CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Network Design Models for Closed-Loop Supply Chains:

A Literature Review and a Research Agenda
Azar MahmoumGonbadi, Andrea Genovese, Antonino Sgalambro
Sheffield University Management School, The University of Sheffield, Conduit Rd, Sheffield, S10 1FL, UK

The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and
innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Training Networks
grant agreement ReTraCE No 814247.
 1. Introduction
2. Objectives and Main Contribution
3. Research Method
Agenda 4. Descriptive Findings
5. Discussion
6. Conclusion & Research Gaps
7. Q & A

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 Linear Economy

Growing concerns about the environmental and social impact

of industrial production and business operations.

Make-use-dispose model
Introduction

Long-lasting effects & responsiveness of production systems

Supply Chain Management

Design a proper reverse logistic (RL) and CLSC network

The reprocessing of product flows, after market recovery

Forward flows and reverse flows
Various facilities required to collect and dismantle products at the end
of their service life
Closed-Loop Supply Chain

Economic, Environmental and Social benefits

CLSC network design problems, The most important
strategic decision
Structure and configuration of CLSC networks
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 Objectives and Main Contribution

D
C
Description of modelling
approaches and solution

B
methods
Identification of supported decisions;
assessment of the coverage of

A
sustainability dimensions
Identification of gaps and Objective D
associated research
Overview and analysis of questions. Objective C
the closed-loop supply
chain network design
models Objective B

Objective A

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 Source Identification

a. First set of keywords b. Second set of keywords

TITLE ("close* loop supply chain*") AND

TITLE-ABS-KEY ("close*loop"  TITLE-ABS-KEY ("network design*") OR
AND "network* design*") TITLE-ABS-KEY ("network plan*") OR
TITLE-ABS-KEY ("design model*")

These generic keywords arrangement allowed the study to explore as many CLSC related
articles as possible.

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 Source Identification
Preliminary Excluded Articles
Selection Process Review type Articles
Only English Articles (N=5)
Keyword a. (N=201) Articles not dealing with
Keyword b. (N=136) network design problems
Total number of articles: in CLSC (N=28)
337 33 papers were excluded
Remaining papers: 170

1 2 3 4 5

Source Identification Duplicate Removals Data Analysis

Keyword a. (N=318) Duplication of
Keyword b. (N=178) articles were
Total number of manually checked by
documents: 496 using Microsoft Excel
Remaining articles:
203

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 Descriptive Findings

DESIGN
CLSC NETWORK

Historical Series
Number of publications across the period under study

From 90%
2012
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 Number
Journal of papers
Journal of Cleaner Production 16
Computers and Industrial Engineering 12
International Journal of Production Research 8
Applied Mathematical Modelling 6
International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management 6
International Journal of Engineering, Transactions B:
6
Applications
Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation
5
Review
Applied Soft Computing Journal 4
Journals publishing European Journal of Operational Research 4
CLSC articles International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology 4

7% 9%

Computers and Industrial Journal of Cleaner

Engineering Production
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 • 64% of the total cases are from Asian countries
(such as Iran and China). Reasons for this
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR’S include:
• The closed nature of the Iranian economy
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION • The recent adoption of Circular Economy as
a strategic priority in the latest 5-year plan
9 of 25 in China
 • programming
• multi-objective
• optimization
• genetic algorithm
• design
• planning

Certain methods and

approaches to deal with
CLSCs.

Co-occurrence
of authors’
keywords
Co-occurrence of author keywords appearing in the papers

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 Treatment Policies

Disposal
112

Recycling The categories of

76 treatment options

Remanufacturing
47
A is driven by the
frequency of
occurrence within
all CLSC
Recovering network analysis.
28
What treatment
Repairing
13
B policies are
suitable based on
the quality of
Dismantling
12 returned products.

Refurbis
hing
8

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 Types of Decisions
01
Strategic Decisions
Long-Term
• Number of facilities
• Facility location
• Facility capacity
• Supplier selection
• Technology installation
• Product design
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03
02
Tactical Decisions
Operational Decisions
Short-Term
Mid-Term • Vehicle Routing Planning
• Scheduling
• Facility Allocations
• Production Planning
• Inventory levels
• Number of vehicles
 Integrated decisions

2 88
Strategic
  15 65
0

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 Products and
Periods Analysis

• •
LOREM IPSUM DOLOR SIT AMET •
Product Period
Single-period: static and reflect
Single-product:
Investigation of only one decisions which are taken only
type of products once, mainly at a beginning of a
Multi-product: time horizon. Includes no
Considering different information of subsequent
product types periods and only optimizes the
current, given set of parameters.
• Multi-period: optimize on the
whole time horizon and the time
element is explicitly accounted
for;

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 Objective Functions
Single Objective
89
• Minimize the total cost
• Maximize the total profit
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Bi-Objective Multi Objective
48
33
minimization and profit
maximization combined with
minimization of environmental only 19 papers are
emissions like CO2, or delivery integrating the three
tardiness or maximization of dimensions of sustainability
social impacts
 Sustainability Dimensions

42 4
19

0 Economic
The yearly evolution of triple bottom-line of sustainability
104
This analysis
refers to the
objective
functions and
constraints.
Distribution of the reviewed papers regarding the three
16 of 25 dimensions of sustainability
 Indicator Characterization

t a l
e n
n m
vi ro
E n

So
Ec ci
al
on
om
ic

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 Modelling Approaches

44%
Uncertain modelling approaches
Mathematical
Modelling 56%

Deterministic modelling approaches

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 Solution Techniques
Deterministic

Uncertain

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 Source of Uncertainty

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 30
Real World Application
25
20
15
10
5
0
a l
Ira
n
di pe ie
d
in
a ey ly ga
In ro if h rk Ita tu 01
Eu ec C Tu or
sp P Under study Industries
ot
N

Case Study’s Location Product

Automotive
Geographical Location of Electrical and Electronics
implemented the case study Copier Industry
Glass
Construction
Food Industry
Home Appliance
Paper
Furniture
Metal
European consumer goods
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0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
 Discussion – a research agenda for CLSC research

Objective Functions Circularity Indicators

multi objective no explicit consideration of
optimization CE indicators  and it’s an
strategies, due to the obvious disconnection
inherent multi- between circularity
objective nature of indicators and network
CLSCs, are still a huge design models which
gap in literature. Theoretical needs to be addressed.  
Gaps

Decision Making TB of Sustainability

To avoid sub- Integrating Three bottom-
optimality, adopting line of sustainability in
novel approaches to objective functions. Most of
incorporate all three the works are mainly
decision variables concerned with economic
seems to be a parameters.
considerable gap in the
literature.
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 Practical Gaps

Real-World
Implementation
implementation of the
Market Availability models to real
industrial cases or
lack of secondary even empirical
and tertiary markets studies with more
considerations in real-life constraints
CLSC frameworks is a substantial gap.

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 Conclusion
02
01
The coverage of the
different
The type of decision
sustainability
supported (strategic, dimensions
tactical or (economic,
operational); environmental,
social) within the
field of study;

Cl sed 03
The adoption of
04
The applicability of
L p Supply Chain different modelling
(e.g., deterministic vs
the developed
approaches to real-
stochastic) and world cases and
solution (e.g., exact different types of
methods vs supply chains.
heuristic/meta-
heuristic ones);

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 Thank You
Questions?
Azar MahmoumGonbadi
Early Stage Researcher (ReTrace Project) Comments?
ReTraCE H2020-MSCA-ITN-2018 –
http://www.retrace-itn.eu/research/esrs/azar-mahmoumgonbadi/
PhD Candidate at Operations Management & Decision Sciences
division
Sheffield University Management School
The University of Sheffield
E-mail: a.mahmoum@sheffield.ac.uk