Title: Supplier allocation model for textile recycling operations

Authors: Alex J. Ruiz-Torres; José Humberto Ablanedo-Rosas; Somnath Mukhopadhyay

Addresses: Facultad de Administración de Empresas, Universidad de Puerto Rico – Rio Piedras, San Juan PR, 00931-3332, USA; Department of Information and Decision Sciences, College of Business Administration, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Ave., El Paso TX, 79968, USA ' Department of Information and Decision Sciences, College of Business Administration, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Ave., El Paso TX, 79968, USA ' Department of Information and Decision Sciences, College of Business Administration, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Ave., El Paso TX, 79968, USA

Abstract: This paper presents a model that captures the problem of supplier selection for textile recycling operations. Suppliers in this case are the agencies and organisations that collect used clothing through the year and sell the mostly unsorted garments to the recycler. The recycling organisation sorts the materials and sells the sorted and classified clothing in diverse markets using seasonal knowledge about demand and prices. The model considers information related to the typical type of items that are in a shipment from a supplier at different times of the year to determine the optimal purchasing and processing plan. The model considers other constraints and variables, for example processing capacity, demand, inventory, and purchasing budget. The model is presented and then an implementation case is described, followed by a brief sensitivity analysis. The results demonstrate the capabilities of the model to support decision-making for textile recycling operations.

Keywords: recycling; supplier selection; supplier allocation; operations planning; textile recycling; product reuse; reverse logistics; logistics management; modelling; decision making; processing capacity; demand; inventory; purchasing budget; clothing recycling; garment recycling; apparel recycling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLSM.2013.053241

International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, 2013 Vol.15 No.1, pp.108 - 124

Published online: 27 Sep 2013 *

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