Modeling a Sustainable Supply Chain Using a Hybrid Optimization for Discrete Event Simulation under Uncertainty: a Case Study of Iran Khodro Automotive Group

Subject Areas : Industrial Management Supply Chain Trend

Banafshe Famouri ¹ , Seyed Javad Iranban Fard ^{2 *} , Seyyed Mohammad Seyyed Hosseini ³ , Nazanin Pilehvari ⁴

1 - Ph.D. candidate Department of in Industrial Management, Science and Research Unit, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 - Associate Professor, Department of Industrial Management, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iranc Azad University, Shiraz, Iran
3 - Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering-Industrial Production, Faculty of Industrial Engineering, University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
4 - Professor, Department of Industrial Management, West Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2024-04-06 Accepted : 2024-07-01 Published : 2025-09-23

Keywords: sustainability, simulation, optimization, automobile manufacturing, supply chain,

Abstract :

In this research, a pattern for modeling the sustainable supply chain of the automotive products group by using the hybrid model of discrete event-based simulation is presented. To this end, first, the simulation model of the current state of the supply chain has been developed using AnyLogic simulation software, and the necessary processes were carried out to confirm the validation of the model. After validitating the model, in the first step, the economic aspects of the supply chain were evaluated. In this regard, the supply chain was examined from two perspectives: the number of transportation fleets and the levels of ordering and maintenance of spare parts. In order to optimize the results of the objective function, the meta-heuristic method opt Quest was used to minimize the cost of waiting for customers to receive products, the waiting cost of agents to receive spare parts, and costs related to maintenance, repair and depreciation of vehicles. The output of the optimization process showed that with a 19-digit increase in the number of fleets compared to the current situation, the waiting time of Samand Group customers will decrease by 4%, Dena Group by 1.1%, and Peugeot Group by 8.9%. Also, the annual production of Peugeot products has increased to 33,000 units, and there has been no significant change in the production of other groups. The establishment of the optimal situation, in addition to the economic benefits of the chain, has led to improvements in social and environmental dimensions as well.

Key Words

sustainability, simulation, optimization, automobile manufacturing, supply chain, uncertainty

1. Introduction

Today, the issue of supply chain and its role in creating and developing competitive advantage, reducing costs, increasing productivity and motivating employees is considered one of the important strategic issues of any business. In this regard, various supply chain paradigms such as green, lean, agile, large, resilient, etc. have been proposed over time, one or a combination of which is used by different organizations based on their strategic conditions and priorities. In recent years, the sustainable supply chain, which is the result of combining and balancing economic, environmental and social aspects, has received a lot of attention. Sustainable supply chain management indeed provides a significant competitive advantage for companies by enhancing efficiency and reducing costs. Vasei et al. (2023) noted that sustainable development in supply chain management is not only a limiting factor but an approach to improve performance and has an effect on the company's competitive power and its supply chain organization. Therefore, identifying and introducing new paradigms in the supply chain is among the needs of companies to stay in today's competitive and uncertain market conditions. All the mentioned cases make it inevitable to design a comprehensive and effective model for the supply chain.

2. Literature Review

Abir et al. (2020) designed a sustainable closed-loop supply chain network with the objectives of minimizing total costs, reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and maximizing sustainability by fulfilling as much customer demand as possible under uncertainty. Ahranjani et al. (2020), by presenting a mixed integer linear programming model, designed and planned bioethanol supply chain networks with several raw materials. In order to create flexibility against existing uncertainties and the risks of disruption in the supply chain, they used a stochastic combination planning approach. Fazli Khalaf et al. (2020) incorporated sustainability principles in the design of a hydrogen supply chain network across three levels: producers, warehouses and customers. In order to deal with the combined uncertainties included in the model, they developed a mixed flexible possibility planning method and conducted a case study to implement and analyze the results of the proposed model.

3. Methodology

In this research, a framework for assessing sustainability within the supply chain of Iran Khodro Company is presented by leveraging a hybrid simulation approach that focuses on discrete event- based factors. To this end, the factors identified within the supply chain along with their behaviors have been thoroughly considered to design a sustainable supply chain that effectively balances economic, social and environmental components. In order to simulate the model, AnyLogic software is used and in order to optimize, opt Quest meta-heuristic method is used in each execution of the simulation model. In this algorithm, values ​​for the decision variable are iteratively selected to ultimately lead to the optimization of the objective function. Accordingly, the objective functions and constraints are defined by the following equations within opt Quest software to facilitate the optimization process.

4.Result

The output of the optimization process show that increasing the fleet size by19 units compared to the current level reduces the waiting time for customers as follows: a 4% decrease for the Samand Group, 1.1% for Dana Group, and 8.9% for Peugeot Group. Additionally, the annual production of Peugeot vehicles increased by 33,000 units; however, there has been no significant change in the products of other groups. The 19-digit increase in the fleet size led to an increase in the mileage of about 860,000 kilometers. Furthermore, vehicle traffic related to parts requiring rework due to quality problems also increased by 5,750 kilometers. The increase in the fleet navigation shows that, within the current simulation model, the parts produced by the suppliers as well as the parts requiring rework experience delays due to insufficient fleet capacity. In terms of extracting the optimal/near-optimal point of ordering and inventory levels, the objective function was defined to minimize both the cost of maintaining parts and the cost of waiting for representatives to receive parts. It was found that the optimal close points extracted with the connection of the simulation model and meta-heuristic methods reduce the amount of inventory in Isacco’s warehouse by 50%, representing a significant number to reduce the costs of the supply chain. Furthermore, even if the number of the fleet increases to 223, this inventory reduction will still provide same-day dispatch of parts from the warehouse.

5. Discussion

In previous researches, the combined approach of simulation and optimization has not been used in the design of supply chain models. For this purpose, by using the mixed simulation approach of the discrete-based event, in the present study, the supply chain was modeled and the aspects of sustainability were optimized. Another important point is that, unlike previous studies which have focused on the economic aspect of the issue, it simultaneously examines the environmental, economic and social factors influencing supply chain performance.

Conflict of interest: none

 

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