Circular supply chain management using heuristic optimisation and sliding mode control

This paper proposes an active decision-making strategy in circular supply chain management. A four-echelon supply chain model, including the manufacturer, distributor, retailer, and customer, is considered with the addition of a recycling channel for sustainable circular economy sustainability. A decision-making strategy is implemented for managing a multi-echelon supply chain network under stochastic demand, primarily employing a super-twisting sliding mode controller (STSMC) and metaheuristic optimisation algorithm. The adaptive particle swarm optimisation (APSO) algorithm updates the control parameters. Performance criteria have been exploited to validate the control methodology. The hybrid control scheme is the most effective scheme evaluated by performance indicators, improving business performance and efficiency under stochastic events. Finally, the novel decision-making strategy can offer new insights into effectively managing digital supply chain networks against market volatility.