Designing sustainable supply chains

A supply chain is a complex and dynamic supply and demand network of agents, activities, resources, technology and information involved in moving products or services from supplier to customer. The suitability of supply chains can be measured by multiple criteria, such as environmental, social, economic, and others. Finding an equilibrium between the interests of members of a sustainable supply chain is a very important problem. The main objective of the paper is to analyze the design of sustainable supply chains and to create a comprehensive model and solution methods for designing sustainable supply chains. Multiple criteria analysis and game theory is a natural choice to effectively analyze and model decision making in such multiple agent situation with multiple criteria where the outcome depends on the choice made by every agent. Multiple criteria analysis is useful for assessing sustainability of supply chains. The De Novo approach focusses on designing optimal systems. Game theory has become a useful instrument in the analysis of supply chains with multiple agents. Games are used for behavior modeling of supply chains; they focus on the allocation of resources, capacities, costs, revenues and profits. The co-opetition concept combines the advantages of both competition and cooperation into new dynamics, which can be used to not only generate more profits, but also to change the nature of the business environment for the benefit of users. Keywords: supply chain, sustainability, multiple criteria, De Novo approach, game theory, biform games.

VINERS Method for the Multiple Criteria Analysis and Neuromarketing of Best Places to Live

The best and worst places to live have been analysed in the world for many years and multiple criteria analysis has been used for that purpose. The quality of housing and its environment, pollution, green places, public spaces, physical movement and health, crime rates and individual safety, the wellbeing of youngsters, unemployment, job value, economic scarcity, governance, circadian rhythm, weekly rhythm and other factors are the focus of such analyses that aim to determine levels of positive emotions and happiness in built environment. Questionnaires are the most common tool for such analyses, where inhabitants are asked to rank their happiness experience as a whole in built environment. Many studies demonstrate that happy people are effective in multiple areas of their life including job efficiency, salary, health, human relations, etc. The innovative aspect of this research stems from the fact that biometric technologies (affective attitudes, emotional and physiological states) and the VINERS method developed by the authors are used to determine the best places to live and to serve neuro ads of homes for sale. To do this, rational segments of homebuyers are determined according to their demographic profiles (age, gender, education, marital status, families with children, main source of income), consumer psychographics and behaviour (happy, sad and angry along with valence and heart rate) and then select a rational video ad for such rational segment. The aim of our research is to develop the VINERS Method for the Multiple Criteria Analysis and Neuromarketing of Best Places to Live (VINERS method) by combining the Somatic Marker Hypothesis, biometrics, neuromarketing and COPRAS method. This article presents a case study to demonstrate the VINERS method put to practice.