Sustainable closed-loop supply chain with multi-retailers and price-reliant demand using cooperative and non-cooperative game approaches

Environmental sustainability is a major concern for businesses, prompting a shift away from profit goals toward environmental responsibility. Closed-loop supply chains address waste and landfill issues by enabling the recovery and remanufacturing of used products, reducing environmental impact while creating economic and social benefits. In today’s dynamic business environment, manufacturers are increasingly adopting multi-retailer distribution strategies to expand their market reach, mitigate risks, foster competition, and enhance supply chain efficiency. This paper presents a closed-loop supply chain model that integrates multi-retailer distribution with a multi-shipment policy, considering price-dependent demand. This paper examines the determination of optimal policies for manufacturers and retailers, employing both cooperative and non-cooperative approaches. The cooperative approach employs Nash Bargaining and Integrated approaches, whereas the noncooperative framework utilizes the Manufacturer-led Stackelberg approach. Additionally, a Pareto-efficient approach is explored based on the results from the other approaches. The findings indicate that the Pareto Efficient approach ensures a fair allocation of profits between manufacturers and retailers, while the Integrated approach maximizes total expected profit. Sensitivity analysis reveals that product return rates, price elasticity, and shipment frequency significantly affect profit distribution and total supply chain performance. These insights provide practical guidance for designing sustainable and economically efficient closed-loop supply chains.