PurposeOutpatient care delivery is one of the key revenue sources of a hospital which plays a salient role in timely care delivery. The key purpose of the study is to propose a multi-objective simulation-based decision support model that considers the cost of care delivery and patient dissatisfaction as its two key conflicting objectives. Patient dissatisfaction considers service fairness. Patient idiosyncrasies such as no-show, unpunctuality and balking have been considered in the model involving multiple classes of patients.Design/methodology/approachA model has been designed using data collected from field investigations. In the first stage, queuing theory based discrete event simulation model has been developed. Genetic algorithm has been used to solve the scalarized problem and obtain actionable insights. In the second stage, non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) has been involved to achieve the Pareto optimal fronts considering equal priority of the two objectives.FindingsThe computational results considering various parameter settings can help in efficient resource planning while ensuring better care delivery. The model proposed in the study provides structural insights on the business strategy of healthcare service providers on optimizing the dual goals of care delivery cost and service fairness.Originality/valueThe study is one of the early works that helps to improve the care delivery process by taking into consideration the environmental factors as well as service fairness. The study demonstrates the usage of simulation-based multi-objective optimization to provide a more sustainable patient centric care delivery.

The case study underscores an operational concern faced by Praveen Vishwakarma, the Senior Manager — Operations at Eco Pro Environmental Services in Indore, in January 2020, pertaining to the daily waste collection in the city. Working in close cooperation with the civic administration, the company focuses on daily waste management of Indore, a commercial hub in Central India. The city of Indore has been declared as the cleanest city in India for three consecutive years according to the cleanliness survey conducted by Government of India under the aegis of clean Indian mission. Clean India mission, launched in 2014, encompassing sustainable development forms the backdrop. The company has been facing huge transportation costs for operating waste collection vehicles and there has been severe violations in the timelines in serving two of the wards. The protagonist is at the crossroads of operational efficiency and service effectiveness. The case highlights the key decision making which involves redesigning of the collection routes through an optimization problem and uses a practical solution approach to resolve the multi-faceted dilemma. The case study is helpful for civic administrators and players involved in waste management by providing actionable guidelines.

Learning outcomes Familiarize with the retail operations of handicrafts, facility location problem, apply multi-criteria decision through the goal programming approach and solving the same with MS Excel. Case overview / synopsis The case portrays a dilemma in the context of retail operations of a small-scale handicraft company known as Odisha Craft. Located in Odisha, Susanta Mohanty, the owner, was finding it a challenge to decide on the most promising location for his new retail outlet in the neighbouring city of Kolkata. He had five choices for the locations. Odisha craft was established by his father-in-law in 2009 with an objective to preserve and promote the rich culture of the handicrafts designed by the local artisans and ensure sustainable rural livelihood. The company had been facing numerous challenges and the pandemic has given a very formidable blow to the monthly revenues. The case brings out the multi-faceted dilemma of deciding on the facility location in 2020, involving a set of conflicting criteria. The case unfolds a systematic solution approach resolving the dilemma using MS Excel. Complexity academic level Courses such as operations research, operations management, service operations and retail operations for MBA students and trainings for junior-middle level executives. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 09: Operations and Logistics