A resilient supply chain network for an online retailer: a three-phase robust framework and a case study

Document Type : Article

Authors

School of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

This paper proposes a three-phase robust approach to the problem of designing a supply chain in an e-tailing environment considering the resilience strategies such as fortification, backup suppliers, and transshipment. First, the scores of potential suppliers are obtained using several resilience criteria. Then, a scenario-based stochastic network design model is proposed which considers operational (demand and transfer cost) and disruption (a natural disaster) risks. Finally, an order transfer problem is solved. The results prove the effectiveness of the framework for a case study. A preferred Pareto optimal solution of the robust optimization model is selected such that its cost is only 0.15% worse than its neighbour while its score of suppliers is 2.46% greater than the mentioned point. In addition, the results of the sensitivity analysis show that although the suppliers with higher scores costs more, they have a smaller cost range.

Keywords


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