Sustainable supplier selection among supermarket’s fresh fruits and vegetable supply chains based on circular practices in India

The sustainable circular supply chain and its practices are emerging due to environmental concerns, climate change issues, and ever-increasing global competitiveness. Owing to social awareness of the above circumstances, organizations are shifting towards cleaner ways of production to make a supply chain efficient. The selection of suppliers is a complex problem as many criteria come into play. This study attempts to examine and select the sustainable supplier among the alternatives available to develop a fresh fruits and vegetable circular supply chain. The present study comprises three phases, proposing a framework for sustainable supplier selection among supermarkets. The first phase includes selecting important indicators through extensive literature review and expert advice. The second phase consists of ranking criteria and sub-criteria by obtaining weights using the best worst methodology and, finally, selecting the best-suited supplier based on indicators ranking using fuzzy TOPSIS (Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution). Resource optimization and circular competencies (ROC) and circular economy practices (CEP) are the most crucial of all the leading criteria. To further validate supplier selection preference and overcome the biases, sensitivity analysis is performed as weights of indicators are based on experts' opinions. In the end, the study presents the implications, limitations, and future perspectives of this work.