Track: Operations Research

Abstract

The growing demand for sustainable Food Supply Chains (FSCs) is steering adoption of sustainable practices. Adoption alone cannot reap the desired benefits, lest it is followed by evaluation and re-examination of the practices. This study proposes an analytical policy framework for the adoption of sustainable innovation practices (SIPs) in the Flour Milling sector with the help of an illustration of an Indian flour mill. In the pursuit for sustainability, the company implemented few SIPs and embracing of these practices has influenced the decisions within the strategic, operational and tactical domains of the company. Hence, investigation and identification of SIPs that have had an insightful impact on the sustainable performance of the company is needed. Best-Worst method, a multi-criteria technique, ideally suited in decision making environment involving multiple decision makers with conflicting judgments, is adopted in the present study for evaluation of SIPs. The final inference is that ‘Increasing sustainability awareness’ is the most important SIP, having the maximum social and environmental impact with minimum economic input. The outcomes of this case-based study can be utilized as reference for other industry managers to make key strategic decisions regarding practical implementation of SIPs, with an objective to enhance sustainability of their FSC.

Keywords

Sustainable Innovation Practices, Food Supply Chain, Multi-dimensional attributes and Best-Worst Method.