A sustainable and reliable model for iron closed-loop supply chain network design with considering risk and lateral transmision and developed multi-objective decision-making method

This research proposes a multi-objective and robust model considering both cost and risks related to the environment (water consumption and environmental pollution), social responsibility (working conditions and employee health), operations (change in demand and return rates), and disruption (accs and diseases such as COVID-19) in the supply chain, using horizontal collaboration to deal with it.

In this research, mixed-integer linear programming and robust optimization technique have been used for closed-loop supply chain network design and a multi-objective method has been developed to solve the problem and create Pareto spaces.

The results of the calculations show the effect of failure probability on the capacity of the facility, the total cost of the network and the degree of collaboration between members of the supply chain to deal with the risk. Also, the amount of cost required for allocation to reliable and unreliable facilities and also creating a suitable Pareto space for deciding on the optimal choice of facilities, capacity and flow between them and iron and steel production technology, according to sustainability and social responsibility indicators, are other research findings.

Originality/Value:

 In this study, for the first time, the design of a robust, sustainable, and resilient network of iron and steel under different risks has been studied. Horizontal collaboration has been used as a new approach to deal with risk and solution method for multi-objective problems has been developed. Using the results of this study, the decision-maker can make informed decisions about the supply chain under risk conditions by considering suitability for each of the objectives.