By Mr. Kalpit Patne

Closed loop supply chain management (CLSCM) is a relatively new field in the area of supply chain management and logistics which involves all the reverse logistics activities in addition to the forward logistics, like product acquisition, remanufacturing, redistribution, disposal etc. CLSCM has attracted increasing attention over the past few decades from society, environment-concerned agencies, operations managers, and logisticians, which has resulted in a significant shift of researchers’ focus on this domain. In this study, we aimed to address some of the primary strategic and operational issues that are commonly encountered while designing a supply chain network like location of supply chain nodes, inventory levels, pricing policies, etc.

We proposed an innovative transformation to the evolutionary algorithm – particle swarm optimisation (PSO) that was analysed thoroughly and validated by applying on an empirical CLSCM model. The performance result, with respect to the solution quality, of this algorithm was compared with that of other evolutionary optimisation algorithms like PSO, Genetic Algorithm and Simulated Annealing, and it was concluded that our algorithm provided better solutions.

During my time at SMART Infrastructure Facility, University of Wollongong, I got the opportunity to work alongside and interact with some of the brilliant researchers around the world. I worked with Dr. Nagesh Shukla (SMART) and Dr. Senevi Kiridena (School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences, University of Wollongong), and was able to successfully obtain the outputs of the study with the help of their invaluable experience and insights. I had a really enriching experience and a lot to take away from the time I spent at SMART. The work culture I experienced was extraordinarily enjoyable and I had a great time working in such a friendly and motivating environment.