The role of an integrated logistics and procurement service offered by a 3PL firm in supply chain

As an integrated part in supply chain,third-party logistics(3PL)has intrinsic connections with upstream manufacturer and downstream retailer.Using a Stackelberg game model consisting of a manufacturer,a retailer and a 3PL to explicitly capture the interaction of firms’operations decisions,this paper attempts to better understand the role of integrated logistics and procurement service(ILPS)provided by a 3PL firm in supply chain management.Compared with a supply chain without ILPS,a Pareto region,in which all the supply chain members benefit from working with a 3PL firm offering ILPS,is disclosed.We also show that the Pareto region is more likely to occur with higher demand uncertainty.Finally,we reveal that the manufacturer obtains the highest profit in the Pareto region,and that the retailer can improve his profit share as the standard deviation of demand increases.

A hierarchical analytical model for performance management of integrated logistics

In this paper,a holistic hierarchical analytical model is proposed to assess the performance of enablers in an integrated logistics system.Due to the ambiguous and complex environment,various refinements are needed to assess enablers and prioritize for the criteria such as economic,operational,and environment.The proposed hierarchical model is developed by a systematic approach that includes fuzzy analytical hierarchy process(FAHP),triangular fuzzy numbers(TFN),an evidential reasoning algorithm(ERA),and expected utility theory(EUT).The FAHP is used to analyze and obtain the weights of the criteria by considering the expert’s opinions.ERA is used to synthesize the enablers based on the selected criteria.These enablers are represented using subjective assessment along with a set of evaluation grades for a qualitative attribute.EUT helps in obtaining crisp values of enablers for their performance estimation.With these set of methodologies,a hierarchical model is proposed that prevent low flexibility and inadequate appropriateness of the proposed model.Further,the model helps in scenario generation for the logistics professionals who are facing various problems in integrating logistics and incorporating sustainability due to lack of appropriate methodologies and evaluation techniques.Finally,sensitivity analysis is used for overall model validation.

Taguchi Analysis for Improving Optimization of Integrated Forward/Reverse Logistics

The distribution–allocation problem is known as one of the most comprehensive strategic decisions.In real-world cases,it is impossible to solve a distribution–allocation problem completely in acceptable time.This forces the researchers to develop efficient heuristic techniques for the large-term operation of the whole supply chain.These techniques provide near optimal solution and are comparably fast particularly for large-scale test problems.This paper presents an integrated supply chain model which is flexible in the delivery path.As solution methodology,we apply a memetic algorithm with a novelty in population presentation.To identify the optimum operating condition of the proposed memetic algorithm,Taguchi method is adopted.In this study,four factors,namely population size,crossover rate,local search iteration and number of iteration,are considered.Determining the best level of the considered parameters is the outlook of this research.