Engineering Driven Sustainable Supply Networks - A UK/India Collaborative Study

This is a UK & India Advanced Manufacturing Research Challenges proposal seeking to investigate engineering driven sustainable supply networks in four industries of national importance, Aerospace, Automotive, Pharmaceutical and Food Processing (IfM and TSB 2012, National Manufacturing Policy, India 2011). This research seeks to extend existing supply network configuration theories by integrating sustainability dimensions to the traditional cost, quality, and timely and dependable delivery analysis.

The design of supply networks is traditionally driven by operational drivers of cost, quality, and timely and dependable supply. However, sustainability considerations in network design are now becoming increasingly critical and this project seeks to integrate capabilities in the simulation and modelling of operations (Indian Institute of Technology Ropar and Indian Institute of Management Lucknow) and industrial supply network design (University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing) toward the development of a new capability in the engineering driven design of sustainable supply networks.

The key research question which the proposal tries to address is "How to design more sustainable supply networks for manufacturing organisations?" The project will seek to develop methodologies that support optimal usage of key resources like energy, materials, water and other inputs, while minimising the generation of waste. Methods will support trade-off analysis between sustainability practices, whilst simultaneously meeting the cost, quality and responsiveness related requirements. The unit of analysis will be specific product categories in both discrete (automotive and aerospace and process (pharmaceuticals, food processing) industries located in the UK and India.

Academic implications: This research seeks to extend existing supply network configuration theories by integrating sustainability dimensions to the traditional cost, quality, and timely and dependable delivery analysis. The frameworks to be developed will build on existing theoretical models such that trade-offs against the standard metrics are considered. They will incorporate both national and sector contexts, enriched by research work undertaken with leading companies in these sectors, during both framework development and testing phases of the research. Methodological contributions will to be made by blending qualitative (in-depth case studies, panel studies etc.) and mathematical modelling methodologies. Network structures, evaluation approaches along with databases produced by this investigation will be helpful in testing existing theories on supply network configuration and capability mainly derived from empirical research methods. Academic knowledge will be disseminated through publications in journals and conferences (conferences will be organised by University of Cambridge and Indian partners). Courses will be on 'sustainable supply network design' to teach MPhil and undergraduate engineering students (ISMM and MET) at Cambridge, MBA students at IIM Lucknow and engineering students at IIT Ropar.

Industrial implications: Advanced manufacturing operations in the four key sectors of interest increasingly depend on remote sources of supply for significant elements of their bill of materials. The optimal design of these international manufacturing and supply networks is further complicated by radical new technologies that are setting new benchmarks on cost and quality. Equally important will be the optimum use of resources and security of supply. Within advanced engineering sectors, as they develop their international manufacturing footprints, the assessment of alternative manufacturing technologies and processing options (additive manufacturing, batch/continuous etc) present significant changes to their upstream supply chains. Within the process industries, poor sustainability practices post-production suggests a more end-to-end supply chain analysis is required. Across the UK and India, there is a need to better understand the industrial sustainability challenges across the supply chain and develop possible alternate solutions through product supply chain redesign. This study includes approaches to and evaluation of sustainability in supply networks which will help in developing novel practices to target company specific sustainability objectives and industry specific regulations. Direct knowledge transfer to industrial collaborators, organising Industrial workshops to disseminate knowledge and practice to the wider industrial audience in India and the UK, and publication of industrial reports are key instruments which will be used to achieve the maximum industrial impact.

Policy implications: Climate change is a major global concern which is impacting all countries. Crop failure and floods disrupting various global supply networks are considered to be directly linked to climate change. UK and Indian institutions are committed to significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions which will require changes to how industry operates.. This research will primarily contribute to the global effort in reducing emission by identifying key areas of improvement (e.g. reducing industrial energy consumption, reducing wastage in manufacturing processes and optimising resource utilisation) and by developing sustainable operating practices. Research outcomes will indirectly inform policy makers in developing targeted policies for national industrial sustainability. Policy makers will be invited to our conferences which will provide a platform to discuss national industrial policy in this area.