Integrated Systemic Modeling of Production Scheduling, Maintenance, and Quality Control in Closed-Loop Supply Chains

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• Javad Rahim
• Ali Morovati Sharifabadi
• Davood Andalib Ardakani

Department of Management, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran.

10.22067/jstinp.2025.89236.1121

Abstract

Closed-loop supply chains (CLSCs) are increasingly recognized as essential frameworks for achieving operational efficiency and sustainability in modern industries. This study focuses on optimizing production scheduling, maintenance strategies, and quality control within CLSCs, specifically tailored for the home appliances industry. The proposed model integrates preventive and corrective maintenance policies, scheduling, and quality management into a unified system that minimizes costs while enhancing reliability and sustainability. The Strategic Choice Approach (SCA) was employed to structure complex decision-making processes, leveraging the expertise of industry professionals to identify key uncertainties and variables. A Genetic Algorithm (GA) was utilized to optimize decision variables, including sample size, sampling intervals, control limits, and maintenance schedules, ensuring robust solutions under real-world constraints. The model categorizes machine failures into immediate and delayed modes, providing tailored strategies for each to maintain system performance. Comparative analyses highlight the integrated model’s superior cost-effectiveness and operational benefits over traditional independent approaches. Sensitivity analyses further demonstrate the robustness of the model under varying operational conditions, validating its adaptability and scalability. By addressing the interconnected challenges of maintenance, scheduling, and quality control, this research offers a practical and holistic solution for CLSCs, contributing to improved operational resilience, customer satisfaction, and alignment with sustainability objectives. The decision-making process provides valuable insights and confident recommendations for future research.

Keywords

• Integrated system
• Production scheduling
• Maintenance
• Closed-loop supply chain
• Strategic choice approach

---

References

Aliahmadi, A., Ghahremani-Nahr, J. and Nozari, H., 2023. Pricing decisions in the closed-loop supply chain network, taking into account the queuing system in production centers. Expert Systems with applications, 212, p.118741. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2022.118741.

Antweiler, W. and Schlund, D., 2023. The emerging international trade in hydrogen and the role of environmental, innovation, and trade policies. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4417163.

Awasthi, A., Govindan, K. and Gold, S., 2018. Multi-tier sustainable global supplier selection using a fuzzy AHP-VIKOR based approach. International Journal of Production Economics, 195, pp.106-117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2017.10.013.

Bektur, G., 2020. An integrated methodology for the selection of sustainable suppliers and order allocation problem with quantity discounts, lost sales and varying supplier availabilities. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 23, pp.111-127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2020.05.006.

Bhattacharya, S S., Govindan, K., Dastidar, S.G. and Sharma, P., 2024. Applications of artificial intelligence in closed-loop supply chains: Systematic literature review and future research agenda. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 184, p.103455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2024.103455

Bocken, N., Boons, F. and Baldassarre, B., 2019. Sustainable business model experimentation by understanding ecologies of business models. Journal of Cleaner Production, 208, pp.1498-1512. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.10.159.

Calabrese, A., Costa, R., Levialdi, N. and Menichini, T., 2019. Integrating sustainability into strategic decision-making: A fuzzy AHP method for the selection of relevant sustainability issues. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 139, pp.155-168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.11.005.

Centobelli, P., Cerchione, R. and Esposito, E., 2020. Pursuing supply chain sustainable development goals through the adoption of green practices and enabling technologies: A cross-country analysis of LSPs. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 153, p.119920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.119920.

Chaturvedi, U., Sharma, M., Dangayach, G.S. and Sarkar, P., 2017. Evolution and adoption of sustainable practices in the pharmaceutical industry: An overview with an Indian perspective. Journal of cleaner production, 168, pp.1358-1369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.08.184.

Chen, X., Wang, C. and Li, S., 2023. The impact of supply chain finance on corporate social responsibility and creating shared value: a case from the emerging economy. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 28(2), pp.324-346. https://doi.org/10.1108/SCM-10-2021-0478.

Chen, Y., Wang, S., Yao, J., Li, Y. and Yang, S., 2018. Socially responsible supplier selection and sustainable supply chain development: A combined approach of total interpretive structural modeling and fuzzy analytic network process. Business strategy and the environment, 27(8), pp.1708-1719. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2236.

Chihambakwe, Z.J., Grobbelaar, S.S. and Matope, S., 2021. Creating shared value in BoP communities with micro-manufacturing factories: A systematized literature review. Sustainability, 13(18), p.10289. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810289.

Coenen, J., van Der Heijden, R.E. and van Riel, A.C., 2018. Understanding approaches to complexity and uncertainty in closed-loop supply chain management: Past findings and future directions. Journal of cleaner production, 201, pp.1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.07.216.

Corsini, R.R., Cannella, S., Dominguez, R. and Costa, A., 2024. Closed-loop supply chains: How do production capacity and production control policies impact the performance?. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 189, p.109939. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2024.109939.

DeCarolis, J., Daly, H., Dodds, P., Keppo, I., Li, F., McDowall, W., Pye, S., Strachan, N., Trutnevyte, E., Usher, W. and Winning, M., 2017. Formalizing best practice for energy system optimization modelling. Applied energy, 194, pp.184-198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.03.001.

Dehghan Nayeri, M., Khazaei, M. and Alinasab Imani, F., 2018. Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH) to Deal with Stakeholders' Contradictory Viewpoints of Iran Performance Based Budgeting System. Industrial Management Journal, 10(3), pp.429-454. https://doi.org/10.22059/imj.2018.254206.1007404. [in Persian]

Foukolaei, P.Z., Asari, F.A., Khazaei, M., Gholian-Jouybari, F. and Hajiaghaei-Keshteli, M., 2024. From responsible sourcing of wastes to sustainable energy consumption in the blue hydrogen supply chain: Case of nearshoring in Nuevo Leon. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 77, pp.1387-1400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.06.079.

Franco, L.A., 2007. Assessing the impact of problem structuring methods in multi-organizational settings: an empirical investigation. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 58(6), pp.760-768. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602191.

Ghaedi, M., Foukolaei, P.Z., Asari, F.A., Khazaei, M., Gholian-Jouybari, F. and Hajiaghaei-Keshteli, M., 2024. Pricing electricity from blue hydrogen to mitigate the energy rebound effect: A case study in agriculture and livestock. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 84, pp.993-1003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.08.241.

Gholian-Jouybari, F., Khazaei, M., Saen, R.F., Kia, R., Bonakdari, H., Hajiaghaei-Keshteli, M. and Ramezani, M., 2024. Developing environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies on evaluation of municipal waste disposal centers: A case of Mexico. Chemosphere, 364, p.142961. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142961.

Gholizadeh, H., Taft, A.F., Taheri, F., Fazlollahtabar, H., Goh, M. and Molaee, Z., 2023. Designing a closed-loop green outsourced maintenance supply chain network for advanced manufacturing systems with redundancy strategy and eco-friendly parts. Applied Intelligence, 53(20), pp.23905-23928. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10489-023-04821-z.

Govindan, K., Jha, P.C. and Garg, K., 2016. Product recovery optimization in closed-loop supply chain to improve sustainability in manufacturing. International Journal of Production Research, 54(5), pp.1463-1486. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2015.1083625

Hussaini, Z., Nemati, A. and Paydar, M.M., 2023. A multi-period multi-season multi-objective mathematical model for guaranteeing the viability of supply chains under fluctuations: a healthcare closed-loop supply chain application. Annals of Operations Research, pp.1-46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-023-05783-8.

Jaaron, A.A. and Backhouse, C.J., 2019. Fostering sustainable performance in services through systems thinking. The Service Industries Journal, 39(15-16), pp.1072-1098. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2018.1551371.

Khazaei, M., Ramezani, M., Padash, A. and DeTombe, D., 2021. Creating shared value to redesigning IT-service products using SYRCS; Diagnosing and tackling complex problems. Information Systems and e-Business Management, 19(3), pp.957-992. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-021-00525-4.

Khazaei, M., Ramezani, M., Padash, A. and DeTombe, D., 2021b. The quantification role of BWM in problem structuring methods: SYRCS methodology. In the international workshop on best-worst method (pp. 252-271). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89795-6_18.

León, H.C.M. and Calvo-Amodio, J., 2017. Towards lean for sustainability: Understanding the interrelationships between lean and sustainability from a systems thinking perspective. Journal of cleaner production, 142, pp.4384-4402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.11.132.

MahmoumGonbadi, A., Genovese, A. and Sgalambro, A., 2021. Closed-loop supply chain design for the transition towards a circular economy: A systematic literature review of methods, applications and current gaps. Journal of Cleaner Production, 323, p.129101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129101.

Paucar-Caceres, A., Ribeiro dos Santos, P., Wright, G. and Belderrain, M.C.N., 2020. Soft situational strategic planning (SSSP): A method and case study of its application in a Brazilian municipality. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 71(3), pp.363-380. https://doi.org/10.1080/01605682.2019.1568840.

Ramezani, M., Khazaei, M., Gholian-Jouybari, F., Sandoval-Correa, A., Bonakdari, H. and Hajiaghaei-Keshteli, M., 2024. Turquoise hydrogen and waste optimization: A Bi-objective closed-loop and sustainable supply chain model for a case in Mexico. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 195, p.114329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2024.114329.

Roshani, A., Paolucci, M., Giglio, D., Demartini, M., Tonelli, F. and Dulebenets, M.A., 2023. The capacitated lot-sizing and energy efficient single machine scheduling problem with sequence dependent setup times and costs in a closed-loop supply chain network. Annals of operations research, 321(1), pp.469-505. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-022-04783-4.

Scheller, C., Schmidt, K. and Spengler, T.S., 2023. Effects of network structures on the production planning in closed-loop supply chains–A case study based analysis for lithium-ion batteries in Europe. International Journal of Production Economics, 262, p.108892. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2023.108892.

Shambayati, H., Shafiei Nikabadi, M., Khatami Firouzabadi, S.M.A., Rahmanimanesh, M. and Saberi, S., 2023. Optimization of virtual closed-loop supply chain under uncertainty: application of IoT. Kybernetes, 52(5), pp.1745-1777. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-06-2021-0487.

Shambayati, H., Shafiei Nikabadi, M., Khatami Firouzabadi, S.M.A., Rahmanimanesh, M. and Saberi, S., 2022. A model for the optimization of information process performance in the IoT-based virtual supply chain. Research in Production and Operations Management, 13(1), pp.1-24. https://doi.org/10.22108/jpom.2022.129445.1385. [in Persian].

Taghipour, A., Foukolaei, P.Z., Ghaedi, M. and Khazaei, M., 2023. Sustainable multi-objective models for waste-to-energy and waste separation site selection. Sustainability, 15(22), p.15764. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152215764.

Taghipour, A., Padash, A., Etemadi, V., Khazaei, M. and Ebrahimi, S., 2024. Sustainable and Circular Hotels and the Water–Food–Energy Nexus: Integration of Agrivoltaics, Hydropower, Solar Cells, Water Reservoirs, and Green Roofs. Sustainability, 16(5), p.1985. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16051985.

Taghipour, A., Sohrabi, A., Ghaedi, M. and Khazaei, M., 2023b. A robust vaccine supply chain model in pandemics: Case of Covid-19 in Iran. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 183, p.109465. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2023.109465.

Yousefi-Babadi, A., Soleimani, N. and Shishebori, D., 2021. Capacitated sustainable resilient closed-loop supply chain network design: A heuristics algorithm. Advances in Industrial Engineering, 55(4), pp.447-479. https://doi.org/10.22059/aie.2022.333393.1813.[in Persian].