More than 300 papers have been published in the last 15 years on the topic of green or sustainable (forward) supply chains. Looking at the research methodologies employed, only 36 papers apply quantitative models. This is in contrast to, for example, the neighboring field of reverse or closed-loop supply chains where several reviews on respective quantitative models have already been provided. The paper summarizes research on quantitative models for forward supply chains and thereby contributes to the further substantiation of the field. While different kinds of models are applied, it is evident that the social side of sustainability is not taken into account. On the environmental side, life-cycle assessment based approaches and impact criteria clearly dominate. On the modeling side there are three dominant approaches: equilibrium models, multi-criteria decision making and analytical hierarchy process. There has been only limited empirical research so far. The paper ends with suggestions for future research.
Globalization places demands on supply chain management to reach beyond pure economic issues and matters like e.g. fair labor conditions and environmentally friendly production. This raises interest in its intersection with sustainable development, which is usually comprehended in an economic, an environmental and a social dimension (see e.g. [45]; for the link to supply chain management see [70] and [42]). Managing supply chains in a sustainable manner has become an increasing concern for companies of all sizes and across a wide range of industries. Meeting environmental and social standards along all stages of the supply chain ensures that (at least) minimum sustainability performance is reached. This more reactive approach of responding to external pressure from governments, consumers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) [71] and media can be complemented by the development and introduction of sustainable products.
For the period 1990 to 2007 Seuring and Müller [70] reviewed a total of 191 papers. Toward the end of 2010 this list has grown to about 308 related papers which published about green and sustainable supply chain management. Yet, sorting these papers according to the research methodology employed, only 36 remain which build or use quantitative models. Hence, this paper aims at taking a longer period into account than Seuring and Müller [70], but focuses on one kind of research method, i.e. quantitative models, only. This allows detailed insights into this stream of research and should reach conclusions on how to develop it further. This small number and share of models is in clear contrast to, for example, the neighboring field of reverse or closed-loop supply chains, where Fleischmann et al. [46] already provided a first review on “quantitative models for reverse logistics”. Furthermore, (wider) literature reviews on related fields are available: (1) closed-loop supply chains [50]; (2) green supply chains, but also with a focus on reverse logistics [73] and (3) sustainable supply chain management [70]. Recently, further reviews have been published, which address particular topics. Two examples are those on sustainable supply chain management and inter-organizational resources [48] or those relating it to a wider set of constructs in supply chain management [49]. Mollenkopf et al. [61] have emphasized the link to lean management and globalization issues in their review. Carter and Easton [42] evaluate particularly related empirical research, restricting themselves to a set of papers taken from seven journals mainly in the domain of logistics and supply chain management. Yet, such a review has not been attempted for quantitative models applied to the forward supply chain.
The aim of this paper is to summarize existing research on quantitative models for forward supply chains, thereby aiming at substantive justification as an important step in theory building [58]. This provides insights toward future research directions and needs.
The paper is structured as follows: as the study deals with a literature review, a classical section labeled as such is not provided. Instead, the paper starts by outlining the content analysis method as applied in the research process. Next, some descriptive background on the papers (e.g. years of publication, major journals) is presented. Further, the findings from the content analysis are discussed, with a particular focus on the sustainability dimensions and modeling approaches. This will lead over to the discussion of the findings and brief conclusions.
The paper provides a review of the status of research on sustainable supply chain management applying (mathematical) modeling techniques. The sustainability dimensions, the particular modeling approaches taken as well as the empirical content as presented in the papers have been assessed. It is evident that the environmental dimension clearly dominates and social aspects are widely ignored or interpreted in an unusual manner. Life-cycle assessment type studies and respective data form the backbone of the environmental debate in the papers, while cost minimization still seems to dominate the economic dimension. The different modeling approaches (equilibrium models, multi-objective optimization and analytical hierarchy process) form only a subset of the wider range of methods available. The findings of the paper summarize the status of research on applying modeling techniques in sustainable supply chain management and offer insights into directions for future research.
