management: A Developing Country Perspective

Agriculture supply chain management (ASCM) faces specific challenges such as dependence on weather conditions, involvement of very large number of actors and lack of literacy in the majority of the workforce that lead to requirement of information and communications technologies (ICT). The aim of this chapter is to introduce Internet of things (IoT)-based technologies and to describe its applications in the agriculture supply chain context in a developing country such as India. Based on literature, a total of six IoT-based technologies in the context of ASCM have been identified in this work. The application of IoT in agri-food sectors in India can promote the development of agriculture supply chain by reducing the wastage considerably and fulfil the requirements of users in a most sustained way. IoT-based technology has a significant scope of integrating in various functions of ASCM in industrial contexts in a developing country like India.

Predicting Changing Pattern: Building Model for Consumer Decision Making in Digital Market

Consumers have the multiple options to choose their products and services, which have a significant impact on the pattern of consumer decision making in digital market and further increases the challenges for the service providers to predict their buying pattern. In this sense, the purpose of this paper is to propose a structural hierarchy model for analyzing the changing pattern of consumer decision making in digital market by taking an Indian context.,To accomplish the objectives, the research is conducted in two phases. An extensive literature review is performed in the first phase to list the factors related to the changing pattern of consumer decision making in digital market and then fuzzy Delphi method is applied to finalize the factors. In the second phase, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is employed to find the priority weights of finalized factors. The fuzzy set theory allows capturing the vagueness in the data.,The findings obtained in this study shows that consumers are much conscious about innovative and trendy products as well as brand and quality; therefore, the service providers must think about these two most important factors so that they can able to retain their consumer in their online portal.,The analysis shows that “innovative and trendy” is the first priority factor for the consumers followed by “brand and quality” and “fulfilment and time energy.” The proposed model can help the marketers and service providers in predicting customers’ preferences and their changing pattern efficiently under vague surroundings. The outcomes of this research work not only help the service provider to update their products and services according to consumers’ needs but can also help them to increase profit and minimize their risk.,This work contributes to consumer research literature focusing on problem evaluation in the context of changing pattern of consumer decision making in digital era.