The closed-loop supply chain network equilibrium with products lifetime and carbon emission constraints in multiperiod planning horizon

Abstract

This paper studies a closed-loop supply chain network equilibrium problem in multiperiod planning horizons with consideration of product lifetime and carbon emission constraints. The closed-loop supply chain network consists of suppliers tier, manufacturer tier, retailers tier, and demand markets tier, in which the manufacturers collect used products from the demand markets directly. Product lifetime is introduced to denote the maximum times of manufacturing and remanufacturing, and the relation between adjacent periods is described by inventory transfer. By variational inequalities and complementary theory, the optimal behaviors of all the players are modeled, and, in turn, the governing closed-loop supply chain network equilibrium model is established. The model is solved by modified project contraction algorithm with fixed step. Optimal equilibrium results are computed and analyzed through numerical examples. The impacts of collection rate, remanufacturing conversion rate, product lifetime, and carbon emission cap on equilibrium states are analyzed. Finally, several managerial insights are given to provide decision support for entrepreneurs and government official along with some inspirations for future research. © 2014 Guitao Zhang et al.