A Sustainable Supply Chain Network Model Considering Carbon Neutrality and Personalization

Abstract

The development of a carbon-neutral production and distribution method that minimizes the consumption of input resources and energy and facilitates resource recycling is an important global issue. Therefore, this study aimed to explore a new type of sustainable supply chain network (SSCN) that focuses on carbon neutrality and personalization. The first significance of the SSCN model is that it combines carbon neutrality and personalization problems into one research framework for the sustainable development of corporate management environments. In addition, evaluation and optimization mechanisms are crucial for decision-making in an SSCN. Thus, in this study, a creative evaluation and optimization mechanism was developed as a second significance for the sustainable development of the supply chain. The model used two evaluation indices (EIs) to measure the performance of the entire network in terms of the degree of personalization and carbon neutrality. The proposed SSCN is formulated as a mathematical model using mixed-integer nonlinear programming, and it is implemented by combining two types of approaches: hypergeometric distribution and a genetic algorithm. The results show the evaluation values and comparisons by the average values of transportation cost, handling cost, fixed costs, carbon dioxide emission cost, total cost, and average processing time. In addition to providing help for mass-customized production enterprises, this study also provided constructive suggestions for the conversion of small or venture enterprises to multi-variety and small-scale production, and it suggests the direction of job creation for such enterprises.