Evaluating barriers and challenges of circular supply chains using a decision-making model based on rough sets

Abstract

Circular supply chain management is a recent innovation to save resources and reduce waste in the supply chain of any industry. The concept of circular supply chain management is more important these days due to environmental concerns, lack of resources, and increased waste. The main purpose of this study is to find the main issues and prioritize the challenges related to the adoption of circular supply chain management in Iran’s manufacturing industries. This paper includes three main phases. In the first phase, by examining the literature and opinions of supply chain experts, the main challenges that companies face to redesign their supply chain based on circular economy principles are identified. In the second phase, the proposed approach is developed based on the hierarchical best–worst method and rough set theory in order to prioritize the challenges and barriers to adopt and implement circular supply chain. In the third phase, the challenges are prioritized and analyzed by using the proposed approach, conducting interviews, and forming an expert panel in the field of supply chain and in order to apply the results in Iran’s manufacturing industries. The results indicate that financial and economic barriers (B1), barriers of supply chain management (B5), and technological barriers (B3) are the main barriers to implement circular supply chain management in Iran's manufacturing industries. These barriers can be considered as key barriers to implement circular principles in supply chains and industries. Sensitivity analysis is also performed to evaluate robustness of the results.