Circular Economy Integration in the Indian FMCG Supply Chain: Unveiling Strategic Hurdles and Pathways to Sustainable Transformation

The Circular Economy (CE) concept has gained substantial momentum, particularly in its transformative impact on supply chains. It has generated considerable interest among practitioners and researchers seeking to address the complex challenges confronting fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) supply chains today. However, the integration of CE practices in this context remains relatively unexplored in the existing literature. This research is motivated by the need to uncover and elucidate the barriers hindering the implementation of CE within FMCG supply chains in India. Drawing from a synthesis of prior academic literature and employing the fuzzy-Delphi method, the study identifies these barriers, establishing significance through applying threshold value and quantifying the similarity between identified obstacles using Jaccard Similarity and Cosine Similarity metrics. Informed by the insights of six subject matter experts, the research findings emphasize the critical role of decision-making within supply chains to adopt CE principles effectively. Additionally, the study highlights the imperative of crafting robust business models and implementation frameworks to embed CE principles within FMCG supply chains in India. The findings of this study hold promise in assisting industry professionals in devising strategic approaches to embrace CE, thereby securing a sustained competitive advantage within FMCG supply chains. This research also offers valuable guidance to managers and planners in comprehending and executing CE strategies in FMCG supply chains, ultimately contributing to enhancing sustainability within these supply chains by applying CE concepts.