Dr. Syed Mithun Ali | Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (original) (raw)
Papers by Dr. Syed Mithun Ali
Sustainability, 2022
Due to the increasing popularity of cost-based outsourcing and growing stakeholder concern about ... more Due to the increasing popularity of cost-based outsourcing and growing stakeholder concern about environmental, social, and technological issues, supply chain sustainability is vital in both developed and emerging economies. Bangladesh is an emerging economy and wood industry of Bangladesh is suffering from severe sustainability issues besides its growth. Hence, this article aims to examine the critical success factors (CSFs) for sustainability in the Bangladeshi wood industry, which is crucial to help supply chain managers engage in achieving sustainable development goals. This research investigated the CSFs and uncovered their interdependencies through the development of a methodology integrating a literature review, principal component analysis (PCA), interpretive structural modelling (ISM), and Matriced Impacts Croises Multiplication Appliquee aunClassement (MICMAC) techniques. PCA (n = 150) was used to identify and rank the CSFs for sustainability in the Bangladeshi wood indust...
There is an increasing rate of occurrence of natural or human-made calamities in the present time... more There is an increasing rate of occurrence of natural or human-made calamities in the present time. So,the issue of humanitarian supply chain needs more attention with strategic and planned approaches. To control the occurrence of calamities and to strengthen the post calamities relief system, professionals and academics are giving importance to several driving factors of the humanitarian supply chain. Public and private sectors of Bangladesh lack in expertise and planned infrastructure to tackle the adverse effect of disasters. This paper aims to find out the ranking and contextual relationships of the critical success factors (CSFs) of the humanitarian supply chain in the context of Bangladesh. An interpretive structural modeling (ISM) approach along with MICMAC (Matriced' Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée á unClassement) analysis has been undertaken in this study to depict the relative dependence and driving power among the identified critical success factors. ‘Governme...
Journal of Computational Design and Engineering, 2021
Warehouses constitute a key component of supply chain networks. An improvement to the operational... more Warehouses constitute a key component of supply chain networks. An improvement to the operational efficiency and the productivity of warehouses is crucial for supply chain practitioners and industrial managers. Overall warehouse efficiency largely depends on synergic performance. The managers preemptively estimate the overall warehouse performance (OWP), which requires an accurate prediction of a warehouse’s key performance indicators (KPIs). This research aims to predict the KPIs of a ready-made garment (RMG) warehouse in Bangladesh with a low forecasting error in order to precisely measure OWP. Incorporating advice from experts, conducting a literature review, and accepting the limitations of data availability, this study identifies 13 KPIs. The traditional grey method (GM)—the GM (1, 1) model—is established to estimate the grey data with limited historical information but not absolute. To reduce the limitations of GM (1, 1), this paper introduces a novel particle swarm optimizati...
Symmetry, 2020
This paper aims to identify, evaluate, and measure the ergonomic factors hampering the production... more This paper aims to identify, evaluate, and measure the ergonomic factors hampering the production of leather garment-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Ergonomic problems faced by the workers largely impact the health of individuals and also the productivity of a firm. Based on experts’ opinions and a literature survey, three emerging categories—namely, occupational disease, personal factors, and the industrial environment—with a total of twenty factors were identified to examine symmetrical impact in five leather garment companies. In this research work, Cronbach’s α was evaluated to check the validity of the ergonomic factors identified through the literature survey. Then, using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP), the identified ergonomic factors were evaluated. A sensitivity analysis was carried out to validate the robustness of the results obtained using the integrated approach. Outdated machinery, vibration, operational setup, fatigue, and poor ventilatio...
Big Data and Cognitive Computing, 2018
Measuring productivity is the systematic process for both inter- and intra-organizational compari... more Measuring productivity is the systematic process for both inter- and intra-organizational comparisons. The productivity measurement can be used to control and facilitate decision-making in manufacturing as well as service organizations. This study’s objective was to develop a decision support framework by integrating an analytic network process (ANP) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to tackling productivity measurement and benchmarking problems in a manufacturing environment. The ANP was used to capture the interdependency between the criteria taking into consideration the ambiguity and vagueness. The nonparametric DEA approach was utilized to determine the input-oriented constant returns to scale (CRS) efficiency of different value-adding production units and to benchmark them. The proposed framework was implemented to benchmark the productivity of an apparel manufacturing company. By applying the model, industrial managers can gain benefits by identifying the possible ...
Computers & Industrial Engineering, 2018
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 2018
International Journal of Computer Aided Engineering and Technology, 2012
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2018
Sustainability, 2020
This paper aims to identify the negative impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on supply chains and pr... more This paper aims to identify the negative impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on supply chains and propose strategies to deal with the impacts in the context of the readymade garment (RMG) industry supply chain of an emerging economy: Bangladesh. To achieve the aims, a methodological framework is proposed through a literature review, expert inputs, and a decision-aid tool, namely the grey-based digraph-matrix method. A total of 10 types of negative impacts and 22 strategic measures to tackle the impacts were identified based on the literature review and expert inputs. Then, the grey-based digraph-matrix was applied for modeling the strategic measures based on their influence to deal with the impacts. Findings reveal that the strategies “manufacturing flexibility”, “diversify the source of supply”, and “develop backup suppliers” have significant positive consequences for managing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the RMG supply chain. The findings help industrial managers recover f...
Annals of Operations Research
Reverse logistics (RL) is gradually becoming more important to manufacturing companies through en... more Reverse logistics (RL) is gradually becoming more important to manufacturing companies through environmental awareness, competitiveness, and environmental regulations. In the leather footwear industry of Bangladesh, it is possible to recycle and reuse waste, meaning a reverse logistics system could increase return-on-investment and give a competitive advantage. To date, studies on barriers to RL implementation have been conducted in other countries and in other domains, leaving a research gap in RL barrier analyses in the leather footwear industry. There are many obstacles to implementing RL in a developing country like Bangladesh; examining these barriers is a crucial research issue. This paper identifies RL barriers through (1) an extent literature review, (2) advice from Bangladeshi industry experts under the Delphi study, and (3) ranking RL barriers using the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process. The results indicate that, of the barriers investigated, the 'knowledge and support' category seems to be most critical. A lack of interest and support from top-level management-related to 'knowledge and support' issues-appears to be the major obstacle for RL implementation in the Bangladeshi leather footwear industry. These findings will help the Bangladeshi leather footwear industry, as well as other industries in Bangladesh, to understand the nature of each barrier and overcome the complexity of RL implementation in supply chains. This study will also assist decision-makers in making certain strategic policies. Future studies may contribute to the life cycle assessment and engineering of recycled and reused footwear.
Annals of Operations Research
Reverse logistics (RL) is gradually becoming more important to manufacturing companies through en... more Reverse logistics (RL) is gradually becoming more important to manufacturing companies through environmental awareness, competitiveness, and environmental regulations. In the leather footwear industry of Bangladesh, it is possible to recycle and reuse waste, meaning a reverse logistics system could increase return-on-investment and give a competitive advantage. To date, studies on barriers to RL implementation have been conducted in other countries and in other domains, leaving a research gap in RL barrier analyses in the leather footwear industry. There are many obstacles to implementing RL in a developing country like Bangladesh; examining these barriers is a crucial research issue. This paper identifies RL barriers through (1) an extent literature review, (2) advice from Bangladeshi industry experts under the Delphi study, and (3) ranking RL barriers using the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process. The results indicate that, of the barriers investigated, the 'knowledge and support' category seems to be most critical. A lack of interest and support from top-level management-related to 'knowledge and support' issues-appears to be the major obstacle for RL implementation in the Bangladeshi leather footwear industry. These findings will help the Bangladeshi leather footwear industry, as well as other industries in Bangladesh, to understand the nature of each barrier and overcome the complexity of RL implementation in supply chains. This study will also assist decision-makers in making certain strategic policies. Future studies may contribute to the life cycle assessment and engineering of recycled and reused footwear.
Sustainability
Green supply chain management (GSCM) has emerged as an important issue to lessen the impact of su... more Green supply chain management (GSCM) has emerged as an important issue to lessen the impact of supply chain activities on the natural environment, as well as reduce waste and achieve sustainable growth of a company. To understand the effectiveness of GSCM, performance measurement of GSCM is a must. Monitoring and predicting green supply chain performance can result in improved decision-making capability for managers and decision-makers to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. This paper identifies and analyzes various green supply chain performance measures and indicators. A probabilistic model is proposed based on a Bayesian belief network (BBN) for predicting green supply chain performance. Eleven green supply chain performance indicators and two green supply chain performance measures are identified through an extensive literature review. Using a real-world case study of a manufacturing industry, the methodology of this model is illustrated. Sensitivity analysis is also perf...
Expert systems with Applications , 2021
The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework to identify, analyze, and to assess supply ch... more The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework to identify, analyze, and to assess supply chain disruption factors and drivers. Based on an empirical analysis, four disruption factor categories including natural, human-made, system accidents, and financials with a total of sixteen disruption drivers are identified and examined in a real-world industrial setting. This research utilizes an integrated approach comprising both the Delphi method and the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP). To test this integrated method, one of the well-known examples in industrial contexts of developing countries, the ready-made garment industry in Bangladesh is considered. To evaluate this industrial example, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to ensure the robustness and viability of the framework in practical settings. This study not only expands the literature scope of supply chain disruption risk assessment but through its application in any context or industry will reduce the impact of such disruptions and enhance the overall supply chain resilience. Consequently, these enhanced capabilities arm managers the ability to formulate relevant mitigation strategies that are robust and computationally efficient. These strategies will allow managers to take calculated decisions proactively. Finally, the results reveal that political and regulatory instability, cyclones, labor strikes, flooding, heavy rain, and factory fires are the top six disruption drivers causing disruptions to the ready-made garment industry in Bangladesh.
Journal of Computational Design and Engineering, 2021
Warehouses constitute a key component of supply chain networks. An improvement to the operational... more Warehouses constitute a key component of supply chain networks. An improvement to the operational efficiency and the productivity of warehouses is crucial for supply chain practitioners and industrial managers. Overall warehouse efficiency largely depends on synergic performance. The managers preemptively estimate the overall warehouse performance (OWP), which requires an accurate prediction of a warehouse's key performance indicators (KPIs). This research aims to predict the KPIs of a ready-made garment (RMG) warehouse in Bangladesh with a low forecasting error in order to precisely measure OWP. Incorporating advice from experts, conducting a literature review, and accepting the limitations of data availability, this study identifies 13 KPIs. The traditional grey method (GM)-the GM (1, 1) model-is established to estimate the grey data with limited historical information but not absolute. To reduce the limitations of GM (1, 1), this paper introduces a novel particle swarm optimization (PSO)-based grey model-PSOGM (1, 1)-to predict the warehouse's KPIs with less forecasting error. This study also uses the genetic algorithm (GA)-based grey model-GAGM (1, 1)-the discrete grey model-DGM (1, 1)-to assess the performance of the proposed model in terms of the mean absolute percentage error and other assessment metrics. The proposed model outperforms the existing grey models in projecting OWP through the forecasting of KPIs over a 5-month period. To find out the optimal parameters of the PSO and GA algorithms before combining them with the grey model, this study adopts the Taguchi design method. Finally, this study aims to help warehouse professionals make quick OWP estimations in advance to take control measures regarding warehouse productivity and efficiency.
Sustainable production and Consumption, 2021
This paper seeks to develop a framework to identify, analyse, and assess the mining industry's ke... more This paper seeks to develop a framework to identify, analyse, and assess the mining industry's key challenges in terms of environmental, operational, and social issues. For each issue, 15 challenges have been identified from experts' opinions and from the relevant literature; each is examined in a real-world industrial setting. South India's mining industry is utilized to categorize and to determine crucial challenges based on an identification of their causal relationships. A fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) is used to assess and rank the challenges of each issue. Results reveal that climate change, lack of availability of capital, and unfair wages are the top challenges in the environmental, operational , and social issues, respectively, in India's mining industry. The proposed method is found effective in attaining the causal relationships and ranking amongst the identified challenges. The outcomes help decision-makers and industrial managers to take remedial actions such as adopting new technologies and innovations to protect the environment, improve the operating conditions, and facilitate social benefits to resolve the mining industry's challenges.
International Journal of Systems Science: Operations & Logistics , 2021
This paper proposes a multi-objective robust-stochastic humanitarian logistics model to assist di... more This paper proposes a multi-objective robust-stochastic humanitarian logistics model to assist disaster management officials in making optimal pre-and post-disaster decisions. This model identifies the location of temporary facilities, determines the amount of commodity to be pre-positioned, and provides a detailed schedule for the distribution of commodities and the dispatch of vehicles. Uncertainties in demand, node reachability by a particular mode of transportation, and condition of pre-positioned supplies after a disaster are considered. Another supposition of this paper is the equity in the distribution of commodities. This paper contributes to the existing literature by adding vehicle flow and multi-periodicity into a robust-stochastic optimisation model. A real-life case study of a flood in Bangladesh shows the applicability of our model. Finally, the findings show that the proposed model can aid decision-makers in allocating resources optimally. ARTICLE HISTORY
Environmental Science and Pollution Research , 2021
This study develops a mathematical model to mitigate disruptions in a three-stage (i.e., supplier... more This study develops a mathematical model to mitigate disruptions in a three-stage (i.e., supplier, manufacturer, retailer) supply chain network subject to a natural disaster like COVID-19 pandemic. This optimization model aims to manage supply chain disruptions for a pandemic situation where disruptions can occur to both the supplier and the retailer. This study proposes an inventory policy using the renewal reward theory for maximizing profit for the manufacturer under study. Tested using two heuristics algorithms, namely the genetic algorithm (GA) and pattern search (PS), the proposed inventory-based disruption risk mitigation model provides the manufacturer with an optimum decision to maximize profits in a production cycle. A sensitivity analysis was offered to ensure the applicability of the model in practical settings. Results reveal that the PS algorithm performed better for such model than a heuristic method like GA. The ordering quantity and reordering point were also lower in PS than GA. Overall, it was evident that PS is more suited for this problem. Supply chain managers need to employ appropriate inventory policies to deal with several uncertain conditions, for example, uncertainties arising due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This model can help managers establish and redesign an inventory policy to maximize the profit by considering probable disruptions in the supply chain network.
Sustainable Production and Consumption, 2020
In recent years, the need for achieving an environmentally sustainable supply chain has become a ... more In recent years, the need for achieving an environmentally sustainable supply chain has become a prominent concern among researchers as well as industry practitioners. However, there exists an insufficiency of comprehensive studies on the critical factors for environmental sustainability in the context of an emerging economy. To fill this research gap, the present study aims to determine and analyze the critical success factors (CSFs) for implementing Environmentally Sustainable Supply Chain Management (ESSCM) practices considering the readymade garment (RMG) sector of Bangladesh. Initially, fourteen CSFs were sorted-out based on a review of the existing literature. We then held an interactive discussion session with industry experts to screen these candidate CSFs vis-à-vis the RMG industry of Bangladesh. The experts agreed on ten factors that we then processed further intending to understand the contextual relationships and interdependency among them. For this purpose, we applied the Total Interpretive Structural Modeling (TISM) technique. Moreover, we implemented a Cross-impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification (MICMAC) analysis to classify the CSFs according to the influence and dependence level of each factor. Our findings indicate that all the identified CSFs are interrelated and "Effective government policies" is the most dominating CSF that acts independently but influences other CSFs either directly or indirectly. The findings can help motivate managers in the RMG industry to concentrate on the most relevant CSFs, thereby accomplishing ESSCM more effectively in the context of an emerging economy.
International Journal of Systems Assurance Engineering and Management , 2021
This paper develops an integrated economic model for the joint optimization of quality control pa... more This paper develops an integrated economic model for the joint optimization of quality control parameters and a preventive maintenance policy using the cumulative sum (CUSUM) control chart and variable sampling interval fixed time sampling policy. To determine the in-control and out-of-control cost for both mean and variance, a Taguchi quadratic loss function and modified linear loss function are used, respectively. Imperfect preventive maintenance and minimal corrective maintenance policies were considered in developing the model, which determines the optimal values for significant process parameters to minimize the total expected cost per unit of time. A numerical example is used to test the model, which is followed by a sensitivity analysis. The integration of CUSUM mean and variance charts with the maintenance actions are proven successful to detect the slightest shift of the process. The findings reveal that among all the cost components, process failure due to external causes and equipment breakdown has a noteworthy attribute to the total costs of the optimized model. It is expected that top managers can utilize the suggested combined model to minimize the costs related to quality loss and maintenance policy and achieve economical advantages as well.
Sustainability, 2022
Due to the increasing popularity of cost-based outsourcing and growing stakeholder concern about ... more Due to the increasing popularity of cost-based outsourcing and growing stakeholder concern about environmental, social, and technological issues, supply chain sustainability is vital in both developed and emerging economies. Bangladesh is an emerging economy and wood industry of Bangladesh is suffering from severe sustainability issues besides its growth. Hence, this article aims to examine the critical success factors (CSFs) for sustainability in the Bangladeshi wood industry, which is crucial to help supply chain managers engage in achieving sustainable development goals. This research investigated the CSFs and uncovered their interdependencies through the development of a methodology integrating a literature review, principal component analysis (PCA), interpretive structural modelling (ISM), and Matriced Impacts Croises Multiplication Appliquee aunClassement (MICMAC) techniques. PCA (n = 150) was used to identify and rank the CSFs for sustainability in the Bangladeshi wood indust...
There is an increasing rate of occurrence of natural or human-made calamities in the present time... more There is an increasing rate of occurrence of natural or human-made calamities in the present time. So,the issue of humanitarian supply chain needs more attention with strategic and planned approaches. To control the occurrence of calamities and to strengthen the post calamities relief system, professionals and academics are giving importance to several driving factors of the humanitarian supply chain. Public and private sectors of Bangladesh lack in expertise and planned infrastructure to tackle the adverse effect of disasters. This paper aims to find out the ranking and contextual relationships of the critical success factors (CSFs) of the humanitarian supply chain in the context of Bangladesh. An interpretive structural modeling (ISM) approach along with MICMAC (Matriced' Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée á unClassement) analysis has been undertaken in this study to depict the relative dependence and driving power among the identified critical success factors. ‘Governme...
Journal of Computational Design and Engineering, 2021
Warehouses constitute a key component of supply chain networks. An improvement to the operational... more Warehouses constitute a key component of supply chain networks. An improvement to the operational efficiency and the productivity of warehouses is crucial for supply chain practitioners and industrial managers. Overall warehouse efficiency largely depends on synergic performance. The managers preemptively estimate the overall warehouse performance (OWP), which requires an accurate prediction of a warehouse’s key performance indicators (KPIs). This research aims to predict the KPIs of a ready-made garment (RMG) warehouse in Bangladesh with a low forecasting error in order to precisely measure OWP. Incorporating advice from experts, conducting a literature review, and accepting the limitations of data availability, this study identifies 13 KPIs. The traditional grey method (GM)—the GM (1, 1) model—is established to estimate the grey data with limited historical information but not absolute. To reduce the limitations of GM (1, 1), this paper introduces a novel particle swarm optimizati...
Symmetry, 2020
This paper aims to identify, evaluate, and measure the ergonomic factors hampering the production... more This paper aims to identify, evaluate, and measure the ergonomic factors hampering the production of leather garment-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Ergonomic problems faced by the workers largely impact the health of individuals and also the productivity of a firm. Based on experts’ opinions and a literature survey, three emerging categories—namely, occupational disease, personal factors, and the industrial environment—with a total of twenty factors were identified to examine symmetrical impact in five leather garment companies. In this research work, Cronbach’s α was evaluated to check the validity of the ergonomic factors identified through the literature survey. Then, using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP), the identified ergonomic factors were evaluated. A sensitivity analysis was carried out to validate the robustness of the results obtained using the integrated approach. Outdated machinery, vibration, operational setup, fatigue, and poor ventilatio...
Big Data and Cognitive Computing, 2018
Measuring productivity is the systematic process for both inter- and intra-organizational compari... more Measuring productivity is the systematic process for both inter- and intra-organizational comparisons. The productivity measurement can be used to control and facilitate decision-making in manufacturing as well as service organizations. This study’s objective was to develop a decision support framework by integrating an analytic network process (ANP) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to tackling productivity measurement and benchmarking problems in a manufacturing environment. The ANP was used to capture the interdependency between the criteria taking into consideration the ambiguity and vagueness. The nonparametric DEA approach was utilized to determine the input-oriented constant returns to scale (CRS) efficiency of different value-adding production units and to benchmark them. The proposed framework was implemented to benchmark the productivity of an apparel manufacturing company. By applying the model, industrial managers can gain benefits by identifying the possible ...
Computers & Industrial Engineering, 2018
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 2018
International Journal of Computer Aided Engineering and Technology, 2012
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2018
Sustainability, 2020
This paper aims to identify the negative impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on supply chains and pr... more This paper aims to identify the negative impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on supply chains and propose strategies to deal with the impacts in the context of the readymade garment (RMG) industry supply chain of an emerging economy: Bangladesh. To achieve the aims, a methodological framework is proposed through a literature review, expert inputs, and a decision-aid tool, namely the grey-based digraph-matrix method. A total of 10 types of negative impacts and 22 strategic measures to tackle the impacts were identified based on the literature review and expert inputs. Then, the grey-based digraph-matrix was applied for modeling the strategic measures based on their influence to deal with the impacts. Findings reveal that the strategies “manufacturing flexibility”, “diversify the source of supply”, and “develop backup suppliers” have significant positive consequences for managing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the RMG supply chain. The findings help industrial managers recover f...
Annals of Operations Research
Reverse logistics (RL) is gradually becoming more important to manufacturing companies through en... more Reverse logistics (RL) is gradually becoming more important to manufacturing companies through environmental awareness, competitiveness, and environmental regulations. In the leather footwear industry of Bangladesh, it is possible to recycle and reuse waste, meaning a reverse logistics system could increase return-on-investment and give a competitive advantage. To date, studies on barriers to RL implementation have been conducted in other countries and in other domains, leaving a research gap in RL barrier analyses in the leather footwear industry. There are many obstacles to implementing RL in a developing country like Bangladesh; examining these barriers is a crucial research issue. This paper identifies RL barriers through (1) an extent literature review, (2) advice from Bangladeshi industry experts under the Delphi study, and (3) ranking RL barriers using the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process. The results indicate that, of the barriers investigated, the 'knowledge and support' category seems to be most critical. A lack of interest and support from top-level management-related to 'knowledge and support' issues-appears to be the major obstacle for RL implementation in the Bangladeshi leather footwear industry. These findings will help the Bangladeshi leather footwear industry, as well as other industries in Bangladesh, to understand the nature of each barrier and overcome the complexity of RL implementation in supply chains. This study will also assist decision-makers in making certain strategic policies. Future studies may contribute to the life cycle assessment and engineering of recycled and reused footwear.
Annals of Operations Research
Reverse logistics (RL) is gradually becoming more important to manufacturing companies through en... more Reverse logistics (RL) is gradually becoming more important to manufacturing companies through environmental awareness, competitiveness, and environmental regulations. In the leather footwear industry of Bangladesh, it is possible to recycle and reuse waste, meaning a reverse logistics system could increase return-on-investment and give a competitive advantage. To date, studies on barriers to RL implementation have been conducted in other countries and in other domains, leaving a research gap in RL barrier analyses in the leather footwear industry. There are many obstacles to implementing RL in a developing country like Bangladesh; examining these barriers is a crucial research issue. This paper identifies RL barriers through (1) an extent literature review, (2) advice from Bangladeshi industry experts under the Delphi study, and (3) ranking RL barriers using the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process. The results indicate that, of the barriers investigated, the 'knowledge and support' category seems to be most critical. A lack of interest and support from top-level management-related to 'knowledge and support' issues-appears to be the major obstacle for RL implementation in the Bangladeshi leather footwear industry. These findings will help the Bangladeshi leather footwear industry, as well as other industries in Bangladesh, to understand the nature of each barrier and overcome the complexity of RL implementation in supply chains. This study will also assist decision-makers in making certain strategic policies. Future studies may contribute to the life cycle assessment and engineering of recycled and reused footwear.
Sustainability
Green supply chain management (GSCM) has emerged as an important issue to lessen the impact of su... more Green supply chain management (GSCM) has emerged as an important issue to lessen the impact of supply chain activities on the natural environment, as well as reduce waste and achieve sustainable growth of a company. To understand the effectiveness of GSCM, performance measurement of GSCM is a must. Monitoring and predicting green supply chain performance can result in improved decision-making capability for managers and decision-makers to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. This paper identifies and analyzes various green supply chain performance measures and indicators. A probabilistic model is proposed based on a Bayesian belief network (BBN) for predicting green supply chain performance. Eleven green supply chain performance indicators and two green supply chain performance measures are identified through an extensive literature review. Using a real-world case study of a manufacturing industry, the methodology of this model is illustrated. Sensitivity analysis is also perf...
Expert systems with Applications , 2021
The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework to identify, analyze, and to assess supply ch... more The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework to identify, analyze, and to assess supply chain disruption factors and drivers. Based on an empirical analysis, four disruption factor categories including natural, human-made, system accidents, and financials with a total of sixteen disruption drivers are identified and examined in a real-world industrial setting. This research utilizes an integrated approach comprising both the Delphi method and the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP). To test this integrated method, one of the well-known examples in industrial contexts of developing countries, the ready-made garment industry in Bangladesh is considered. To evaluate this industrial example, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to ensure the robustness and viability of the framework in practical settings. This study not only expands the literature scope of supply chain disruption risk assessment but through its application in any context or industry will reduce the impact of such disruptions and enhance the overall supply chain resilience. Consequently, these enhanced capabilities arm managers the ability to formulate relevant mitigation strategies that are robust and computationally efficient. These strategies will allow managers to take calculated decisions proactively. Finally, the results reveal that political and regulatory instability, cyclones, labor strikes, flooding, heavy rain, and factory fires are the top six disruption drivers causing disruptions to the ready-made garment industry in Bangladesh.
Journal of Computational Design and Engineering, 2021
Warehouses constitute a key component of supply chain networks. An improvement to the operational... more Warehouses constitute a key component of supply chain networks. An improvement to the operational efficiency and the productivity of warehouses is crucial for supply chain practitioners and industrial managers. Overall warehouse efficiency largely depends on synergic performance. The managers preemptively estimate the overall warehouse performance (OWP), which requires an accurate prediction of a warehouse's key performance indicators (KPIs). This research aims to predict the KPIs of a ready-made garment (RMG) warehouse in Bangladesh with a low forecasting error in order to precisely measure OWP. Incorporating advice from experts, conducting a literature review, and accepting the limitations of data availability, this study identifies 13 KPIs. The traditional grey method (GM)-the GM (1, 1) model-is established to estimate the grey data with limited historical information but not absolute. To reduce the limitations of GM (1, 1), this paper introduces a novel particle swarm optimization (PSO)-based grey model-PSOGM (1, 1)-to predict the warehouse's KPIs with less forecasting error. This study also uses the genetic algorithm (GA)-based grey model-GAGM (1, 1)-the discrete grey model-DGM (1, 1)-to assess the performance of the proposed model in terms of the mean absolute percentage error and other assessment metrics. The proposed model outperforms the existing grey models in projecting OWP through the forecasting of KPIs over a 5-month period. To find out the optimal parameters of the PSO and GA algorithms before combining them with the grey model, this study adopts the Taguchi design method. Finally, this study aims to help warehouse professionals make quick OWP estimations in advance to take control measures regarding warehouse productivity and efficiency.
Sustainable production and Consumption, 2021
This paper seeks to develop a framework to identify, analyse, and assess the mining industry's ke... more This paper seeks to develop a framework to identify, analyse, and assess the mining industry's key challenges in terms of environmental, operational, and social issues. For each issue, 15 challenges have been identified from experts' opinions and from the relevant literature; each is examined in a real-world industrial setting. South India's mining industry is utilized to categorize and to determine crucial challenges based on an identification of their causal relationships. A fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) is used to assess and rank the challenges of each issue. Results reveal that climate change, lack of availability of capital, and unfair wages are the top challenges in the environmental, operational , and social issues, respectively, in India's mining industry. The proposed method is found effective in attaining the causal relationships and ranking amongst the identified challenges. The outcomes help decision-makers and industrial managers to take remedial actions such as adopting new technologies and innovations to protect the environment, improve the operating conditions, and facilitate social benefits to resolve the mining industry's challenges.
International Journal of Systems Science: Operations & Logistics , 2021
This paper proposes a multi-objective robust-stochastic humanitarian logistics model to assist di... more This paper proposes a multi-objective robust-stochastic humanitarian logistics model to assist disaster management officials in making optimal pre-and post-disaster decisions. This model identifies the location of temporary facilities, determines the amount of commodity to be pre-positioned, and provides a detailed schedule for the distribution of commodities and the dispatch of vehicles. Uncertainties in demand, node reachability by a particular mode of transportation, and condition of pre-positioned supplies after a disaster are considered. Another supposition of this paper is the equity in the distribution of commodities. This paper contributes to the existing literature by adding vehicle flow and multi-periodicity into a robust-stochastic optimisation model. A real-life case study of a flood in Bangladesh shows the applicability of our model. Finally, the findings show that the proposed model can aid decision-makers in allocating resources optimally. ARTICLE HISTORY
Environmental Science and Pollution Research , 2021
This study develops a mathematical model to mitigate disruptions in a three-stage (i.e., supplier... more This study develops a mathematical model to mitigate disruptions in a three-stage (i.e., supplier, manufacturer, retailer) supply chain network subject to a natural disaster like COVID-19 pandemic. This optimization model aims to manage supply chain disruptions for a pandemic situation where disruptions can occur to both the supplier and the retailer. This study proposes an inventory policy using the renewal reward theory for maximizing profit for the manufacturer under study. Tested using two heuristics algorithms, namely the genetic algorithm (GA) and pattern search (PS), the proposed inventory-based disruption risk mitigation model provides the manufacturer with an optimum decision to maximize profits in a production cycle. A sensitivity analysis was offered to ensure the applicability of the model in practical settings. Results reveal that the PS algorithm performed better for such model than a heuristic method like GA. The ordering quantity and reordering point were also lower in PS than GA. Overall, it was evident that PS is more suited for this problem. Supply chain managers need to employ appropriate inventory policies to deal with several uncertain conditions, for example, uncertainties arising due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This model can help managers establish and redesign an inventory policy to maximize the profit by considering probable disruptions in the supply chain network.
Sustainable Production and Consumption, 2020
In recent years, the need for achieving an environmentally sustainable supply chain has become a ... more In recent years, the need for achieving an environmentally sustainable supply chain has become a prominent concern among researchers as well as industry practitioners. However, there exists an insufficiency of comprehensive studies on the critical factors for environmental sustainability in the context of an emerging economy. To fill this research gap, the present study aims to determine and analyze the critical success factors (CSFs) for implementing Environmentally Sustainable Supply Chain Management (ESSCM) practices considering the readymade garment (RMG) sector of Bangladesh. Initially, fourteen CSFs were sorted-out based on a review of the existing literature. We then held an interactive discussion session with industry experts to screen these candidate CSFs vis-à-vis the RMG industry of Bangladesh. The experts agreed on ten factors that we then processed further intending to understand the contextual relationships and interdependency among them. For this purpose, we applied the Total Interpretive Structural Modeling (TISM) technique. Moreover, we implemented a Cross-impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification (MICMAC) analysis to classify the CSFs according to the influence and dependence level of each factor. Our findings indicate that all the identified CSFs are interrelated and "Effective government policies" is the most dominating CSF that acts independently but influences other CSFs either directly or indirectly. The findings can help motivate managers in the RMG industry to concentrate on the most relevant CSFs, thereby accomplishing ESSCM more effectively in the context of an emerging economy.
International Journal of Systems Assurance Engineering and Management , 2021
This paper develops an integrated economic model for the joint optimization of quality control pa... more This paper develops an integrated economic model for the joint optimization of quality control parameters and a preventive maintenance policy using the cumulative sum (CUSUM) control chart and variable sampling interval fixed time sampling policy. To determine the in-control and out-of-control cost for both mean and variance, a Taguchi quadratic loss function and modified linear loss function are used, respectively. Imperfect preventive maintenance and minimal corrective maintenance policies were considered in developing the model, which determines the optimal values for significant process parameters to minimize the total expected cost per unit of time. A numerical example is used to test the model, which is followed by a sensitivity analysis. The integration of CUSUM mean and variance charts with the maintenance actions are proven successful to detect the slightest shift of the process. The findings reveal that among all the cost components, process failure due to external causes and equipment breakdown has a noteworthy attribute to the total costs of the optimized model. It is expected that top managers can utilize the suggested combined model to minimize the costs related to quality loss and maintenance policy and achieve economical advantages as well.
Hope you are doing great. We are seeking funds from NGOs/foreign universities to conduct research... more Hope you are doing great. We are seeking funds from NGOs/foreign universities to conduct research in the area of supply chain risk management/sustainable supply chain management and disaster operations management/humanitarian logistics in Bangladesh. These areas are quite new and interesting to many researchers and organizations in Europe and the North America. We look forward to formulating qualitative/quantitative frameworks to manage the risk in supply chains of Bangladeshi industries that are connected globally, as well as the humanitarian supply chains in Bangladesh. Considering the diversified nature of organizational and humanitarian supply chains, several multiple criteria decision-making tools/system dynamics approach/artificial intelligence approach would be included in such research projects.