Optimizing Product Configuration Problems with Multisourcing Supplier Selections under Both Carbon Cap and Carbon Tax Regulations

• Published in: Complexity (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 2022; no. 1
• Main Authors: Li, Jia, Yang, Dong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Hindawi 2022; John Wiley & Sons, Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Algorithms; Carbon; Carbon taxes; Case studies; Climate change; Configurations; Customers; Customization; Drilling machines (tools); Emission analysis; Emissions (Pollution); Emissions trading; Environmental law; Environmental tax; Genetic algorithms; Government regulation of business; Greedy algorithms; International agreements; Inventory control; Kyoto Protocol; Linear programming; Manufacturers; Manufacturing; Mathematical optimization; Mathematical programming; Ontology; Optimization; Particle swarm optimization; Product design; Regulations; Suppliers; Supply chains; Tax law; Tax rates; Tax regulations; Georgia
• ISSN: 1076-2787; 1099-0526; 1099-0526
• DOI: 10.1155/2022/6298982

Product configuration is a key enabling technology for mass customization production. Previous studies mainly focus on the solving technologies for obtaining a feasible configuration or optimal configuration but ignore environmental factors like CO2 emissions, especially the environmental regulations from international organizations. In this article, we address product configuration optimization problems considering both carbon cap and carbon tax regulations. A two-stage approach that combines both Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and a greedy algorithm is presented to solve the product configuration problems with carbon emission concerns. A case study of a configurable ranger-drilling machine is illustrated to demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented approach. The impacts of carbon cap and carbon tax regulations on configuration results are compared. Further, the models are extended to analyze the effects of single-sourcing and multisourcing on product configuration. The analysis shows that multisourcing in combination with carbon tax regulation can facilitate a manufacturer to provide more green and low-carbon customized products for customers. Numerical experiments are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the model and the efficiency of the proposed solution method.