A novel multi-objective model for green forward and reverse logistics network design

With a greater awareness of responsibility for the environment and the need to sustain profitability in a competitive market, reverse logistics has become a key part of supply chain management. This paper therefore seeks to consider the designing and planning of a green forward and reverse logistics network, through a mixed integer linear programming model. The model is applied to a multi-stage, multiproduct, and multi-objective problem whereby the first objective is to minimize the cost of operations, processes, transportation, and fixed costs of the establishment. The second objective is to minimize the amount of CO2 emissions based on the gram unit, while the third is to optimize the number of machines in the production line. For validation, the model is applied to the home appliance industry through several test problems. In terms of the solution methodology, an epsilon-constraint method is developed as the area of optimization in order to obtain a set of Pareto solutions. Finally, sensitivity analysis is conducted to understand the effects of changes in the demand, cost, and rate of return of the used product, on the objective function values. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.