Pollution optimisation study of logistics in SMEs

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a solution for greening the supply chain of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by minimising the vehicular pollutant emission in the logistics network. Design/methodology/approach The paper proposes an optimisation model to reduce the pollution emission in the logistics of supply chain network in SMEs. The work considers vehicle routing and selection of suppliers, manufacturers and assemblers according to the availability of various Bharat Stage Emission Standards type vehicles. Introsort sorting based selection algorithm is used to solve the problem. The proposed solution is implemented using C++ on an experimental data set for analysing the model. Findings The outcome of the study is a pollution optimisation model for logistics of SMEs. The finding shows an approach to reduce total vehicular pollution emission in the logistics network in meeting the demand. The model is tested over an experimental study, and the result findings show which supply chain entities, type of environmental standard vehicles and vehicle routes are selected for the specific demand. Research limitations/implications The proposed model is confined to pollution optimisation with limited parameters only and does not consider cost and other factors that can be included in future work. Practical implications The work can be used for limiting pollution in logistics system as the corporate social responsibility of enterprises. Originality/value Proposed work presents a sustainable and green solution for pollution control in logistics activities of the SMEs.