Omni-Chanel Network Design towards Circular Economy under Inventory Share Policies

Damla İzmirli, Banu Y. Ekren, Vikas Kumar and Siwarit Pongsakornrungsilp
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Damla İzmirli: Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yasar University, Izmir 35100, Turkey
Banu Y. Ekren: Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yasar University, Izmir 35100, Turkey
Vikas Kumar: Bristol Business School, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK
Siwarit Pongsakornrungsilp: Department of Business Administration, School of Management, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, Thailand

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-21

Abstract: In this paper, we study inventory share policies in an omni-channel supply network, to contribute to the circular economy (CE) concept. Lateral inventory share implementation provides flexibility and profitability in the supply chain by allowing inventory share between the same echelon locations in a network. Total holding costs and transportation costs can be reduced by lateral inventory share applications, which also contribute to decreased material usage for production over time, as well as reduced CO 2 emission released by transportation. Technological and Internet of Things (IoT) developments make it possible for companies to share their real-time information with each other for uninterrupted marketing experiences. With such a connected network, companies aim to increase their profitability and responsiveness to their customers. We explore a well-designed inventory share policy towards the CE concept under an ( s, S ) inventory control policy. We simulate several pre-defined share designs by Arena 16.0 commercial software and compare their performances in terms of cost, responsiveness, transportation frequency, inventory held, etc. The results show that, by the implementation of a well-designed lateral inventory share policy, an omni-channel network can benefit from decreased holding cost and transportation cost, contributing to the CE concept.

Keywords: omni-channel; circular economy; CO 2 emission; inventory share; IoT; e-commerce; ( s; S ) inventory; inventory control; customer sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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