A Strategic Location Decision-Making Approach for Multi-Tier Supply Chain Sustainability

Petchprakai Sirilertsuwan, Sébastien Thomassey and Xianyi Zeng
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Petchprakai Sirilertsuwan: GEMTEX Laboratory, The ENSAIT Textile Institute, 59056 Roubaix, France
Sébastien Thomassey: Automatique, Génie informatique, Traitement du Signal et des Images, Université Lille Nord de France, F-59000 Lille, France
Xianyi Zeng: Automatique, Génie informatique, Traitement du Signal et des Images, Université Lille Nord de France, F-59000 Lille, France

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 20, 1-37

Abstract: Few studies on supply location decisions focus on enhancing triple bottom line (TBL) sustainability in supply chains; they rarely employ objective quantifiable measurements which help ensure consistent and transparent decisions or reveal relationships between business and environmental trade-off criteria. Therefore, we propose a decision-making approach for objectively selecting multi-tier supply locations based on cost and carbon dioxide equivalents (CO 2 e) from manufacturing, logistics, and sustainability-assurance activities, including certificate implementation, sample-checking, living wage and social security payments, and factory visits. Existing studies and practices, logic models, activity-based costing, and feedback from an application and experts help develop the approach. The approach helps users in location decisions and long-term supply chain planning by revealing relationships among factors, TBL sustainability, and potential risks. This approach also helps users evaluate whether supplier prices are too low to create environmental and social compliance. Its application demonstrates potential and flexibility in revealing both lowest- and optimized-cost and CO 2 e supply chains, under various contexts and constraints, for different markets. Very low cost/CO 2 e supply chains have proximity between supply chain stages and clean manufacturing energy. Considering sustainability-assurance activities differentiates our approach from existing studies, as the activities significantly impact supply chain cost and CO 2 e in low manufacturing unit scenarios.

Keywords: multi-tier supply chain planning; manufacturing location decisions; sourcing decisions; green supply network design; sustainable locations; global value chain analysis; sustainable supply chain management; carbon footprint; sustainable practices; responsible strategic management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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