Facilitating Polymer Extraction Using Green Supply Chain Management

Journal Article Review: Dolatabad, M. J., Azhdarifard, M., Acwin Dwijendra, N. K., & Ali Sharhan Al-Sudani, A. Q. (). Evaluating Agile Practices in Green Supply Chain Management Using a Fuzzy Multicriteria Approach. Discrete Dynamics in Nature & Society, 1–12.

Identify the research question or central thesis of the article

The central thesis of this study was that green supply chain management practices can produce a number of valuable outcomes for organizations of all sizes and types, including the prevention of the use of toxic and hazardous chemicals as well as providing more competitive benefits such as lowered production costs and more environmentally friendly products, and the process can be facilitated by assessing agile green supply chain practices using a fuzzy multicriteria approach.

Explain the method used to support the claims of the article

The research method used in this study consisted of having 37 experts working in the mining industry complete a custom-designed two-part questionnaire in order to develop the statistical data that were needed to support or reject the study’s guiding thesis. The inclusion criteria for selection as a respondent included possessing sufficient expertise in supply chain management, having attained a bachelor degree or higher, having a minimum of 10 years of professional experience in the field and working in a management capacity in green supply chain management.

State whether the method is quantitative or qualitative and give a brief explanation of the methodological approach

The quantitative method used by Dolatabad et al. (2022) presented the two-part questionnaire items that were developed for the custom questionnaire in the form of pairwise comparison matrices. The individual questionnaire items were designed based on the findings that emerged from a preliminary review of the relevant peer-reviewed literature.

State what data is collected

The first part of the custom questionnaire used general items to collect general and demographic data concerning the respondents including their work experience history. The second part of the custom questionnaire was comprised of a series of specialized items that were presented in pairwise comparison matrixes to develop a ranking of the criteria used. This step resulted in 11 sub-criteria being identified (i.e., quality, price, technology, delivery, environmental management, pollution control, green innovation, hazardous material management, green image, green product, and competencies) which were then used to collect data from the 37 subject matter expert respondents.

Explain and evaluate the conclusions drawn from the study

The administration of the custom questionnaire provided findings that corresponded to each of the above-listed sub-criteria. Some of the more important conclusions that resulted from the data analysis included the need to maximize the efficiency of manufacturing devices and hardware in order to reduce environmental pollution and the need to incorporate innovative technologies that can minimize production waste and reduce product defects caused during the manufacturing process. In fact, the authors suggest that innovative technologies can result in less depreciation as well.

Other significant conclusions drawn from the study included the need for all products that are manufactured by companies to be capable of being returnable to the production line if necessary and they would also be recyclable in an optimum configuration. This capability is necessary in order to prevent the wastage of the raw material and manufacturing energy resources that are used for production.

In addition, the study’s results indicated that supply chain partners should be required to conform to green supply chain management practices in order to prevent waste and inefficiencies along the entire network. The study’s analysis of the responses from its sample of subject matter experts suggests that there are virtually limitless opportunities to streamline any organization’s supply chain by ensuring that supply chain partners produce the high quality of componentry that is needed to build and sustain a competitive advantage today. For instance, the authors found that, “Defects and breakdowns in the output product, in addition to the waste of raw materials, can also lead to the loss of various driving forces, using many natural materials for their production” (p. 11).

This complex process begins with the first-tier vendors of the supply chain, and the extent to which they underperform in any way is likely the extent to which the entire supply chain will suffer. As the authors emphasize, “Being green should be thus found in the whole [supply chain]. Therefore, in each part, it must receive materials and components with the highest levels of environmental compatibility” (p. 10). This is a tall order, of course, and while corporate giants such as Walmart or Coke can demand the highest quality products available for the price, most other companies, especially smaller enterprises, do not enjoy this level of corporate clout. Nevertheless, this issue is one that supply chain managers can focus on when the opportunities arise.

Yet another noteworthy finding was the assertion that it is possible to attain numerous benefits by ensuring that all hardware and production devices are optimized for efficiency as well as their corresponding effects on organizational environmental practices. Likewise, ensuring that the latest supply chain technologies are considered and implemented where appropriate also represents an important part of the optimization process. Finally, although every organization’s supply chain is unique in some ways, the foregoing findings can help supply chain managers contribute to their companies’ bottom line through enhanced productivity and customer satisfaction levels.