Sustainable Supply Chains: A Holistic Integration Approach

Abstract

In response to the challenges caused by industrial intelligence, sustainable development, and diverse crises, supply chains must undergo strategic transformation, service upgrading, and optimization of decision-making processes. This imperative arises from the necessity to enhance customer satisfaction and capture a larger market share. Furthermore, in recent years, consumers have increasingly sought to purchase products and services from companies with sustainable supply chains. As a result, supply chain management must shift its focus from cost reduction and profit growth to a more customer-focused sustainability solution that balances economic, environmental, and social factors. To address this challenge, this paper proposes a novel customer-driven multi-criteria decision support framework. This approach leverages the quality attributes of customer requirements and their correlation with design requirements. By integrating methodologies such as Quality Function Deployment, Fuzzy Kano Model, and Analytic Network Process, we aim to identify the most impactful measures and refine strategies to bolster customer loyalty and enhance core competitiveness. Furthermore, the validity and efficacy of this novel approach are tested through a case study of a selected maritime company, as well as a comparison with several alternative approaches. According to the findings, upgrading management systems and green technologies, significant emission reduction, and continuous improvement of employee and customer satisfaction should be prioritised in the transition from a conventional to a sustainable maritime supply chain.

Keywords: Sustainability; Supply Chain; Quality Function Deployment (QFD); Maritime Industry

JEL Classification: Q01, D81, C61, C88, L15, F14