Joint effects of production quality improvement of biofuel and carbon emissions towards a smart sustainable supply chain management

Controlling carbon emissions and improving biofuel generation are crucial for every manufacturer. The responsible managers' primary concern is to increase profit and form a sustainable supply chain. Further, supply chain managers select appropriate combinations when dealing with minimizing waste, quality improvement of biofuel, and multi-mode transportation. The study's objective is to show the combined effects of improved quality of biofuel and controlling carbon emissions in a smart three-echelon sustainable supply chain management. In this model, one-manufacturer, one-supplier, and multi-retailers are contemplated. When the supplier makes impure biofuel, it transports to the manufacturer for pure biofuel. A random production rate is applied through a smart production system; still, impure biofuel is produced. For that reason, a two-stage inspection policy with a variable manufacturing rate is considered to make the production process flexible such that the quantity of impure biofuel is reduced and impure biofuel treated as a waste. After production, the manufacturer transports pure biofuel to multi-retailers. A variable selling price-dependent demand is introduced for the maximization of profit. The carbon emissions are considered, which are associated with different operational activities of inventory such as preparation of setup of suppliers, manufacturers, transportation of products, and holding stock at manufacturers and the retailer's end. The retailers keep up the actual order as on demand to the manufacturer to save from the excess holding costs. The model has been solved with a specific algebraic procedure to obtain the global optimum solution. Four numerical experiments are conducted to ensure the model's effectiveness and profit maximization. The results indicate that these three echelons' smart production significantly minimized impure biofuel and carbon emissions, positively impacting the environment and the finance, attached to the inventory. The proposed integrated system's validity is illustrated with sensitivity analysis, numerical examples, and graphical representation. In addition, various worthy managerial insights based on the study are provided.