Exploration of risks with halal logistics: a case of emerging economy

Abstract

Purpose Halal logistics play a crucial role in maintaining a product’s “halal integrity” from farm to fork. These logistics operations are exposed to risks during transportation, storage and handling, that negatively affect the halal supply chain’s operational efficiency and integrity. Therefore, the main purpose of this research is to propose a risk assessment framework for halal logistics. Design/methodology/approach Initially, the risks associated with halal logistics are identified through an extensive literature review, and then the significant ones are validated with the expert’s input. After that, an appropriate multicriteria decision-making method named best worst method (BWM) is used to prioritise the identified risks. Finally, the robustness of the obtained ranking is assessed with sensitivity analysis. Findings This research identifies 26 halal logistics risks and then categorises these risks into 6 significant dimensions and proposes a framework. The result obtained from the BWM analysis shows that organisational, transportation and design risks are the primary risks present in halal logistics. Among the halal logistics risks, partnership risk, risk of contamination during transportation and risks of unskilled workers are the top three halal logistics risks that need to be addressed on a priority basis for maintaining halal integrity. Furthermore, this study also suggests some valuable suggestions for mitigating these risks that the logistics providers could use. Research limitations/implications The proposed framework is helpful for the assessment of risks associated with halal logistics. The prioritisation of the identified risks supports the managers in formulating mitigation strategies that might reduce the effect of these associated risks in logistics operations. Originality/value This study focusses on halal logistics, and to the best of authors’ knowledge, this may be the first attempt to systematically examine the risks related to halal logistics.